Boutique label squares up with high end brands

SYDNEY: A Marrickville-based womenswear label looks set to take the boutique market by storm by undercutting the retail price of leading designer labels.
Manning Cartell - which launched for winter 2006 late last year and goes into stores on February 1 - is the brainchild of three sisters, Gabrielle, Cheryl and Vanessa Manning.
Manning Cartell sales and marketing director Gabrielle Manning said the siblings launched the label after recognising a gap in the market for a boutique collection priced between mid-market fashion labels such as Seduce and high-end brands like Zimmerman.
"A lot of girls want to buy boutique style clothes but they don't want to pay between $450 and $800 for a pair of pants.
"We buy beautiful fabrics featuring strong prints from Europe or the US but we ensure that the price remains attainable."
The range was locally made - "we are paying for premium make quality" - allowing for shorter runs and a more "hands-on" relationship with makers, Manning said.
Shoppers can expect to pay around $199 for a "beautifully" made dress", while the most expensive dress is priced around $550.
Around 12 items of the 25-piece collection - which includes dresses, pants, suiting, skirts and blouses - have already been snapped up by department store Myer for sale in key metropolitan outlets.
Around 70 independents across Australia - including Sydney store Incu and Melbourne boutiques Venus & Mars and Cactus Jam - had also "The stores are lapping it up because it looks like other high-end product but is much cheaper. I can't think of any other label out there that competes in that niche.
"We thought boutiques might be concerned about stocking the brand if Myer had it, but they [Myer and the boutiques] seem to buy differently from each other so there's no conflict."
Manning said the sisters hoped to open their first retail outlet in 2007, expanding to around four or five outlets in major Australian cities over the longer term.