In my last post chronicling my path as a designer, I discussed the planning and execution of the presentation.
After the presentation, my friend Michelle (who was helping me with operations at the time) and I started talking to different stores about carrying the line. At the time, Emily, one of the girls who had helped me produce the presentation, was working at Henri Bendel, which would have been an ideal outlet for the line. She helped us set up a meeting with one of the women's buyers. We took the collection to the Bendel offices on 5th avenue, and she agreed the line would be a great fit for the store because it was colorful and youthful. We decided to set up a trunk show for June. I was very excited as it would have been a great opportunity for Graey.
Note that I said would have. We solidified the details in late April, but soon after I saw a NYTimes article announcing that Bendel's would stop carrying clothing in favor of focusing on their accessories business. Alarmed because I was about to start production for the trunk show, I tried to contact the buyer and got radio silence when I tried emailing and calling. I got in touch with Emily who informed me that without a warning, the entire clothing buying department had been let go the day before the article came out.
Desperately, I called the main corporate office at Henri Bendel and got in touch with a VP who informed me that there would be no trunk show. I was devastated to say the least, and tried to figure out what to do next.
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