The fashion business he started 35 years ago, JasmineSola, is closing its doors next week. But Luciano Manganella is trying to stage a comeback.
New York & Co., which fired Manganella a year after he sold the boutiques to the apparel giant, is shuttering the Jasmine chain.
And Manganella is starting over. He's finalizing leases this week to launch his new store, Mix and company, at five Jasmine locations, in Boston, Hingham, Newton Centre, and Wellesley. There will also be three new shops, in Dedham, Lynnfield, and Nashua.
Manganella plans to start opening the Mix stores in March. He said they evolved from Jasmine, which grew from a single boutique in Harvard Square into one of Boston's most fashionable chains - known for bringing designer brands such as Kate Spade and Juicy Couture into the region.
Mix will sell the brand names - including Splendid, Free People, and True Religion - that attracted Jasmine customers, , but carry significantly less denim.
Mix also will feature departments for active wear, swimwear, and intimate apparel. New names will include Hanky Panky, Cosabella, Scanty, and Honeydew Intimates, said Manganella's wife, Stacey Manganella, who works as Mix's head merchandiser.
The new focus on lingerie comes as other retailers are jumping into this market, with Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle, and Victoria's Secret recently targeting younger consumers with such merchandise.
Manganella plans to renovate the shops with subtler colors than the pastels that were found at Jasmine. He hopes the boutique will also appeal to slightly older customers than the teenagers who flocked to Jasmine.
He is still negotiating leases for Jasmine locations in Burlington, Chestnut Hill, Lexington, and Peabody.
"JasmineSola is being reborn again," said Manganella, 61.
"It's going to be a much cleaner environment, and I'm going to be as careful as I can to bring in product that is good quality and high fashion."
Manganella, an Italian immigrant who started Jasmine in 1970 with a $2,500 loan from his mother, learned about women's clothing from his mother and sister, both seamstresses, and developed a sharp sense of style. At Jasmine, named after the flower, Manganella relied on instinct to design merchandise and allotted space in his small shop to unknown designers, which made his boutique a fashion icon for teens and twentysomethings. Manganella is hoping to recapture that magic with Mix.
The chain will not do business at former Jasmine stores in Harvard Square or on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. But Mix will take over Jasmine shops in the Prudential Center and on Newbury Street.
The name Mix comes from the fashion industry, Manganella said: "You want to be in the mix."
"Luciano and Stacey are very talented merchants. The disappearance of Jasmine has left a real void in the market, and the two of them will do something to fill that void," said Jeremy Sclar, president of the retail powerhouse W/S Development, which owns and operates shopping complexes throughout New England.
Mix will open at W/S centers that featured Jasmine in Hingham and at newer projects in Dedham and Lynnfield.
New York & Co., which declined to comment, fired Manganella in June 2006 over allegations of sexual harassment and tried to withhold $7 million it had promised him as part of the $30 million sale of the 14 Jasmine boutiques in July 2005. A costly legal battle ensued. Manganella, who denied the accusations, was awarded the $7 million by an arbitration panel in April 2007.
While the legal battle dragged on, New York & Co. changed merchandising and sales strategies at Jasmine, and the shops stumbled. In October, its executives decided to liquidate the Jasmine chain, which had grown to about two dozen stores in several states.
Manganella said he tried to buy back the Massachusetts boutiques and the name Jasmine; New York & Co. refused. It agreed, however, to release Manganella from a provision in his contract that prohibited him from competing with the women's apparel chain.
Manganella said he negotiated leases with individual landlords for the new Mix stores.
About two dozen people who worked for him at Jasmine plan to join Manganella at Mix.
"I just want to get back to work," Manganella said. "Hopefully, Bostonians will understand I'm dedicated to this business."
Jenn Abelson can be reached at abelson@globe.com.
