Buyers have already seen the collection. In fact, Barneys New York saw a small pre-fall range Mayle put together in June and tried to place an order. “We basically had to say, ‘That’s lovely of you, but we don’t have the infrastructures. We don’t have a production manager or anything,’” said Mayle. By her account, the decision to return to fashion after a voluntary eight-year hiatus was “this nice day-dreamy whirlpool.” The catalyst for her decision to close shop in 2008 was the expiration of her store’s lease. She wasn’t feeling the neighborhood anymore, or where the industry was headed — the constant demand for bigger collections, more deliveries. She was satisfied with the size of her small-yet-stable business — $5 million, 60 wholesale accounts — but the independent operation would have had to take on outside investment to keep up.

“I realized that I could change the way I lived and take a step back,” said Mayle. “That was my prerogative to do so. I wanted to go out at a moment when I had been dealing with my suppliers, my accounts, all of my vendors in a way that was maximum respect. Also, what I was giving the customer was something that still had the value I wanted in it. I knew that wasn’t going to last much longer. I was running on fumes, definitely.”

Buyers have already seen the collection. In fact, Barneys New York saw a small pre-fall range Mayle put together in June and tried to place an order. “We basically had to say, ‘That’s lovely of you, but we don’t have the infrastructures. We don’t have a production manager or anything,’” said Mayle. By her account, the decision to return to fashion after a voluntary eight-year hiatus was “this nice day-dreamy whirlpool.” The catalyst for her decision to close shop in 2008 was the expiration of her store’s lease. She wasn’t feeling the neighborhood anymore, or where the industry was headed — the constant demand for bigger collections, more deliveries. She was satisfied with the size of her small-yet-stable business — $5 million, 60 wholesale accounts — but the independent operation would have had to take on outside investment to keep up.

“I realized that I could change the way I lived and take a step back,” said Mayle. “That was my prerogative to do so. I wanted to go out at a moment when I had been dealing with my suppliers, my accounts, all of my vendors in a way that was maximum respect. Also, what I was giving the customer was something that still had the value I wanted in it. I knew that wasn’t going to last much longer. I was running on fumes, definitely.”

Buyers have already seen the collection. In fact, Barneys New York saw a small pre-fall range Mayle put together in June and tried to place an order. “We basically had to say, ‘That’s lovely of you, but we don’t have the infrastructures. We don’t have a production manager or anything,’” said Mayle. By her account, the decision to return to fashion after a voluntary eight-year hiatus was “this nice day-dreamy whirlpool.” The catalyst for her decision to close shop in 2008 was the expiration of her store’s lease. She wasn’t feeling the neighborhood anymore, or where the industry was headed — the constant demand for bigger collections, more deliveries. She was satisfied with the size of her small-yet-stable business — $5 million, 60 wholesale accounts — but the independent operation would have had to take on outside investment to keep up.

“I realized that I could change the way I lived and take a step back,” said Mayle. “That was my prerogative to do so. I wanted to go out at a moment when I had been dealing with my suppliers, my accounts, all of my vendors in a way that was maximum respect. Also, what I was giving the customer was something that still had the value I wanted in it. I knew that wasn’t going to last much longer. I was running on fumes, definitely.”