Instead of just getting annoyed that she never could find an ample supply of simple, timeless clothing in natural fibers, Eileen Fisher got busy.
The graphic and interior designer took $350, hired a sewing expert to execute some of her ideas for a 1984 New York boutique trade show. She got $3,000 worth of orders. Five months later, she went to another trade show and got $40,000 more. “I had this idea of simple pieces that worked together,” says Fisher.
Now Fisher, 42, who grew up in Des Plaines, has her own New York stores. Plus, her understated styles are sold in specialty and department stores. In 1992, her designs generated $14 in net sales.
Four silhouettes that were in Fisher’s original group of designs remain some of her top-selling pieces. They include a cropped pant, a boxy top, vest and tank shell. She has some 20 basic designs that she reinterprets in a variety of fabrics and colors. Prices range from $60 for a cotton tunic to about $150 for a silk jacket.
“I like the garment to be really simple, but the fabric to be wonderful,” she says. These include raw silk, silk herringbone, heavy peasant-weave linen, lightweight linen and soft cotton knits. The fabrics are fluid and the colors soft.
Her clothes coordinate with each other, season after season. “Part of the idea is a protest against constant change in fashion,” Fisher says.
Her aim is for women to use her fashions-in varying cobinations-to create unique looks.
“Instead of people feeling like they are wearing Eileen Fisher,” she says, “they are creating their own style.”
Where to buy
Aqua silk cord jacket, $155; wrap skirt, $105; ivory silk tank, $85; almond silk herringbone jacket, $160; banana silk herringbone vest, $90; steel blue linen wrap skirt, $120; ivory silk charmeuse tank, $60; banana silk herringbone trousers, $140; oatmeal linen vest, $90; oatmeal linen cropped pants, $130; ivory pima cotton tank, $30; dove-colored linen/cotton sweater, $120; shrimp pique vest, $58; ivory knit tank, $50; bamboo silk trousers, $58; available at Marshall Field & Co., Neiman-Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Art Effect, Clothes Minded. For additional information on the availability of clothing, call 212-944-0808. Matte gold Robert Lee Morris drop earrings, $170; knotted earrings, $155; from Saks Fifth Avenue.
