Today's Highlights

• Kate Lord set for relaunch
• Building a culture, not a brand
• 2007 Fall Fashion Trend Report

NEWS

Kye to Hawaii

Kye will present its spring 2008 line of contemporary women's golf and resort apparel at the HGRA Spring Merchandise Show, Sept. 4-7 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Champ Spikes Sweeps Weekend

CHAMP Spikes announces victories on the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, European Tour and The Duramed Futures Tour this last weekend.

Dunning Introduces Spring 2008 Luxury Performance Apparel Collection

Dunning Golf introduces their spring 2008 collection of luxury performance apparel featuring more than 250 distinct pieces in 55 styles.

Softspikes Captures U.S. Amateur

Nearly 70% of the plastic cleat wearing field at The Barclays Classic chose to wear Softspikes brand cleats.

APPAREL

Kate Lord set for relaunch

By Megan Jones
GPA Correspondent

The Kate Lord Collection will relaunch its line of fine women's hats, apparel and accessories for fall 2007 and spring 2008.

"We took what we were really successful at, and expanded on it," said Tracy Wilson, general manager for Kate Lord.

Kate Lord is a business unit of AHEAD (www.aheadweb.com), a designer and marketer of branded headwear, apparel and accessories.

Apparel Design Director Casey Waid, who previously worked in a senior design position with Adidas, has brought her expertise in high-performance fabrics to Kate Lord, Wilson said.

And customers are clamoring for it, she said. The line's new CoolMax FX fabrics offer anti-microbial, moisture-wicking finishes to keep golfers cool and dry.

Couple comfortable fabrics with a focus on "lifestyle" pieces (including a new skort and cropped pant), and you have a casual, contemporary line that women can wear on and off the golf course, Wilson said.

"It doesn't speak all golf," she said. "It speaks of a lifestyle. A lot of women want to play golf. Now they don't have to go home and change clothes" before picking up the kids from school or running errands.

Part of the Kate Lord appeal is sizing designed to fit the average woman golfer, rather than the athletic golfer. (A size medium in this line, for example, runs 38 inches at the chest, with a standard garment length at 24 inches long. Waists taper in 2 inches from the chest measurement.)

Those minor fit adjustments help the line compliment a variety of body types, Wilson said.

"Some may find athletic fits to be tight, very restrictive," she said. "Ours is more middle of the road, to fit a wider of women and add a more feminine silhouette."

In addition, the overall fit of the product range has been standardized so if a woman wears a size medium in Kate Lord, she will be able to wear a medium in all of the designs.

Wilson said she also likes the company's coordinating line of headwear, which offers caps, visors and more for all of the pieces. "Not many companies can do that," she said.

The company believes customers shouldn't have to sacrifice style for performance, Wilson said.

"We make [style] easy," she said, "so they don't have to think about it."

This has been a good year for Kate Lord. In addition to the relaunch, in January it signed Brittany Lincicome to sport its apparel line and headwear on the LPGA. One of the tour's rising young stars, Lincicome recorded five top-10 finishes in her second season, and won the Ginn Open earlier this year.

"We're very excited about having her," Wilson said. "She has been a big asset and a great spokeswoman for the company, and she looks really good in our clothes."

So what's next for Kate Lord?

That depends, Wilson said, on where the marketplace leads. Performance fabrics will continue to be part of the company's focus, although the collection also includes pieces made of 100 percent cotton as well as hybrid fabrics.

The company also sees big business in its apparel that coordinates with AHEAD's men's line, she said. The Kate Lord color palette incorporates many of the colors in that Authentics range, enabling them to expand the number of companion pieces they offer - good for tournaments and corporate events, Wilson said.

Kate Lord apparel is currently available at resorts and green grass golf shops around the country.

"We can see it really taking off," Wilson said.