“A LINE, ANNE KLEIN”
……………………”A LINE, ANNE KLEIN”…………As a company Anne Klein always had it’s pulse on what was happening or what was going to happen in the world of fashion…….Anne herself realized the importance of bringing women upscale clothes that the clients could mix and match…..clothes that would be sold as separate pieces in all different sizes rather than suited outfits that were being offered in the “Designer Salons” in the high end stores and boutiques………She understood that most women wore a different size for their tops and bottoms, and never believed in suits where the two pieces had to be the same size……..She truly started what we know as “DESIGNER SPORTSWEAR”……..Donna and I realized, from doing so many trunk shows in stores across the country, that many women could only afford our collection when it was ON SALE…….We heard over and over, “can’t you make clothes we can afford? We love your clothes but they are just too expensive for me.” This really bothered us, and we thought why couldn’t we make a line of clothes with the same design philosophy at less expensive prices to reach a wider range of women……..Anne Klein 11 was born out of the request of women……..There was no place in stores for this price range of clothing, and they didn’t even know what to call it so we told them it was “BRIDGE”…….It was the bridge between “designer” and “moderate” priced clothes……It hit the sweet spot, and became an instant success……It opened up the business for all other designer lines to follow, and they did by opening up secondary lines……..BUT ANNE KLEIN11 was the FIRST!…….I started to realize that a category of dressing that the Anne Klein company was not addressing was active functional clothes with new fabrics that had terms like “WICKING”. These types of fabrics were not being use on any of the lines I oversaw……I realized there was a need for clothes for a lifestyle taking over America…..CASUAL WEAR, but casual wear with STYLE and FUNCTION that still had a designer’s sensibility!………Out of this…..”A LINE, ANNE KLEIN” was created……A brilliant advertising campaign was created by Peter Arnell who came up with the name of the company, and created many of the logos and details that made the “look” of this new division unique….He also created DKNY and all of it’s logos and advertising…..a brilliantly talented man………The British invasion!……I hired Judith Leech, an extremely talented young Brit to head the design team. I felt she had the edge and the youth the collection needed! Judith hired a marvelous group of young designers to assist her. One of them was a young man named Chris Jackson, another Brit……After so many years that have gone by….Chris has become a face book friend, and I couldn’t be more please……Now, I can honestly say, when I first met Chris he was a very serious, and somewhat sullen young man…..and frankly a little intimidating…..Being around Chris, I always felt he was privy to something I was not, but I knew he was a very talented young man. I didn’t always understand what he designed…but I also knew this was what made him special…I have to say I learned a great deal from all of them….Their design sense was so different from my own that I knew it was right! I didn’t want clones of me…..I wanted a group of designers who would teach me……and they did in spades. The fabrics they used were innovative, and every detail on every piece was thought out to the nth degree…..Besides the clothes themselves, every detail was thought out…The labels, zippers and zipper pulls, the tapes in the clothes were all custom made, and made the clothes stand out from everything else in the market. You always know when you have a success when the models love it!….and they did…….Jac included. She was able to get clothes that just weren’t available on my Couture collection or Anne Klein 11……They also had a sexiness that was geared for a younger customer…..Everything was more extreme….the minis were true minis, not just SHORT skirts…the camisoles were bare….Everything had an authenticity to it……Many of the pieces could be incorporated with the designer line giving the designer clothes a different attitude, and I loved it!…….In the photos Jac is wearing a beautiful A Line motorcycle leather jacket. It was made in the best quality European leather. It had all the bells and whistles, and all the details a real motorcycle jacket should have…….I still have the jacket! It was one of Jac’s favorites!!……..A Line was something brand new in the market. Once again we led the way.
