March 30, 2006

by Melanie Kletter

EREBELLE
Erebelle is designed to bring an artistic point of view to activewear. The Austin, Tex.-based company is the brainchild of graphic designer and artist Tina Schweiger, a longtime athlete who sought to develop a fresh approach to the category. “This line is inspired by yoga, but it is designed to be a crossover between active and casual,” said Schweiger. “I do yoga and thought it would be great to develop a line that worked well for low-impact activities and isn’t too tight-fitting.” The initial collection of 11 items hitting stores this spring include tank tops, roll-down pants, cargo pants, drawstring shorts and jackets in hues such as raspberry, brown and yellow. For fall, the company has added more casual lifestyle attire such as dresses. Schweiger created the art that is used on the spring and fall collections, and is looking to collaborate with others artists. “I want to give artists the opportunity to see their work in another venue and show them that they can have other expressions for their creativity,” she said. “The art in the clothing will be low-key. The focus is on the design and the style, and the fashion, and the artwork is the icing.” Fabrics include Supplex, as well as a spandex blend, and the company is manufacturing in San Francisco, she said. Wholesale prices range from about $29 for the tank tops, to as much as $65 for some of the jackets, and the company is looking to notch fi rst-year sales of about $500,000. Schweiger’s partner in the venture is Eric Simone, who owns an Austin, Tex., boutique and is providing financing as well as serving as Erebelle’s vice president of sales. Simone formerly had a business in the high-tech sector that he sold and is using proceeds from that to fund the business. The company is targeting boutiques, yoga studios and fashion-forward sport stores, and for spring it was picked up by stores including Betty Sport in Austin and Yoga for Life in Dallas. The name is the combination of two words: antebellum and harem. “I was trying to find a name that was both feminine and romantic,” Schweiger added.