ANNE KLEIN: BRINGING BACK THE LION

Even though we had all this strength [in terms of brand awareness], people had a very unformed emotional connection with Anne Klein," said Dee deVries Salomon, senior vice president, marketing and corporate communications at Anne Klein. "There wasn't a real perception of what Anne Klein meant. Anne Klein went through numerous designers and owners and ad campaigns. There hasn't been one consistent message we're relating to the customer."

To combat that notion, the company has installed Nolan, a self-proclaimed Anne Klein devotee, as senior vice president of design and charged him with retooling the bridge-priced signature collection. In addition, the company has recalled the lion-head trademark from a four-year hiatus to be the symbol for Anne Klein and has reworked the Anne Klein 2 line with a new logo and new positioning as a better-priced career collection.

Nolan, who was most recently a designer for the Ellen Tracy collection for 10 years, seems to have found a match in Anne Klein with his respect for the late designer and her idea of coordinated sportswear, but also his conviction that fashion and practicality should work in tandem.

"One of the first things he said to me was that our customer was not 6 feet tall and 100 pounds," said Wendy Chivian, president. "If we broaden the base and focus on the idea that it's coordinated sportswear, there is a lot of opportunity."

For his part, Nolan said, "I do truly believe that you could make great fashion product and make it salable. These are clothes that I feel connected to and I think I bring a connection to the past. All of my training was Anne Klein."

A Fashion Institute of Technology graduate who also designed for Bill Haire -- one of Klein's assistants -- Christian Dior and Blassport, Nolan becomes the latest in a string of designers to head the collection since Donna Karan quit Anne Klein in 1985 to start her own firm.

In the wake of Karan's departure, the company went through several design philosophies, first with Louis Dell'Olio, then with unproven designers Richard Tyler and Patrick Robinson and most recently the team of Ken Kaufman and Isaac Franco, in an effort to interpret that philosophy with uneven success.

The arrival of Nolan, with his background in bridge-priced sportswear, seems to be the clearest sign yet that the company has awakened to the idea of who its customer is and what her needs are.

"In the last few years, we didn't give her enough options," Chivian said. "But there isn't one right way of putting it together. We will move forward in Charles's direction of putting it together."

With the introduction of his first collection, Nolan's direction appears to be focused on career basics -- the basis of the original Anne Klein collection.

"I personally believe in a great blazer," Nolan said. "The blue, black, camel blazer that you can come to Anne Klein and always get."

He also said he wants to produce clothing that is on trend, but not too directional, because the Anne Klein customer does not come to the brand for that.

"I think that being comfortable in your clothes is the most important thing, bar none," he added. "It's just about a well-cut, well-balanced garment. The whole point is to have that brilliant armhole that doesn't challenge your day so you can talk on your cell phone and not get fatigued."

In addition to Nolan's design philosophy and what it may bring, the lion-head logo will begin to appear with the fall collection on belt buckles, in the soles of shoes and as a lining in coats, among other incarnations.

"By taking the `Anne Klein' out of the foot bed and replacing it with the lion head, we're reinvigorating the lion and giving it a newfound status," Salomon said.

When Kasper ASL acquired the Anne Klein brands in 1999 for $60 million from Anne Klein Co. owners Frank Mori and Tomio Taki, it brought back the Anne Klein II label as Anne Klein 2 and positioned it as a better-priced career line.

Kasper also has launched suit lines under both labels, which have been strong resources cited by several department stores in recent seasons. Kasper has introduced licensed collections of Anne Klein fur, swimwear and sleepwear, as well as Anne Klein 2 coats and accessories.

Beginning with the resort collection, which begins delivery in November, Anne Klein 2 introduces a new logo, "ak2 Anne Klein," to go on all product, bags and retail signage. The changeover should be complete by the spring 2002 collection.

The changeover at the signature collection may be just as drastic, as Nolan continues to impart his visions on the line and also in the company's West 42nd Street offices.

"What I wanted to bring is a good energy and a good spirit back," Nolan said. "Whether it's my energy or helping others with their energy, it's just `let's kick it up a little bit higher.' It's also about starting again. We have a full opportunity to do it again."