FUTURE OF ROCK & REPUBLIC

From the models, to the clothes, to the no expense spared runway show, Rock & Republic’s fashion shows are always on people’s not-to-be-missed lists. All that glitz, glam, and flash though comes with a steep cost for the premium denim and sportswear company. The Wall Street Journal, in fact, is reporting that the costs are usually somewhere between $1 million and $3 million. As with most other fashion brands these days however, talks have been all about scaling back. President and co-founder of the Los Angeles based brand Andrea Bernholtz told the Wall Street Journal “we’re definitely trying to keep our costs down. It’s a different world that we’re living in now – extravagance is vulgar at this time.”

On that note, it was recently announced that Rock & Republic decided to cancel their New York show -- which has typically been staged at either one of the Cipriani restaurant locations or at the Fashion Week tents at Bryant Park in front of 1000-plus guests – the company is instead choosing to do a considerably smaller and more low-key presentation. The fall 2009 Rock &.Republic presentation and party will take place in Paris during their March fashion week.

Why Paris? Ms. Bernholtz told the WSJ that her label has been throwing parties during Paris’s fashion week since fall 2007 in order to reach out to press and buyers from Europe, Asia and the Middle East as the U.S. economy began to show signs of slowing down. The glitzy Parisian parties have been held in such fancy digs as Eiffel Tower and have cost between $300,000 and $500,000 in the past.

In addition to scaling back their Fashion Week show, the company will be launching less pricey options for the spring. Namely, pairs of $130 limited-edition jeans, a price-point that is $50 less than the typical starting point for their premium denim jeans.

Images courtesy of the Fashion Spot forums.