My chat with these designers has engaged, reenergized and
reassured me that fashion is very much alive and well. These two showed me that not all designers
are about the blah blah blah of fashion as are so many today. Their entire
modus operandi tells me that their collections will be and are incomparable
additions to today’s world of fashion as well as that of the future vintage
variety. Think of them as a 21st century Dior, Lacroix or possibly
YSL (all of them 5 star designers in their past and present value).
LOYD/FORD is a rarity … a treasure; Franck Ford (usually the
voice of the brand) and Seven Loy are masters of their métier. The techniques
and applications recall the glory days of Haute Couture, save the made to
measure aspect. Their collections are produced and designed with no boundaries,
no trends in mind and only on their terms; their vision allows for no skimping
on design, fabrication or the amount of atelier type details. This is not mass
produced fashion in its truest sense, this is the confluence of Haute Couture
and ready to wear. Their dresses are wildly
lush, sumptuous, modern and unimaginably detailed.
Yes, these designers have designed for international red
carpet moments and they have even designed wardrobes for the stage but they opt
not to trade on celebrity regardless of its so called importance in today’s
fashion business. Let’s hear their take on today’s fashion and you can decide
on your own as to where LOYD/FORD belong in the Pantheon of fashion … today …
or in decades to come.
So in their own words and “typing”... meet Stefan Loy and
Franck Ford aka LOYD/FORD.. Franck speaks for both of them …
JF-What
kind of women wear your clothes and who would you say you design for in terms
of either celebrity or personality traits
L/F- we
just had a tulle gown with and a couture harness on Avril Lavigne
for stage and video , sold out 2 new styles overnight
at Montaigne Market in Paris with no clue who
Avril is or who bought the 16 dresses in 24 hours .. .in the past we
dressed Nicole Kidman , Cher , Britney , Courtney Love , Angelina Jolie
etc; …. strange mix but guessing our look was and maybe is
more show than muffin shopping … with this new brand we
design real beauty with no shock effects
just rich and classic looks …
our woman is that
JF-Without
comparing yourself to any one designer; who would you like to be categorized
with when it comes to fashion and why? Alive or dead
L/F-Margiela /Dior .. The concept of deconstruction…
the revolting against the fashion world … A desire to
enjoy life, a private house … The silhouette characterized by a
small, nipped-in waist and a full skirt falling below mid-calf length and
now transformed in to micro mini and deconstructed looks
with perfect French seam … meticulously made and perfectly proportioned……
all that is what we do and that’s based from looking at the 2
greatest and their philosophy .
JF-
In your opinion, what makes your clothes stand out from other
collections?
L/F- we
sew and hand stich ourselves and with a team of in-house sewers. Thanks god we
have no other hobbies after work, we control each item and we always add some
extra soul to each piece by draping and finishing each garment like a couture
gown. As long as we are able to do that
we will have a special “couture like” ready to wear collections. We want to stay like that and grow at the same
time to higher quantities. That’s our
daily mantra and so far we doubled each season. To make a production of 80 of the same dresses
where each one looks like a one of kind couture dress that’s a real challenge.
We think the final touch is visible in our clothes and it stands out
JF- Can you describe
your feelings about the state of fashion in today's world and its importance?
L/F-There
is so much hype for so little talent these days. I think it’s possible to win
the CFDA award if you have the right beard at the right season. We had a buyer who was really exhausted to buy
…. but she said “ I have to buy that overpriced boring clothes.. . I just have
to ... it’s an image for my store.” Meantime we sold out the same time she
marked down the super brands. Fashion is
the only art form you can wear on your body to reflect your art, style and
vision and we just admire the people who are individual and authentic
JF- Do you have a
specific type of store that you want to sell to and why is your collection
complementary to the other collections in that store ?
L/F-being
harmonious with Valentino and Alaia on the same display is the goal and that’s
where we are selling ... luxury retailers with true fashion sense and personal
customer service like Hirshleifers . Maxfied , Montaigne Market and other fine
places ... the shopping world is so over packed and racks are " trend
dead”… we love the action where the dressing room is a wicked garden!
JF- what is your stance on internet selling...
do you think that more customers will employ this or do you still stink that
brick and mortar stores remain the best way to shop and why?
L/F-The world's premier online luxury fashion destinations!!! How many worlds of people do we need to feed them all
with the same brands on 1000 shopping pages next to 1000 retail stores where
the industry and editors guide the consumer all to the same brands.
I think you enjoy a personal shopping day with an exhausting dressing
room act and a nice lunch and a good time more than a “klick” for another
dress. I think people buy wedding dresses already online. How sad is that?
Do you want to marry me? “ klick! “
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