C.R. Laine sets McClintock line
New collection will debut at April market
Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, February 22, 2006
HICKORY, N.C. — Fashion and furniture designer Jessica McClintock, best known for prom dresses and wedding gowns, has partnered with upper-end upholstery maker C.R. Laine to produce a line of furniture that will debut at the April market.
The collection, the first licensed effort for C.R. Laine, will feature 22 frames in an eclectic mix of sofas, settees and chairs, each inspired by pieces in McClintock’s classic home in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights.
Fabrics for the Jessica McClintock at Home collection include velvets, silks, jacquards and linens; some are interpretations of antique documents and exclusive to the line.
McClintock also licenses case goods from American Drew and youth furniture from Lea Inds. A Jessica McClintock upholstery collection from Clayton Marcus in 2000 was scuttled after a soft launch. Clayton Marcus was in the midst of leadership changes and the McClintock group decided to opt out, according to Kerry Glasser, president and CEO of Concept Marketing, which represents the designer.
“We need a company that paid attention to detail and that understood fashion,” Glasser said. He said some companies wanted to push the line more contemporary, but C.R. Laine understood McClintock’s vision.
“What made us interested (in doing a collection) was the association with a fashion icon like Jessica, but it wasn’t just a celebrity connection,” said Holly Blalock, C.R. Laine marketing director. “It’s who the celebrity is, because Jessica has built an empire based on her attention to quality and … fine details — nothing that’s too overdone, just intricate enough to be special.”
McClintock’s feminine, romantic, Victorian-influenced lifestyle designs have proved successful for American Drew and Lea. Jack Richardson, president of the two companies, said the collection has been in the top five best sellers.
C.R. Laine and the two wood companies have no cross-merchandising plans, “but we are comfortable with sharing our mutual customers or new customers because it only makes sense,” Blalock said, like a Web site that sends you to related products. “I can see us using their products in some of our (catalog) room scenes and making reference to that whole lifestyle approach for consumers.”
The upholstery company is still working on construction details and thus hasn’t established pricing, but McClintock product is expected to retail within C.R. Laine’s $1,200 to $2,000 range for a sofa.
McClintock will spend three days at C.R. Laine’s space during the April market, including invitation-only and open times for industry meet-and-greets, and a press event.
The C.R. Laine-McClintock deal is for three years, with new products to be added at future markets. “We don’t want (customers) ever to feel that it’s plateaued,” said Blalock. “We want them to know that we are committed to her look and its salability.”
Blalock, who spent time in McClintock’s four-story, 110-year-old house, said the designer prefers arched doors to straight lines, so curves will be featured in frames.
None of the frames are duplicated in the regular C.R. Laine line.
“People might think big Victorian house, big Victorian style, and that (the collection) is going to be over the top,” Blalock said. “That’s so not what this collection is — and it’s so salable. Her idea of romance is not girly-girly. Her idea of romance translates into attractive.”
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C.R. Laine sets McClintock line
Mar 5, 2006
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