Lizzie Tisch and Kim Kassel shown here with designers Shaun Leane and Todd Lynn during their event last season.
s the economy shrank into a recession in 2008, the pair noticed that stores were placing smaller and smaller orders from designers, and trunk shows were becoming much more limited—until they devolved into mere expansions on the buyers’ buys. “It was frustrating because, with [the advent of] the internet and everyone seeing the shows immediately, you would see all those fabulous pieces that were going down the runway or appearing in editorial; and you would have no access to them as a regular person,” explains Kassel. Having recognized this problem, the two women decided to combine Kassel’s experience in private client sales with their mutual love of and savvy about designers and their clothing lines, and combine these interests into a business. Two years of planning followed before they opened the doors to Suite 1521. It’s 80 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • MARCH 2014
“We want somebody who maybe isn’t a size 2, who doesn’t fit perfectly into everything, to come here and say, ‘I have found a line of clothing that really works for me, and the designer was really sweet, was able to change a sleeve or take out the waist.’” —Kim Kassel
named literally for its suite number 1521 at 980 Madison—and joins hardly shabby neighbors like the Gagosian Gallery at the famed upper Madison Avenue building. The concept is simple: Bring directly to consumers designers who are under-distributed, or don’t have a point of sale in New York or have large collections that are not fully represented by any of their other carriers. The process is equally simple: One becomes a member by paying an annual fee of $500, which grants you access to the calendar of designers. You are then able to claim an appointment to view, try on and shop the full collection,
But what’s the benefit to the designers? “That to me has been the most interesting and certainly the most fun part,” says Tisch. “Finding the designers is sort of my passion; I love finding what’s new, what’s interesting. I don’t like going to parties and seeing [someone else] in a similar dress that I just spent $4,000 on.” So the partners began to look for what was new and unique. First came the British designers: “They’re a very nice community. They’re all friends, so they have been very supportive of us and of each other, and have introduced us to all of their networks. It was like
LESLYE KOHL
from the collection, versus what the stores bought,” says Tisch. Kassel elaborates: “The rest of the story is that Lizzie would come down and pick, usually, the piece that no store had ordered, and I would’ve loved it also. And [the brand] would say to me, ‘Okay we need to sell five of these in order for us to produce them.’ So we’d be sitting there and we’d both order them, and then we’d be like, ‘Okay, we have to find three more people to get to buy the coat!’”
semi-privately, with the designer or the designer’s team present, along with a tailor and, often, the option to customize. “I think the other benefit to us is the customer service; we really feel that has disappeared a little bit, and we want people to feel comfortable here,” says Kassel. She and Tisch are always present and have established trusting relationships with both the designers and the members— facilitating an atmosphere where nobody is overselling and nobody is feeling pressure to buy. “We want somebody who maybe isn’t a size 2, who doesn’t fit perfectly into everything, to come here and say, ‘I have found a line of clothing that really works for me, and the designer was really sweet, was able to change a sleeve or take out the waist,’” Kassel continues. “I also think it’s nice for the customer to meet the designer, to understand, ‘Why does that jacket cost $2,000?’“