SYDNEY: The former general manager of Seduce has ramped up the scale of his own retail and wholesale venture, resulting in a new deal with department store David Jones.
David Harris runs mixed label boutique Verve and womenswear line White Verve, both of which have undergone a transformation to compete in a more designer-driven market.
“We are not super high-end but we are doing better quality product and that’s where we want White Verve to sit,” he said.
Designed by Maria Maung, the White Verve label started with a small offer in 2008, but summer 2010 will reveal a sleeker, more luxurious look and higher quality fabrics. David Jones has picked up the brand for the first time, to appear in each of its capital city stores from July.
Harris said the label will complement trends yet retain an independent signature for confident consumers.
“There are a lot of [brands] out there who fly to Europe, go shopping, come home via China or Hong Kong and tweak it [trends] for the Australian market,” he said. “But with the blogs and people like the Sartorialist, they are allowing girls and guys to feel they don’t have to do what is exactly on trend.”
Themed Desert Rose, the summer collection features silk dresses and tops with touches of edgy embellishment.
Colours include hot pink, tangelo and teal, scaled back with black, white, grey, khaki and nude. Prices range from $150 to $220 for tops and $250 to $350 for dresses. In addition to David Jones, the summer range will be stocked in 60 accounts nationally. Manufacturing is done in China, Bali and India, with four collections created each year.
Harris, who has also worked for Oroton Group, opened the first Verve retail store in August 2007 in Westfield in Bondi Junction before relocating to Paddington in October 2009. This enabled design, management and retail to operate under one roof.
In addition to White Verve, the store stocks independent men’s and women’s labels including Fernando Frisoni, Two Blocks South, Beat Poet, Jessie Hill and Nylon Flocks by Nicola Finetti, among others.
Harris said he will look into expanding into more Verve retail stores across Sydney and Melbourne over the next few years. The website is due to be relaunched in July to complement the image upgrade.
Melinda Oliver