Buried, as usual, in today's WWD, was the heartbreaking news that Jane Mayle is closing her business after 10 years. The 2009 resort collection, due to hit stores in November, will be her last; her Elizabeth Street store in Nolita will close in February. Mayle is closing up not due to the bad economy but due to the fact that she has become disenchanted with the fashion industry in general:Yet she was turned off by the ever-accelerating fashion system, its out-of-whack delivery cycle and the pressures to cave into the importance placed on media hype that can sometimes be counterproductive.
“It seems like a commercial cul-de-sac in a way that the customer gets tired before the collections even hit stores,” Mayle said. “How I came to this business was all about dreaming and building a wardrobe you would be seduced by. That mystery and remoteness and insouciance have disappeared from fashion in order to accelerate the product. I feel I have just become another cog in that machinery.”
The demands, she added, affected her ability to get her hands on the quality fabrics she sought, for instance.
“It’s become so overaccelerated that I felt the only way to make things meaningful is to stop doing them,” she said.
I, for one, am incredibly sad about this, as Mayle is one of my favorite labels (albeit, one that used to be somewhat affordable, but has nearly doubled in price in recent years). I'm guessing that there will be some sort of blowout sale at the shop before it closes, but until then, I suggest stocking up on Mayle while you have the chance.
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