LOYDFORD 2018... the fashionable conversation

It’s been 4 years since I was introduced to a then burgeoning and made in USA brand by the name of LOYDFORD. Since that time I’ve developed a friendship with both the brand and its designers. If you have ever read my commentaries/reviews about LOYDFORD, you already know that Franck Ford is the voice of the brand.

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Today it is Franck and I discussing the evolution and metamorphosis of LOYFORD during our “relationship” as well as the fashion business in general. In essence you get more of an insider’s perspective rather than just mine which is more from the outside looking in. 

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What consistently attracts me to this brand is its constant flux yet always retaining its DNA and to a great degree while increasing its design vocabulary season after season. It is still all about “lace n love” and still holds onto its rocker vibe but it is now not just about dressing to go out to a black tie or a cocktail party; it is more of a wardrobing or lifestyle concept. I find it interesting that once upon a time accordion or sunburst pleating was a ubiquitous component of endless collections yet these guys have adopted it and turned it into a signature for LOYDFORD and that to me is an example of how fashion and brands evolve. One more time it is all about massaging and tweaking a brand’s DNA to keep it looking fresh and attracting new business opportunities and opening more doors … literally and figuratively

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Another aspect to keep in mind, as is mentioned within the chat, is that LOYDFORD has one secret weapon that most brands cannot boast and that is actual sales at retail… not the blah blah blah hype… not the bullshit... but the real deal …. Money in the bank!  I continue to tip my hat to the brand and its designers, Franck Ford and Stefan Loyd ... and now let’s talk branding and fashion… 

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Jeffrey Felner: Last we spoke, spring 2017; the brand was all about lace, all about dresses and very much a dressy dress collection. Since that time, LOYDFORD has evolved, transitioned and possibly had a recalibration. Can you explain why and how this happened?

Franck Ford for LOYDFORD: Lace is still the trademark of the brand; we actually went deeper into lace treatments, varied qualities and more ideas for basic shapes giving a more casual chic.  The dressy dress collection was successful but limited for everyday sales. So, now we added more ways to our lace looks with pieces that are a bit less dressy but that’s because of less ballerina tulle looks not because of less lace. We started with solstice laces, even bridal laces and using them for sporty shells with spikes.  That’s our hidden treasure  is that we sell faster than a stylist could pull it for someone!  We are kind of hidden anyway ... coming to the point here of the question about transition/ recalibration ... we decided to sign on with a multi-brand showroom with offices in New York, Paris and Los Angeles. So here we are with 20 mini tulle dresses and some sequin styles going into a very real market! What’s the transition decision? Well… more and better! More opportunities and less hand sewn feathers on crazy pieces and doing what we did was "couture impossible." We keep our hand beaded styles and they even got stronger and more creative. In true evening clothes you can’t go too funky or too rock n roll. Now we can and it is evolving the right way for example we did an army jacket with our lace and embroidery and that finally hit the 500 units in production and that makes life much easier. Do I talk too much? Well it happened because we wanted it to happen. We even left Barneys so as not to be pigeonholed as only being known as an evening or after 5 resource. 

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JF: What is your feeling about the future of fashion in regard to brick and mortar stores vs. internet shopping … has there been a shift in your business because of how women are shopping today?

FF/LF: How does a woman shop today ?! I hope they shop till they drop ... but... 

Our business has declined a bit with European boutiques in high tourist areas but has gotten much stronger with doors in the USA. We are still not in enough doors for me to give a fully professional answer on the shopping today opinion. My feeling about the future of brick n mortar vs. online --- I believe in customer service while the roster of online shops  might be growing more quickly they lack the service and touch and feel of actual stores. There are still the neighborhood stores  where you walk in and have your coffee and buy a skirt  and it’s that " intime”  private kind of shopping " that will get stronger and draw clients while mall stores  and department stores will  suffer much more. 

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JF: Do you believe that there is any legitimate media given to brands other than those owned by the mega conglomerates or those “blessed” by the so called media elite?

FF/LF: Fake news in fashion? ...   Of course!!! The blessed can do anything without selling any product and still get more press than Jesus from Nazareth! Was that the question?  Not sure but I think that covers it.

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JF: If you could change how the fashion business is operating today, how would you change it and why?

FF/LF: I don’t feel anything has to change about how the fashion business is operating.  I can only adjust our rules and get better at avoiding conflicts with some issues but in general I am okay with it.  Well, I believe in detaching yourself from surrounding fashion is the best way to design fashion.

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JF: You have managed to build a core of loyal retailers who have been with you since the very start, how do you account for that and what do you see as the future of LOYDFORD in the fashion marketplace?

FF/LF: Yes we did build that but we also “burned bridges to light the fire” and by that I mean “may the bridges we burned light the way to the future” but nothing is predictable. Today the “now" counts and our marketplace is not yet set so we continue to build… even as we speak …

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Alexander McQueen and Thom Browne men's spring 2018

Being very “unintellectual” about fashion, my vision is not tainted by the blah blah blah blah. I am, by my own admission, very shallow when it comes to fashion. I see clothes and not inspirations and not overly intellectualized bull... Simply, I see clothes… I even try block out who is wearing them since I am not a fan of barely teenaged boys playing dress up and I certainly don’t give a rat’s ass about the staging, front row and venue. If you have ever shopped ANYWHERE, clothes hang on rails, there are no romance cards, there are no representatives from each designer to explain the background/inspiration for each piece, that is to say they just hang there so all that peripheral  ephemeral bullshit in the end means squat!

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With all this said or ranted, if you will... next up are 2 of the more “outspoken” and out of the ordinary cookie cutter menswear brands … Thom Browne and Alexander McQueen. At best, both are an acquired taste and when “reviewing” them one needs to look with a much more discerning and critical eye as there is usually much more than meets the eye in both cases. Both are collections of master tailoring and both have stories to tell which again don’t really concern me BUT sometimes, and rarely, they might just explain a bit about what I’m/you're seeing. So it must be said that these guys are looked upon with a different set of rules or parameters in comparison to most of their colleagues when it comes to seasonal appraisals. Both are so much about the art and craft of fashion …. and not the latest and greatest

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Alexander McQueen… I’m not big on the artsy craftsy conceptual pieces save for a few but what I am always a fan of is the clothing… suits, jackets, coats, pants. The multi patterning pieces are just superb and to me and exemplify the DNA of the brand on a more commercial level but that doesn’t diminish their design prowess. They are potent standouts in a sea of sameness that pervades this industry. I can’t even comment on the broderie anglaise, the knits or the ciré puffer pieces or the once again too often shown everywhere motorcycle leather drag. For me it is the wools and a select few of the leathers and very few of  the more artisanal pieces but that’s it. It is not a rave   it is not a pan... it is just MY assessment of what was shown.

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Thom Browne ... well he is a whole other ballgame but the things that keeps me coming back are the workmanship, the outlandish inconceivable designs that come to life and of course that’s all part of parcel of the superb tailoring that he utilizes and expounds upon like few others. Do I think that men should wear dresses… well no not really… do I really believe in shrunken jackets… box pleated skirts on men … no not really… but I believe that this designer is true to himself in ways that others only ramble on about. Browne has some bizarre story to tell each season but look at the pieces as individuals and not a whole look... I agree the whole look couldn’t possibly be more absurd or off the grid. To me this is a collection about dissection, piece by piece one at a time... Take it for what its worth but I will take 1 Thom Browne against 200 Demnas or 2000 Jeremy Scotts.  And BTW I surely wouldn’t mind a few of those jackets!

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standing out in the crowd... meet Ben Desombre

At a time when most models are chosen for  their bodies, the good and bad of them, and what the gym has done for them rather than for their unique appearance, there comes along a man who has charisma and has attained his notoriety by being clothed and exuding an air of sophistication, wealth and unadulterated class. He has the looks of a film star and the sprezzatura that so few of any age can offer. He evokes the spirit where one would not find it difficult to imagine him cruising the Mediterranean on some mega yacht or skiing in Gstaad, sunning at the Hotel du Cap or just sipping an espresso at some sidewalk café in any fashion capital. He is the embodiment of what was once referred to as “continental

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Ben is the consummate example of a target customer than only brands abroad seem to understand and yet so many brands still assiduously ignore this fact. He is the epitome of an aspirational customer, think of the aura of a Gianni Agnelli or even a James Bond type of man... international, rich, tasteful, well-bred and so easy on the eyes. We in the USA seem to ignore the fact that there are generations of men who exemplify the beauty of a man at any age; yes you can classify him as a silver fox but to me he is so much more than just that general category and too much of a generic way of pigeon holing him.

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There is something to be said about not being stereotypical or fitting into a mold, think about the REAL trail blazers of the business who turned being a model into an art form … think  Tony Spinelli, Pat Cleveland, Lauren Hutton, Peter Keating, Gia, Pelito Galvez, Denis La Marsh  and  Tommy Garrett. These men and women brought more to the table than most of today’s assortments could ever aspire to since today they are mostly interchangeable and robotic at best. So in the tradition of the greats …. Here is Ben Desombre in his own words

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Can you give us a bit of background as to how you “arrived” at where you are professionally?

My background is quite standard for à French guy: grew up as a middle guy between 2 brothers, 1 had to be a "black sheep" I chose that. Meaning as a bourgeois, my destiny was supposedly to be  a good student to become a lawyer, real estate or something like that ...I was awful at school, ended at junior college to become a squash professional career, as the tennis and soccer player ended early, as lack of hard word, not talent... I became a decent player, doing the minimum, but still ended playing for France and was top 10 in my country for few years (6was my highest).

Then moved to the US to be close to my 1st daughter, as her mom was American. Picked up squash again as that was not a top sport at that time (93) but actually that was the step chosen by the IOC to change the American squash courts to European size. Therefore I have been able to teach this game to "the whole country", and became US National coach around those days for few years (juniors and women). Got recognized by the US Olympic committee "coach of the year 1999" for the sports of rackets among all the other sports coaches from all the Olympic disciplines.

In 2002  I moved to NY after a stint of Brasil for 3 years (got remarried there and raised my 3rd daughter) then after 4 years in the city, started some modeling as there was a demand for older classic men. I joined DNA in NYC and started some jobs such as MACYS, Martha Stewart show etc...I got my first contract in Japan in 2007, where I spent 3 months, then I came back to my appt in NY and decided NY was not for me anymore and moved back to Europe where I based myself in Paris. And since then, I worked for the modeling industry nonstop. I am today at 52 in the top 20 most working men in my age category, I have a great life, traveling extensively all over the world, and worked many great jobs and hope keeping at it next 10 years.

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If you could choose any collaborator or collaboration, who or what would it be and why?

As to find a collaboration, I would love doing a campaign for Ralph Lauren, Hermes, or any Italians, and doing a huge renowned perfume campaign.

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If you could invite any 5 people to dinner who would they be and why?

i would take 6 people for diner actually and they would be: my mom that I miss daily, Barack Obama that I look up to, Bjorn Borg that I admired so much as a kid, Paul Newman for his amazing career as a film actor and especially as a human being and Christy Turlington that I find the most gorgeous woman and the unbelievable Bill Murray that for me is the funniest actor existing.

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Do you have any mentors or style icons that you admire and why?

I admire Roger Federer as I like his resilience and hard work multiplied by a huge talent is the ultimate equation associated to an amazing level of humility; make the word "an icon" the perfect sense.

I liked Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, and Robert Redford as actors etc....love old movies.

Otherwise Nelson Mandela is for me an amazing example.

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What has been your most exciting project so far and why?

My most exciting pro project is my squash career, the National coaching for the US for few years and the switch from being an athlete as a working model. Then personally my 3 daughters who are from 3 moms from 3 countries (American, Norwegian and Brazilian)