IN London during the past few months, there has been much talk of an American invasion, as some of the biggest fashion names in the United States open outlets in prime locations such as Bond Street. Over here, Dublin has been experiencing a similar incursion, coming not from across the Atlantic Ocean but from our neighbours on the other side of the Irish Sea. British retailers, their own markets completely saturated, have discovered the advantages of opening outlets in Ireland and the capital is their first port of call. There are now few major players in Britain's collection of chain stores who have yet to take premises in Dublin.
Latest to join this rush is Debenhams, a long established English family company, the origins of which date back to 1813 when William Debenham entered a trade partnership with Thomas Clark and opened a clothing store in London's West End. The Debenhams expansion began early in the last century when additional outlets were opened in Harrogate and Cheltenham but the branch which starts trading next Friday at Dublin's new Jervis Shopping Centre is the company's first outside the UK.
Despite the size of its business (in 1994, for example, recorded sales were worth more than £910 million), Debenhams has tended to have a reputation as a mass market outlet fine for cheap and cheerful purchases but not really the choice of the discerning shopper. But that image is rapidly changing, thanks to a policy of inviting well known designers to produce ranges exclusively for Debenhams. Philip Treacy, for example, designs a range of hats every season, while Ben de Lisi offers both lingerie and eveningwear. Their reputation for excellence enhances the popular perception of Debenhams, which in turn provides an opportunity for designers to reach a wider customer base.
The most recent addition to this stellar roster of names is Jasper Conran, whose first line of clothing for Debenhams made its debut at the end of August. Without any pre publicity or marketing J, as the collection is called, was an immediate and stunning success; on the day the clothes made their debut in London, a simple black shift dress in wool crepe sold out entirely and to date J has surpassed target sales by some 800 per cent. These results may have come as a (delightful) surprise to Debenhams's accountants, but Conran himself seems remarkably unfazed, probably because sales of his own, mainline collections have soared over the past couple of years. "I'm 25 times bigger now than I was in the 1980s," he says.
But wasn't Jasper Conran the big name in British fashion during the previous decade? According to the designer, while he appeared to be enjoying bumper sales (and equally substantial publicity), his business at the time was actually much less prosperous than it is now. "I suppose what I've done in the 1990s is consolidate the business," is how he explains no longer holding twice yearly shows or giving innumerable interviews. But a lower public profile would not seem to have affected Conran's popularity with loyal customers, whose number has been greatly increased thanks to his recent association with Debenhams. He believes that such a connection is in no way damaging to his own name ranges. "If I'm a good designer, then the work should translate. I'm very happy to have wider appeal."
In many respects, there is no great difference between a Jasper Con ran dress and one included in the Debenhams J line. The ranges are complementary rather than competitive. "You have to take into account that the cloth I use for my own collection is a great deal more expensive and it's made in much smaller volume." But the J clothes do not use cheap fabrics and while obviously less expensive than a main line Jasper Conran garment, the prices of the Debenhams collection pieces would never be considered especially low. The best selling wool crepe shift dress, for example, retails at £100, a dip dyed silk tunic costs - £90, a full length wool coat £250 and a long velvet evening dress £150. "I suppose my main line has slightly more bias towards eveningwear," proposes Conran before going on to suggest that the J range "is very much aimed at the career woman; we're getting multiple sales as customers basically buy little capsule collections for themselves." Typically, a woman will purchase a jacket and matching dress, followed by a pair of trousers which can be teamed with the jacket to make a suit.
"I see these clothes as if I were buying them for myself," says Conran, adding that the managing director of his own company now wears J pieces into work all the time. He agrees that by working with Debenhams he is helping not just himself but the British chain too "the problem with Debenhams is one of perception rather than reality." If, as seems likely, Irish women follow the example of their English counterparts and rush to buy from the J range, then the reputations of both Jasper Conran and Debenhams will be enhanced.