Early orders for softwear heavier than makers expected. (lightly constructed sports coats) - Daily News Record

NEW YORK -- Fall '95 tailored clothing lines are open and the early exit polls are in: the soft, relaxed sport coat is the expected dark horse for next year.

To the surprise of many executives of many major companies, who never thought these soft sport coats would ever hit the big time, they report both department and specialty stores are jumping on them for next season.

And while everybody agrees that the percentages won't be tremendous -- about 20 to 30 percent of the sport coat classification -- they consider the ripple effect more important.

Clothing makers insist this new class of sport coat, appearing at all price points, will give the collections and sportswear departments some real heat next fall.

And they're adamant about keeping soft coats in clothing territory despite the fact that the construction varies wildly. On the one hand, there are the coats without chest pieces and shoulder pads. Then there are those with shoulder pads only. And some are fully, but very lightly, constructed.

One common denominator is that clothing buyers want lined coats, and that's what the market will be delivering next year. The preferred model has three buttons and usually three open patch pockets.

Meanwhile, most people are shying away from names such as unconstructed, casual or FridayWear -- or anything with a sportswear ring to describe these' new coats. The term soft, everybody insists, fills the bill.

Commenting on the sudden arrival of soft coats, Ron Wurtzburger, president, Peerless International, claims, 'For us, suits continue to be very strong, but the additional money coming in is for sport jackets and also for our new relaxed jackets. This is the one we're watching.

'We're making it without shoulder pads or a chest piece. But there is very light, soft fusing that gives the coat shape.'

Wurtzburger notes Peerless has versions in both its Kasper and Ralph by Ralph Lauren fines. 'The strongest response is coming from specialty stores. We're doing three-and four-button models in both these labels, and each has its own signature look.'

In his opinion, wearing relaxed coats for business doesn't also mean wearing a 'T-shirt and sneakers. We believe a man still has to look and dress appropriately. These coats aren't a replacement for regular suits or sport coats. They're a new category, and we're selling them this way.

'To me, the whole trick is the wa y these relaxed jackets are going to be displayed. We're telling our customers that they have to be handled separately. The smart retailer will show them with mock turtlenecks, banded collars and corduroy or whipcord slacks. This is not sloppy clothing.'

At Individualized Apparel Group, Peter Marziano, president, indicates, 'We opened the line a couple of weeks ago, and after working with Nordstrom and other majors, we found a lot more interest in sport coats -- and soft clothing.

'Soft is very important today because retailers want to bridge the gap between tailored and FridayWear. But many don't like this name. So we came up with the term `tailored softwear' to describe this clothing.

'We consider it a whole new classification.'

Marziano points out that that construction aside, 'You have to use drapey fabrics to achieve the kind of comfort the consumer is looking for. At the same time, we're also doing several constructions.

'The coat we're making at our Oritsky division eliminates both the chest piece and the shoulder: pads. It's softer than our H. Freeman model because it has less bind-tailoring.'

He notes that IAG is doing soft in both suits and sport coats. 'In Oritsky, soft is in its second season. We're just introducing it in Freeman. Our projection for soft at Oritsky is over 20 percent; and in Freeman, 7 percent. And we have soft trousers in our Keaton-Chase collection.'

Like many in the clothing market, Marziano concurs that the success of soft jackets will depend on what retailers do with them.

'We feel that specialty stores will put soft coats in their regular clothing department. But when we work with the major department stores, we show them to the clothing buyers first, and then to the sportswear people.'

According to Sheldon Brody, chairman, Marcraft Clothes, 'We've worked with Dayton Hudson and the May Co., and we hear the sport coat business is on fire. And it's setting the tone for fall.

'In our fall '95 sport coat presentations, we're selling a lot of soft, drapey Biella goods with crepe effects. The coat's construction is still tailored and it has much softer fusibles and shoulder pads.'

Brody feels his own challenge is to decide whether or not 'to establish a separate division for minimum-constructed coats that will fit into sportswear or clothing departments. 'Were told by our customers that they don't want to mix tailored coats even with a softer construction with the less-tailored sport jackets that are sold at the Gap or Banana Republic.'

At George Weintraub & Sons, Joe Gordon, corporate senior vice-president, declares, 'We're already writing on two items: cashmere-blend blazers, because of the sensational sell-through this season; and second, soft sport coats, which are new for us.

Describing how the coats are made, he notes, 'They're still fully lined because the American consumer wants it that way. But we left out the chest piece and used a lighter fusible and softer shoulder pads.

'The garment still looks like a sport coat, but it feels like a sweater. We're doing it in a three-button model with a, sloping soft shoulder and in very drapable fabrics, such as cashmere blends, silk/lambswool, washed shetland.'

Gordon notes that these coats are taking off with department stores, and the buyers are talking about using them as the base for a new soft clothing department. The other approach, he adds, is to show the jackets in the regular sport coat department, but give them better visibility on freestanding four-way fixtures.

His parting shot: 'I think they're going to be a much larger, percentage of our business than we originally projected -- not 50 percent, but as much as 15 to 20 percent of our sport coats.'

Another company offering soft sport coats without a chest piece, but with a soft shoulder pad is James Edmond. Observes Stewart Golden, president, 'We've gotten a strong reaction from both specialty and department stores.

'They're looking at it to fit into their sport coat mix. Nobody seems to want to refer to the coats as FridayWear because many retailers feel it means unconstructed sportswear. And this isn't what these soft coats are all about. They're meant to be sold in clothing departments, not sportswear.'

He declares that the choice of fabrics 'makes all the difference. We're using drapey, textured fabrics that give the jackets support without the chest piece, plus the soft look everybody's talking about.

'It's too early to project how big our soft coats business will be, but I feel they could amount to 30 percent of our fall sport coats.'

And that's not bad for openers.