Germaine Picket knows a thing or two about retail. She spent 10 years at Ralph Lauren traveling and creating the brand’s global retail interiors and noticed a void in the sleep and intimates market while shopping a mall in Asia. She didn’t have anything to wear to bed and couldn’t find anything she liked.
“It was either over sexualized or flannel pajamas,” said Picket.
Hence came the idea for GemPicket, her line of loungewear and lingerie that sits nicely between comfy and sexy and will launch this July at Journelle, the New York City-based lingerie retailer.
The collection, which is made in New York City, includes about 30 styles that range from long sleeveless gowns with Empire waists to tap shorts and matching soft bras. The key differentiator for the line is the fabric. The pieces are made from cotton and silk sourced from Japan and knits sourced from Italy.
Picket said it was important that she didn’t sacrifice style for comfort, but she admitted that it’s challenging to produce domestically and maintain high quality at a low price. The collection has an average price range of $120 to $275.
“There’s price resistance in this category, but there is a customer who is being underserved and who wants higher quality product,” said Picket, who identified her customer as a 29- to 55-year-old woman who wants to look good during the day and night.
The brand, which is self-funded by Picket, will introduce an e-commerce site in June that will sell limited-edition pieces and present a resort collection, which will feature more colors and prints, a request from retailers, next month.