INTRODUCING: HEIKE NYC IN HARLEM

We met a local designer who lived up a couple of blocks from Sugar Hill Market who mentioned to us she used to design for one of the licensees of the Donna Karan Collection and has a showroom in midtown.  The designer had found her namesake label over a decade ago and has been in Harlem several years now.  After a couple of successful presentations with shoppers at Sugar Hill Market, we decided to catch up with Heike at her Garment District design space.

HB:We have both actually been in the fashion industry for some time and know some of the same people. Tell us a little bit about your background. What made you decide to start up your own company?

HEIKE: I was trained at St. Martin’s in the UK and then worked for 9 years in Italy for some well-known design houses before coming to the US.   It was the fulfillment of my the ultimate dream for me after years of gaining international industry experience to know how to launch my own brand and express my ideas and design esthetic under my own label

HB: How long have you been living in Harlem?

HEIKE: Since April 17th of 2012.

HB: There seems to be a lot Europeans living uptown. What is the appeal?

HEIKE: I love the light, the wide elegant streets, the historical neighborhood.  The sense of a real community and the peacefulness away from the loud dazzle dazzle in Midtown or the lower eastside where we lived before.

HB:How has the response been to the line thus far?

HEIKE: Excellent! The better retail scene in Harlem is quite new but the line is very well received by the savvy, stylish uptown girls and women that want to stand out from the crowd.

HB: What are the big trends that are selling well for you this season?

HEIKE: Winter White, Red or Cobalt are best selling colors from the fall collection.  Coats with shape, cool hardware and leather trim are doing well along with loose cardigan layers.  Multifunctional capes, pencil skirts, cropped pants, luxury sweatshirts and cropped tops that can be worn as an underneath layering piece are also best sellers.

Heike New York will be at this Sunday's Sugar Hill Market from Noon-6pm with the latest collection at special trunk show prices for Harlem shoppers: LINK