Discontinued: Mayle Bagged, Jane Calls It Quits

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No, say it isn't so! NYC designer Jane Mayle is shutting down her label Mayle after the holiday-resort collection hits store in November, as well at her NYC boutique at 242 Elizabeth Street. Per WWD, don't go jumping on the poor economy to blame: "Today, Mayle said her business is healthier than ever, raking in annual sales of $5 million with 65 wholesale accounts worldwide, including Barneys New York, Opening Ceremony, Louis Boston and Harvey Nichols." Instead look to the fashion industry itself. Mayle told the fashion trade:

“It seems like a commercial cul-de-sac in a way that the customer gets tired before the collections even hit stores...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.”

Point taken. How do you maintain the anticipation and excitement as a consumer, as a fashion devotee, when you've already seen/read/heard so much about a collection, new boutique, or collaboration, that it feels past tense before it hits stores? And so Mayle, with its feminine downtown flare, is coming to an end, though, thankfully, the designer isn't going away: "What I learned from having this business, I could apply anywhere...It could be interiors, graphics, scents—anything evoking an atmosphere. That’s where I’d like to situate myself.”
· Jane Mayle to Close [WWD, subscription req]