Clothes From a Firm Famous for Nudity

Goodbye, Polo pony. Hello, Playboy bunny!

Playboy Enterprises Inc. revealed its first full line of men’s and women’s sportswear and accessories at the Men’s Apparel Guild of California trade show in Las Vegas this week. Although the publishing giant has been producing merchandise for the last 30 years (cuff links were the first items to carry the signature bunnies), the line represents Playboy’s first attempt to market itself as a clothing line.

Playboy’s collection includes cropped spandex tops, T-shirts, backpacks, baseball hats, sweatshirts, jackets, stretch jeans and camp shirts--all emblazoned with the logo. Nicole Miller is licensed to produce ties, boxers and socks patterned with Playboy themes for the holiday season. The line will be sold in specialty stores and boutiques, where it will compete with brands like Calvin Klein, says Helen Isaacson, Playboy’s president of product marketing.

At the trade show, buyers were rabid.

“We’ve had people interested not only from the U.S., but from South America, Japan and Czechoslovakia. In Europe, Playboy is as American as Coca-Cola and Levi’s. You see a bunny, you know what it is,” explains Pierre Serror, chief executive of Playboy licensee California Sunshine Activewear Inc. The L.A.-based company is also the primary licensee for Guess Sport.

Isaacson, 52, a brand marketing exec who has worked for Coca-Cola and Marvel Comics, was lured to Playboy in October by the company’s marketing potential. In their research, Isaacson and her product development team found vintage Playboy wear was already in fashion magazines.

“We realized we were so cool, and we were the last ones to know it!” she says.