I know this about Reed Krakoff: when a bag from his debut Fall 2010 line was made available at Net-A-Porter, for $6,900, it sold out in the first day. And, this bag has light gray, easy to stain, felt on it. And it sold out.
In 2003, Time magazine stated that Reed Krakoff “… gets more press than Demi and Ashton, but he has turned the stodgy American brand (COACH) favored by New Canaan, Conn., housewives and briefcase-toting free-lance writers into a global fashion status symbol.” Read more: www.time.com
Reed Krakoff is the executive creative director behind the COACH brand whose vision brought COACH from a 500 million dollar company in 2003 to a 3.23 BILLION dollar company in 2009. In fact, COACH sales actually increased from 2008 to 2009, which not many in retail could boast – especially high-end retail.
So, it comes as no surprise that Reed Krakoff’s new collection – under his own brand name – is garnering so much attention.
According to the website, this debut collection “marks a new class of modern luxury in American Fashion.”
What initially caught my eye were these fabulous boots which I decided I may need to splurge on. Then I saw the price: $5,500. Gosh that would buy a lot of clean water in this world. But, I do see the genius in this one pair of boots. Let me explain:
I was flipping through the September issue of Town & Country – the one with Tory Burch on the cover. They have several pages dedicated to fall 2010 boots and that’s where I just nestled down for a while. I noticed that out of the 15 pairs of boots highlighted, only three companies had more than one pair highlighted: Jimmy Choo, Christian Louboutin, and Reed Krakoff. I thought, “Who is Reed Krakoff?”
Then I noticed that the most expensive boot in the spread – in Town & Country – with brands like the aforementioned as well as Hermes and Chanel, was by this Reed Krakoff. And they weren’t just a little more; they were $3500 more than anything else. In this economy? I was forced to look up this brand as I was so in awe of the price point – completely out of sync with this struggling economy – while also knowing that they were my hands down favorite boot in the spread!
What I found on the Reed Krakoff website is that these boots are not for sale. In fact, I can not find them for sale anywhere online. Are these boots strictly a press pair? I’m sure you can buy them somewhere – maybe at the actual Reed Karkoff boutique in NYC. If you have $5,500 to buy a pair of boots, I’m sure you have the means to find out how to locate them. But, I maintain that this pair of boots was meant to make people curious. I was so curious that I had to google him, find the website, and click through. And when I did, the mostly under-$1000 pairs of boots looked like a bargain. You know, as straight faced as I can be when I say “boots,” “$1,000,” and “bargain” in the same sentence! And they are beautiful. If I were one to buy $900 boots – then this probable PR stunt would have lured me in for the sale….just as I speculate it was intended. You can not deny the great eye for detail that Reed has.
So, hats of to you Reed. You used an obnoxiously priced pair of boots, that is not even for sale on your website, and piqued curiosity across this depressed economy land. For now, I will simply marvel at your beautiful collection and wonder how good your sale prices will be….I think your past success is a testimony to your keen design and business sense, so my bet is that this line, even in this economy, is a smashing success.
So what do you think about this debut in the midst of this economy?
Further the conversation in our comments section….
Be sure to see our THIS WEEK section with fun things to do and places to shop…and a chance to win our FREE GIVEAWAY worth $250.
