LOYDFORD SPRING 2021.... asked & answered

 I have long said that LOYDFORD is an evolutionary brand. The designers have turned trend into trademark DNA and create their own looks that reflect their brand and resonate with their clients. They continually win new customers at both the retail and wholesale level by actually designing and creating rather than referencing and copying. There are not many privately owned and financed niche businesses that remain so they are to be congratulated for weathering the storms of present-day life as well as the ungrateful and lazy media who go after advertising dollars rather than spotlighting true talent.

 

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I felt this was an important time to speak with them again as so many others cannot continue and yet they persevere and have grown despite all odds.

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 After viewing dozens of  collections for spring 2021 , I can honestly  say  the best  reactions come from those who have a realistic outlook which is that clothes need to be easy to wear, be  mix and match  with  what you might already own, can  be worn at almost any time of day and lastly but maybe  most importantly is that the clothes need to make you feel good when you wear them.

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 In this pandemic world what do you think are the biggest challenges for a privately owned and operated fashion business such as yours? Production? Fabrics? Retail apprehension? Financial?

 Production: the biggest challenge was in the beginning adjusting to the lockdown when everything closed and suddenly the daily routine got totally blocked and production places moved in very slow motion, half occupied factories, 3-day work weeks and everywhere with everyone being social distanced. 

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 Fabrics: we stopped ordering custom made fabrics from our mills with whom we have built long term relationships so we made our move onto Korean textiles where we got one amazing new fabric made while all other fabrics were just ok. We have a local partner for printing our silks so in that aspect we are ok. The costs were just very challenging given the circumstances.

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Retail apprehension: it was a great challenge to dive deep into customer service and turn our fashion house into an almost charitable organization .... joking of course but we turned everything into consignment and gave great discounts and everything worked out well for all concerned except for just a few retailers who proved to be very unprofessional and then we just had to rid ourselves of them.

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Financial: we are moving carefully and working double time for half… Sounds like nothing has changed…  underpaid, over worked and over stressed before and after the crisis began. Our management style has proven successful for us since we have remained in business since 1999 

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 What message do you hope to send with your collection to your buyers at both the wholesale and retail levels?

 Look at the quality of the item and its uniqueness…. Understand and realize where your wardrobe comes from ... Be aware of what you wear and how you wear it. 

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 What reasons have your retailers told you as to why your clothes seem to be so appealing to their clientele?

Timeless, effortless, unique, an attractive price point ... and simple in the fact that it is clothes you wear every day any way  you want. 

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 As time moves on how do you foresee the growth of the collection in terms of new looks and silhouettes?

More dresses… we want to go back to party dresses as soon as parties can be had, we have been playing nice BUT we need some excitement and some fresh action!

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LOYD / FORD Fall 2020...

As written at the onset of my familiarity with LOYD/FORD I understood that this is an evolutionary brand; meaning, yes, they create newness each season but never revolutionary changes and what might have been a trend for some turns into a signature for them. 

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An evolution of bringing couture quality and construction into RTW and making the clothes more accessible in every way. We have found the brand's DNA and we focus on the designs we love without any compromise. Franck Ford

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Imagine two designers whose singular goal is to manufacture and design clothes for women who will wear them and see themselves as beautiful and well turned out. The beauty and significance of LOYD/FORD is not that they are trend driven or because some D list celebrity or so-called influencer has decried the brand as the next best thing since sliced bread. 

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Rarely does any reviewer or review speak or address commercial aspects, so let me spell it out for you … these clothes consistently sell far better than a laundry list of all those ubiquitous brands that offer nothing but hype, inspiration, advertising and trend of the moment.

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 An alternative way to view their work is to know that they are not of the “sheep” like variety of designers who follow, they are designers who LEAD and there aren’t many who can stake that claim. The clothes are impeccably made and do not require any pseudo-intellectual bull for each collection’s genesis…  it is always distinctive /unique, sometimes glamorous somewhat subdued occasionally but always designed for women with discerning taste who are fashion independents rather than fashion “sheep.” The LOYD/FORD designers’ acumen and longevity have allowed them to exhibit their extraordinary range of talents whether in silhouettes, fabrications, technique and even color ranges.

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For fall 2020 LOYD/FORD offers an an amazing assortment of silhouettes, fabrications, prints, textures and signature pieces while providing a choice for women who want quality, originality, pattern mixes and true fashion and not looks that appear fresh from your local thrift shop. The color range runs the gamut from neutral to prismatic. To me the brand uses shapes that don’t intimidate which are slightly tweaked to make them customized for the brand. There is no wrong way to wear the clothes ... yes designers show as they hope a collection will be bought and retailers tend to buy that way but the retail client may not be of like mind which means options/ choices and individuality.

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 Geraldine Stutz, of Bendel’s fame, might have referred to LOYD/FORD as “dog whistle fashion” meaning that their clothes speak at  a pitch that only a certain kind of fashionable woman can hear.

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It is as if by some magical power that these designers continually tap into the zeitgeist of the retail customer resulting in almost inconceivable brick and mortar as well as online sales. In a perfect world, LOYD/FORD would receive some validation, recognition and gratification for their efforts within an industry that theoretically supports the talent of real honest to goodness designers with genuine creativity.

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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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