February 2008
While consumers survey the fresh crop of spring fashion now popping up in stores, Bryant Park fast-forwards to fall by offering industry insiders a sneak-peek of the fall 08 fashions-to-come. Payless ShoeSource is again on the New York Fashion Week scene with guest designers Laura Poretzky, Lela Rose and Stacey Bendet to unveil the retailer's designer footwear and handbag collections for fall, which will hit stores beginning August 2008 for under $45 an item.
Shoppers can soon satisfy their designer-for-less appetites for spring. The spring 08 Abaete for Payless, Lela Rose for Payless and alice + olivia for Payless collections will be available in just a few weeks at select Payless stores and Payless.com. These bold designer lines featuring runway looks for less will continue full force at Payless. The alice + olivia spring line is Stacey Bendet's first collection for Payless with summer and fall lines forthcoming. The collections for Rose and Poretzky will continue at Payless stores for several more seasons.
Payless is on a mission to democratize fashion and design in footwear and accessories. The Payless Designer Collections -- seasonal lines of original footwear and handbags created by fashion designers -- are a key piece of that strategy.
"We are thrilled to be with our three designers at the nation's premier fashion event -- New York Fashion Week," said Matt Rubel, chief executive officer for Payless ShoeSource. "Our Guest Designer program is truly unique in the industry. Each designer has a distinctive design vocabulary that results in three very different collections in our stores. There is no limit to the designer's creativity; they produce the designs and we create the shoes for their Fashion Week runway shows, and then commercialize those looks for Payless stores.
"It's a win for all -- customers get access to great designs and original runway style at a great price; the designers are supported, gain a new platform for their creativity, as well as broader access to their designs; and Payless is able to offer true Designer Collections -- among the most widely distributed designer footwear labels in America today."
Unveiled today at the Abaete runway show and mirroring her inspirations for the fall 08 ready-to-wear (RTW) line, Laura Poretzky's eighth shoe and accessory collection for Payless will incorporate medieval influences such as metal and stud detailing combined with soft silhouettes that channel '30s designer Madam Gres. The interplay of hard and soft textures will pop with a robust range of colors inspired by James McNeill Whistler's Peacock Room. Two pumps, a bootie, and two handbags styles will hit the runway in black, brown, midnight blue, armor grey, copper and pewter featuring draped, pleated satins and crepes combined with leather trim and perfectly placed pewter and copper studs.
The fall 08 Lela Rose collection focuses on the venturesome woman characterized by modern agility. Rose's "Sporty Cocktail" inspiration has been a strong theme in her Payless shoe collection and factors heavily into her fifth collection for Payless. The designer presents an elegant twist on "sport" with a sophisticated palette of vibrant colors such as mallard green, cardinal red, and goldfinch. Four pumps, a wedge and two flat styles hit the runway with Lela's signature focus on interesting and unique fabrics, such as casual ribbed wool with elegant satin combinations.
Next Thursday, Stacey Bendet will reveal her third shoe collection with Payless at a presentation at the alice + olivia store across from Bryant Park. Bendet presents her fall 08 RTW via a "Breakfast in Bed" theme that showcases four different alice + olivia women at their sexiest moments in the morning. Bendet's footwear collection combines '60s pop colors, '70s silhouette references and brocade and silk fabrications to add edge to the feminine apparel. The shoes include four boots, a mary jane wedge and a mary jane flat. The footwear transcends across all the RTW looks in the fall collection, punctuating each outfit with unique silhouettes, strong styling details, bold colors and high shine with patent and laminated fabrics.
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