Eileen Fisher’s Styles Get Facelift

Thursday 29th of October 2009 11:56:01 PM

Eileen Fisher’s Styles Get Facelift

When you visit the Eileen Fisher fashion showroom there are sure to be some trendy t-shirts, tunics and vests. Of course these aren’t the practical t-shirts worn to school or work or to lounge around the home. Eileen Fisher is a style icon who caters to older women. The t-shirts in the fashion collection are colorful and trendy and cost more than the practical versions.

But Eileen Fisher has been catering to older women for decades and now the company wants to update the merchandise while still catering to the clientele that made the brand successful. Shoppers will abandon a brand if they feel the designer has abandoned them.

One of the interesting facts about the Eileen Fisher line of clothing is that nothing much changes from year to year. This has been a successful choice with the company adding 7 stores in the last year during a recession. While other retailers are showing 20 percent revenue declines, Eileen Fisher’s reported 8 percent. It is primarily due to a loyal customer base.

So what will be in the new lines? There will be closer fitting designs, new textured materials, brighter colors, and other changes. What the designer discovered by watching women assemble wardrobes is that they like to mix and match in an unpredictable and eclectic way. So the new styling will accommodate this desire the customers have to create their own signature look. The redesigned merchandise will be displayed next to some trendier brands too in the department stores.

So far the new clothes seem to be popular. Long time customers recognize the changes but say they are not drastic. And because the brand now has the pieces that can be layered, younger women are starting to take an interest in the clothing line.