Reiss & Mary Ping Join Diffusion Trend

“Premium high street chain Reiss is launching a younger, lower-priced sub-brand for autumn to widen its customer base,” says Drapers. The tune is a familiar one, as brands from Versace to Alexander Wang experiment with diffusion lines in hopes of expanding their demographic during tough economic times. With Andy Rogers (a former Stella McCartney alum) at Reiss’ helm, there’s plenty of potential for this new sister line, which is slated to hit stores around August. Reiss also has a website relaunch in the works, and the British brand isn’t ruling out designer collaborations as a possibility for its new offshoot (a consistent theme among high street retailers).

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Also branching out these days is the significantly more avant-garde, whimsical designer Mary Ping, whose limited-edition, cult-favorite line, Slow and Steady Wins the Race (self-described as a “bimonthly clothing diary") most recently popped up at Spring Street’s Kiosk Kiosk during New York Fashion Week (and at Sol Moscot during SS09 NYFW). Out now is Ping’s collection, aptly dubbed Cool, Casual, for Urban Outfitters. So far, the line includes “ just five styles—a leather tee, a mesh sweatshirt, a silk tunic, a trench and cropped pants—in black and white,” says Racked, each of which are priced at either $88 or $188. While Ping is likely to add more styles into the mix soon, don’t expect the stock of styles now up for grabs to last long.