Erin Barr’s Delicate Balance

The fashion industry is saturated with designers who present a collection for a season or two and fade into fashion Never Land. Sample sales and expanding discount retail giant Century 21’s racks are stocked full of merchandise from collections that were on the radar for a short time and have now gone belly up.

Where is Christian Cota, Andrew Buckler, Simon Spurr or Elene Cassis?  Take note of all the fashion designers that have gone through Project Runway’s hallowed and much-heralded doors, never to be heard of again by the fashion consumer.

Erin Barr is one of those burgeoning designers that won’t be denied, focusing her brand on long-term retail viability. Though her garments have been seen on the likes of Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and Nicole Ritchie, as well as getting rounds of approval from Vogue Italia, Elle, and style.com, Barr  has had some mountains to climb—she presented her fall 2014 collection to only a few editors and buyers. Still, every season Erin Barr presents a collection that demonstrates that she is evolving in the right direction.  “I have learned a lot in the past year and I really believe my approach to design is maturing. When you first start a company your signature voice is still evolving. Now, I want to offer my customer more range in design and silhouette,” explains Barr.

And she is doing just that for the fall 2014 season. From oversized coats to more streamlined silhouettes that still emphasize Erin’s penchant for asymmetrical cuts, Erin Barr has a firm hand on what works for her customer. “[My customer] has a full career, she is creative, likes nice quality in her clothes, but doesn’t want to break the bank with her purchases … I like restrained silhouettes and oversized things like disappearing in a big coat or sweater. And that is where I was coming from in this collection, the idea of comfort in oversized garments,” details Barr.

Like most designers who have not yet acquired household name recognition, Barr is always looking for that delicate balance between her creative oeuvre and what consumers want to purchase. “A lot of the things you see on the runway don’t have market value, but those kinds of pieces in a collection are necessary because it demonstrates that the designer has range and is thinking outside of the box.   We don’t want to bore [fashion insiders] by creating the same looks every season. That said; it is important to have a good mix. At the end of the day, your clothes have to sell. Designers have to make pieces that are more marketable and speak to the way people live their lives. It is a definite challenge to find that delicate balance,” Barr contends.

And the current demand by major retailers for more collections each year has made finding that delicate balance more difficult. “I made the mistake once of trying to create too many collections. You have to do what you can handle. It would be great to create four or more collections, but as a young brand it is more important to have strong collections each year instead of watered down collections just to satisfy a major retailer,” explains Barr.

Still, Erin Barr seems to have found her niche by creating affordable, high-quality garments for that woman that wants comfort with a nod toward fashion-forward detailing. “My design aesthetic speaks to the way I dress. I like to be comfortable and there should be a certain ease of movement to the clothing with an overall mood of tomboy meets sexy; a juxtaposition of masculine and feminine.”

Erin Barr’s clothing line is sold in her online boutique, and in specialty stores nationwide and internationally.

—William S. Gooch