Even in hard times, soft still sells at Pur Cashmere

Leslie Deane Roth is a master of the soft sell.
Cashmere, to be precise. Many of the blankets, throws, pillow covers, scarves and other items she offers through Palm Desert-based Pur Cashmere LLC are made of fine cashmere fibers combed from Mongolian goats each spring after the animals endured hard winters.

Such culling is labor-intensive, so durable cashmere is expensive.

“Right now, people are very price-conscious,” Roth said. “People maybe can't afford to buy a new sofa, but they'll buy a throw, a new bedspread. It brightens up your life, but it's not that expensive.”

When the recession altered consumers' attitudes and prompted many to be more value-oriented, Roth helped design and create a blend of soft yarns. They're made from the heart of bamboo plants and cashmere fibers, have a similar look and feel of pure cashmere, but are less expensive.

Roth was able to engineer the yarns based on three decades of experience in the textile industry.

She started in Los Angeles, eventually becoming one of the first women to source textile materials for large companies in Asia. She worked with suppliers to import cashmere items from Mongolia even though most of them didn't speak English at the time.

In 2005, Roth decided to break out on her own. She surprised many in her family by launching Pur Cashmere with $10,000 she borrowed against equity in her Boston home.

She was confident in her vision for the company.

“It took off, and I haven't had to borrow money since,” Roth said.

“I figured either it will grow organically or I'll close shop.”

Roth moved to the desert this spring and bought a mid-century home in Palm Desert.
She has grandchildren in the San Deigo area and decided to establish her business at a warehouse suite on Joni Drive.

Pur Cashmere offers nearly 50 products billed as “refined luxury for modern lifestyles.”

Her core customers are mostly 25- to 45-year-olds from across America and beyond.

Pur Cashmere supplies several local specialty retailers, including Tuverson & Co., and Jolie Maison — both in Palm Desert.
“We just had a big buy from Amazon,” said Roth, noting online sales have been brisk at her website purcashmere.com.

Roth is planning a warehouse sale in March.

Finding inspiration
Although the small warehouse suite just off Cook Street has no company sign, Roth and three employees spend days filling customer orders.

They're surrounded by colorful stacks of shawls, wraps, driving blankets and other items.

There are honeysuckle and chocolate chiffon ribbons, plaid scarves of cocoa, gold and blue, crème ultrawool Jacquard throws.

Roth has designed many of the cashmere, bamboo and other blended items, which are made in Mongolia and shipped here.

Although the cashmere industry is comparatively small, the product has held up well despite difficulties in many key markets because it's viewed as high-quality, “extremely light, yet extraordinarily warm,” said Michael Duck, executive vice president with trade fair organizer UBM Asia Ltd., which put on the Cashmere World event in October in Beijing.

“The majority of cashmere comes from northern China,” Duck said.

Roth finds inspiration to design her products at museums and through art. She attended graduate school in Boston and studied architecture and museum studies.

Roth said Californians tend to embrace brighter colors.

“You go into somebody's house and say, ‘What would fit in here?' You think of colors.”

Roth works with Asian suppliers to create the colors and designs, often communicating late at night because of the time difference.

Nowadays, most younger Asian managers not only speak English but are business-savvy and understand American nuances, she said.

“They're very personable,” Roth said.

“I know their families, when they're getting married, their children. They're very hard-working and resourceful, and I have a lot of respect for them.”
By Mike Perrault

Proper care for your leather and exotic skin fashion investments

by Celine Gabriel

Every stylista knows the value of a good piece of skin, whether that be leather, snakeskin, croc, alligator or ostrich, etc. With proper care, these investment pieces will age gracefully and can be made to last a lifetime.
Here are some tips on how to care for your special leather items:
Probably the most important part of caring for these special items is how we store it. Never store the items in non-breathable materials, such as plastic, as this will dry up the leather.
Avoid very humid and dry environments. This shortens the life expectancy of your leather.
If the item gets wet, allow it to dry out naturally, away from any heat source which can damage the skin’s natural oils. Excessive dryness can cause the skin to crack, while excessive moisture will cause mildew.
Treat your leather with a conditioner (you can buy this in any department store) every 6 months to restore flexibility and proper moisture levels.
For suede and nubuck, wipe it off with a terry cloth towel to restore its look.
When it comes to more exotic skins, like python, croc and alligator for instance, special attention must be given to its cleaning, which cannot be treated by traditional leather products. Particularly with python, which is a type of snakeskin, the scales will eventually dry out and curl up off the bag. Considering the cost of python, proper care for you snakeskin item is most important in order for it to last years in good condition.
Here are some tips on how to care for your special exotic skin items:

• Dampen a small piece of cloth with warm water and wipe down your snakeskin item, smoothing in the direction of the scales to avoid lifting them up.

• Pat the item dry with a towel as excess wetness can cause the skin to darken.

• If you need to clean beneath the scales, clean each individual scale gently with a cotton swab, being careful not to lift it any more than necessary.

• Dry the bag in a cool, dark place. Do not speed dry with a source of heat as this will cause the scales to dry out and lift faster.

• Once dry, apply an exotic skin conditioner, again smoothing in the direction of the scales.

• For crocodile and alligator leather, use the same method of wiping the item down with a damp piece of cloth, patting it dry with a towel, drying the bag in a cool, dark place and then applying an exotic skin conditioner.

Comment, questions, suggestions? Please email me at celine_gabriel_column@yahoo.com

Fur on the Catwalk

By Vanessa Friedman
There was one trend in Milan that overwhelmed all others. One trend that surpassed, say, a love of 1970s shades like purple, teal and mustard, or an embrace of tuxedo dressing, or a strange attraction to gold pleated palazzo pants, all trends which appeared on many, but not every, runway. This trend showed up on nearly every catwalk and in nearly every presentation and next season, like it or not, will be impossible to ignore.

That trend was fur, and though some of it was fake (see Prada and Bottega Veneta) and some of it was “eco” (see Emporio Armani, though what exactly “eco” fur is was never defined), most of it was very, very real.

Now, before you go and say, “But there is fur on the runway every autumn/winter, especially in Milan, home of traditional skins houses,” know this: even given that truth, it is still impossible to remember a season that involved so much animal attraction. The lone hold-outs were Jil Sander, where Raf Simons was busy exploring the technical side of skiwear and couture, and Valextra, where the newest launch was the “Madison”, a cross between a structured handbag and a briefcase. But everywhere else, as far as the eye could see: fox and raccoon and chinchilla and mink and sable and skunk. And not just on coats.

There were floor-length fur skirts at Giorgio Armani; intarsia furs at Versace; furs in all colours of the rainbow at Gucci; fur bibs at Prada. There were sheepskin spike-heeled boots and big smooshy bags at Bally; Mongolian lamb cross-body totes at Furla and Mongolian lamb sleeves on cashmere sweaters at Ballantyne; mink fur booties at Jimmy Choo; and mink stiletto sandals at René Caovilla. There were even matching white fox bags and boots at Tod’s. A girl could be forgiven for thinking she had taken a wrong turn at the catwalks and wandered on to the set of Wild Kingdom.

The question, of course, is why, and for that we go to Tommaso Bruso, the chief executive of Furla. “It’s the perception of value,” he said. “Brands need to show consumers what they are paying for, and this is one way to do it: by investing heavily in materials.”

But aren’t they afraid of a backlash? Before the shows, the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) sent around a group mailing describing, in graphic terms, the problems they saw with fur, and young actresses/role models such as Natalie Portman and Emma Watson are vocally anti-fur.
The answer, pretty much everywhere, was: “no”. They did their due diligence, they are satisfied with their suppliers, the ethical questions were asked and answered. Get ready for things to heat up, in every sense of the word.
For more news on the shows, visit Vanessa Friedman’s blog, www.ft.com/materialworld

Kate Moss dominates in Leather

By Jodie Thomson

Just 24 hours after hitting the town for London Fashion Week and ditching her dress halfway through the night, Kate Moss made another serious fashion statement as she headed out to the NME awards.

Never one to disappoint in the fashion stakes, the model this time chose to cover it all up - in a floor length black leather dress. 

The supermodel, 37, paired the dominatrix inspired frock with a black blazer and black patent stilettos as she headed over to the Brixton Academy, accompanied by her rockstar beau Jamie Hince for the music magazines annual bash.

Kate has been a prominent face on the London social scene this week and had another busy day of it following her raucous night earlier this week. Then she started off at Number 10 Downing Street, ended up minus a dress, plus a kebab with an added fracas on the side courtesy of fiancé Jamie and some photographers.

Buy up fur before it's too late!

Fur sales soar amid fears over rising pelt prices - despite PETA protests at New York Fashion Week

By JENNIFER MADISON

Animal rights group PETA may have been using New York Fashion Week to protest against the use of fur, but their aggressive campaigns don't seem to have had an impact on sales.

Demand for animal skins is higher than ever, according to industry insiders, who credit the surge in sales to designers who increasingly use them in collections, and interest from China, which is responsible for 70 per cent of global fur sales.  

But the growing trend for fur is sparking a rise in wholesale prices, with a predicted increase of 15-20 per cent this year.

Animal magic: Fur is soaring in price as trend-setting labels like Michael Kors fuel Chinese demand, which is responsible for 70 per cent of global sales

The average price of some mink pelts has climbed as high as 20 per cent in the past two months alone, according to data quoted in the New York Post.

And designers have reported that the finest quality pelts are commanding prices of up to 50 per cent more than usual.

The spike in the cost of fur follows a 10 per cent rise in 2010, a spokesman from North American Fur Auctions revealed.

Retailers are expected to cope with the increase by passing it on to shoppers.

Intermix CEO Khajak Keledjian told the paper: 'People are ordering their fur earlier in the season than ever because they're afraid of what they'll have to pay if they wait until the following week.'

PETA launched a series of campaigns against the use of fur this week, in a bid to harness attention from the press in New York for Fashion Week.

The animal rights group unveiled several celebrity-endorsed posters that bore the tagline: 'Fur? I'd rather go naked.'

And Project Runway's Tim Gunn backed a new bid to ban the use of animal pelts at New York Fashion Week on Friday.

He said: 'I'm on a campaign to get as many fashion designers as possible to stop using it. I'd just like to sit with them and have a talk and ask: "Is it really necessary?"'

PETA also threatened to storm designer Donna Karan's headquarters in Manhattan during fashion week with the excruciating sound of screaming rabbits in protest of her use of the animals' skins.

Fur continues to be heavily favoured by the fashion set however, with the industry's matriarch, Anna Wintour, regularly spotted in fur coats.

And if the latest collections are any indication, it appears fashion designers are using fur more than ever, with Michael Kors and Oscar de la Renta using it in their collections.

Animal skins aren't the only thing affecting designers' production costs. Earlier this week it was revealed the cost of cotton was set to soar as well.

Rising costs of labour and raw materials were said to be to blame.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1357993/Fur-sales-soar-despite-PETA-protests-amid-fears-rising-pelt-prices.html#ixzz1EaMKL8rm

Sharon Stone in Fur

She may be 52, but that certainly does not mean Sharon Stone has taken her finger off the fashion pulse.

The actress has unveiled a wardrobe filled with quirky vintage-style pieces as she enjoys a promotional tour for her new movie in Paris. 

From fur cuffs to interesting hats, she has made a statement with every outfit. 

Just last night the blonde beauty left the Le Gourmet Des Ternes restaurant dressed in a 20's style lace dress and chequered fur-collared coat, paired with a flapper style hat and gloves.

Accessorising with diamonds and bejewelled high-heels, she topped off the look with bright-red lip-stick smile.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1347281/Sharon-Stone-rocks-vintage-look-tours-Paris-promote-new-movie.html#ixzz1BHuN1TKj

Bottega Veneta's Bright Leather Show for Men

MILAN — Whether sporty or elegant, bland or bright, in leather or fabric, Bottega Veneta is a class act.

Designer Tomas Maier doesn't believe in logos — "when your own initials are enough" is the company's motto — and yet his unfussy, streamlined style is always recognizable.

Although an innovator, Maier goes along with the rest of the pack currently showing their winter 2011-2012 menswear in Milan by offering a cheery palette for the next round of cold weather fashion.

Lobster red, electric blue, plum purple and acid yellow shared the limelight Sunday with staple black and brown for boiled wool jackets with slim lapels over super-soft leather pants.

The overall silhouette is cut close to the body but does not hug it. Coats are usually double-breasted, with the duffel coat the favourite look. Zipper detailing often replaces complicated buttoning.

Maier has lots of shirts in the new collection, but not a single tie. Worn under a jacket or cardigan with shawl collar, the shirts are primly buttoned at the neck.

The company started as a leather manufacturer, and the latest Bottega bag is a small leather duffel.

In keeping with the label's discreet style, shoes are sporty but never aggressive. Short boots, often worn over pants, is the new favourite look.

Copyright © 2011 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.