Mark Eisen

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Mark Eisen

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Mark Eisen

about

Mark Eisen is a fashion brand founded in 1988.

Mark Eisen's products include Couture clothing, Menswear, Shoes and custom-tailored clothes. His menswear collections are distributed from Italy, but his head office is based in New York.

In early 1996 the designer launched two new labels, Urchin and Urchin Knits (later combined and renamed Urchin Mark Eisen).

Eisen segued into designing uniforms through a licensing agreement with the famed the Santa Monica-based World Gym in fall 1996. Both trainers and staff at the health club operator's New York City locations were given stylish and sporty activewear separates, with the range eventually reaching all of World Gym's 400 sports complexes worldwide. Additionally, the activewear, under the Mark Eisen for World Gym label, was sold in World Gym clubs around the world, beginning in 1997.

In an effort to take his name and designs global, Eisen hired Brad Saltzman, formerly of Adrienne Vittadini, to become president and CEO of his firm. Eisen remained chairman and still handled all design responsibilities.

Licensing agreements reflecting the global plan included Nissho Iwai Corporation and Ichida Company to produce and distribute the Mark Eisen Studio collection, which had ceased production in the U.S. for some time. The Mark Eisen Collection, the firm's strongest line, was poised for licensing in Europe and throughout Asia in 1998. The newer line, Urchin Mark Eisen, had experienced swift growth and was already in 350 U.S. high-end department stores such as Bloomingdale's, Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman, and Henri Bendel. Eisen and Saltzman hoped to increase U.S. retail locations to more than 500, and to find a new licensing partner for the better Mark Eisen Collection.

For fall 1999 came a new bridge knitwear line, simply titled Eisen. Targeted to women, aged 30 to 50, the range was intended to offer a stylish and less expensive alternative to misses. Next, in 2000, came a new suitor for the Mark Eisen Collection, a partnership with Sportswear Company SpA, once a unit of GFT and backer behind the C.P. Company, to manufacture and distribute the range internationally. Eisen also entered into a licensing deal with Lerre, a Naples-based footwear manufacturer, for an upscale footwear collection.