Registering ... 
New York based designer Heike Jarick is known for her unusual and luxurious fabric choices and off-kilter cuts revealing sensuality in unexpected places. At red carpet events celebrities like Halle Berry, Lisa Marie Presley, Lucy Liu, Natalie Cole, Mandy Moore and Kate Hudson can be seen wearing Heike Jarick designs.
Heike defines today’s woman: ageless, sleek and sensual. She is a cultured and active workingwoman who is a world traveler and lives in New York and Los Angeles. She loves to spend time in Berlin, Paris and London.
The concept of the Fall 08-09 collection is one where futuristic modernism meets 1940’s silhouettes; the heikejarick design focus is on new tailoring, sculptural shapes and structured seams, combined with deconstruction and draping techniques that flatter a woman’s body.
The Heikejarick Collection exploits a range of luxe fabrics in metallic and in black/white domino quilting coating, soft herringbone knit, sumptuous cashmere coats, sleek silver eel skin statement pieces and architecturally sculptured stretch suiting. All fabrics allow for comfort, ease and elegance.
For evening, heikejarick has redefined “the little black dress,” a neo-modern classic. From the Front Ruffle Empire Dress to the Tacked Shift Dress, black lacquered silk enhances the figure with modern allure.
Brilliance and luster of metallic materials create shine and shadow. The Flared Back Double-breasted Patina Raincoat flatters all women. Hammered, studded beading combined with draped jersey and organdy take evening to a different dimension.
Born in Germany, Jarick expressed an early interest in becoming a fashion de- signer. “I always loved from a little girl on to create clothes for myself, to manipulate clothes I had, and aspire to the latest fashions,” she says. “I was an artist with pens and crayons from early years on and used this ability to design clothes. My inspirations were long walks in the hilly romantic countryside I grew up in and mysterious fairy tales lying in the several castles surrounding my home.”
At the age of 18 Jarick left her homeland for Great Britain and the St. Martins School of Design in London, where she graduated with honors. On the recommendation of her professors, Jarick moved to Milan and worked for almost 10 years designing for Luciano Soprani, Krizia and Trussardi.
Relocating to New York in the early 90’s, Heike fine-tuned her craftsman- ship at Anne Klein and Searle and consulted for Work and Friends, a collection which was subsidized by Yohji Yamamoto in Tokyo, Japan.
“I really felt that my calling was to do my own brand because I could never really quite realize my vision while I was working for other people,” said Jarick. So in 2000 she launched her own label, heikejarick, and in fall 2006 the men’s line, heikejarick men. For fall 2008 the younger more casual diffusion line heikejarick blue label will be introduced to the market. “It has a quite significantly lower price point with the same kind of design content and fabrics,” explained Jarick. And it’s blue because “that’s my favorite color.”
Through freelance designing, specializing in coats, Jarick finances her own label. She started small, at first sharing space with others, then having the studio to herself, then moving to a somewhat bigger space. “It’s been a very slow growing process, but at least it’s a steady one and it’s going up rather than being a winding road.”
Jarick spends the first half of her day with her freelance work, the second half in her mid-town atelier. “It’s always a small team, always under 10 people.” Jarick works away from the influence of other fashion designers crafting her style somewhat in isolation from “the taste of the moment.”
Asked about her sources of inspiration, Jarick said “It really comes from daily life and whatever is around me. Particularly when I travel, I get very inspired, but also when I read an interesting book or I see a good movie or when I see a fabrication that I particularly like—it’s feeling the mood of the moment.”
For spring people want nice little separate pieces, some cute dresses. You have to make smart separate pieces that are needed in every-body’s wardrobe, essential pieces that travel and are easy to wear. I think it’s more about separates now than ever.
Jarick thinks the fashion industry is in difficulty “because the consumers don’t have money. Everything has gone up. The last thing that people are thinking about is to buy themselves expensive new clothes, which is why it’s the right idea to come up with a secondary line. That’s what people are looking for, and they are willing to maybe spend some money on an investment piece, but they also want to layer in less expensive pieces. You have to keep a tight control on everything, to be very careful how the samples are made, to be extremely detail oriented with everything. I think that is how we increased the business.”
“In the spring/summer 2009 I’ve expanded the secondary line, and I’m making the heikejarick label a little smaller. For spring people want nice little separate pieces, some cute dresses. They are not going to spend as much money as when buying a beautiful winter sheerling coat or a holiday outfit. You have to make smart separate pieces that are needed in everybody’s wardrobe, essential pieces that travel and are easy to wear. I think it’s more about separates now than ever.”
Known for her soft draping, Heike Jarick displays her extraordinary skill for tailoring in her jackets and coats. Jarick mentioned that a successful item in the Fall 2008 blue label was the raincoat. “It’s like a parka, a transitional piece which goes from the early fall to late spring. It’s a nice packable raincoat, which also has a modal fleece lining so that it gives you a cozy comfort.”
Modal, made from beech wood, was developed by Lenzing Fibers and is harvested from sustainable plantation forests. “It’s a very forgiving nice fabric. I’ve been running it on the collection for many, many seasons,” said Jarick. “I would say it’s almost my best selling fabric so that I have now taken it to the next level, to the secondary line, and I could find the fabrication in China, a manufacturer which works with us and wants to build the business with us.”
For Fall I have been using mainly a modal jersey which is 95% modal and 5% lycra, a very nice transitional fabric. It feels beautiful on the body, it is very forgiving, and when you buy a size 4, or even a size 2, a size 6 will fit into it.”
Jarick spends considerable time on fabric choices, which she researches all over the world. “Right now I have in mind to use a new jersey which is made out of milk protein. It is supposed to have very positive effects on your skin and your general well being. An innovative, organic and healthy yarn derived from milk amino acids, it’s called Milkofil.”“I’m working with it now,” said Jarick. “I can’t really relate when people say ‘Oh, it’s kind of hip to go green.’ I think that if you can work with fibers which are actually beneficial to the human being that’s something to look for.”
Jarick said that they are finding that stores are buying both the heikejarick couture pieces and blue label line, displaying it together. Key stores include Vivaldi, New York; Rouge in New Jersey; Gilda in Massachusetts; Uri Boutique in Illinois; Inago, Fred Segal and Sienna in Los Angeles; Betina and Paparazzi in San Francisco; Haut La La in Canada; plus a temporary showroom in Berlin, Germany.
The heikejarick blue label collection is a trans-seasonal experimental line of young, dress-up and dress-down pieces that intermix with the black label collection. This label caters towards the clientele who are fans of the heikejarick styling and the sensual cuts and drape but are looking for a lower priced garment.
The nylon coats are lined in the softest breathable modal fleece. The separates in Modal/Elastan are presented in warm washed muted tones as well as pop colors that will coordinate with any wardrobe. The pieces are easy in shape with voluminous soft cuts and sporty architectural styling, ensuring comfort and versatility in a wearable seasonless collection.
As Jarick looks to the future she would like to get a foothold in Europe—in Germany, Austria and avant garde Switzerland. She would also like to enter markets in the Middle East like Dubai and Kuwait, as well as in Russia and Korea. Jarick was in Dubai in February 2008 showing her collection in a fashion event at BurJuman, a premier shopping center in the United Arab Emirates.
Summing up, Jarick commented that “there’s always going to be ‘the in and the out.’ I think very, very few will remain who are willing to be beyond the trend. I’ve never been into this ‘at the moment’ type of thing. For me, it was essential to build something from the ground up that has a long-lasting effect. Having that mentality, I think we’ll be able to grow and survive.”
Credits
by Ann Hattes
