The 'Anne Forgarty' label has long been a fashion find for vintage collectors. Always well made, distinctive and feminine, her designs captured the look for many women over the span of decades between WWII and the late 1970's.
More recently, this brand has been making news and co-founders have been preparing to revive this label in the style that it assumed during its height. Greg Halvorsen first contacted me to get my comments on the historical label. He has kept in contact with many of us who sell vintage or write about it online. Ivana Lo Stimolo, the other co-founder, has designed a set of debut dresses for this revival.
In the current fashion, these new dresses will be available via a Kickstarter pledge campaign that has a 30 day run only this month (June 2014). The Kickstarter site has a nice video and shows photos of each dress, so you can now see what design direction this new company is heading in, HERE.
While I feel that these new designs are lovely, and would be delighted to own and wear any one of them, as a fashion educator, I also would have liked the Kickstarter proposal to discuss the business aspect of this undertaking, so I am left with some valid questions: Who is the targget customer and where will she find this label for sale? What are the retail price points for the collection once it is developed each season? How many designs per season will the company ideally produce? Where will these be produced (off shore or in the US?).
So, my hats off to Halvorsen and Stimolo for venturing in the the fashion arena with a collection that more than hints of vintage quality and style. I hope your venture grows into a solid, dependable brand that we will love to wear.
While waiting for this collection to arrive, look for wonderful vintage items on Etsy under the "Anne Fogarty" vintage label.
Anne Fogarty, c. late 1960's, Cotton Pique
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Anne Taylor, c. 1950's, Black Wool Crepe with Embroidery in Black