Lilja: Contemporary Knits From San Francisco
As knitwear designers for the contemporary line Lilja, Juliana Beach and Linnea Michaelson can’t help but be control freaks. Michaelson said she chose to study knitwear design as opposed to woven design because finessing yarn offers complete creative control. “It was a much more creative outlet for me to create from nothing—from yarn into a garment, creating the stitches, the patterns and all that,” Michaelson said.
Beach and Michaelson are quite the complementary pair. Beach studied art history in college, worked as a production manager at Banana Republic and developed a taste for design after seeing what was missing in the market as a boutique owner and buyer.
While Michaelson attended the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, she participated in a collaborative project with one of the most reputable knitwear design houses in the world, Missoni. A class of students designed garments using Missoni yarns while Rosita and Ottavio Missoni gave direction for the project in person for a few days and afterward corresponded with the students from Italy for the duration of the semester. Michaelson moved on to become an associate designer for San Francisco–based knitwear veteran Margaret O’Leary.
As the knitwear line is competing in a tough fashion market, Lilja’s designs offer more than just sweaters. The line includes a dropped-waist viscose crepe yarn dress, a nylon and polyester paneled stripe skirt, and viscose crepe yarn bloomers. For Spring 2006, the line introduced the combination of cotton crochet and printed cotton woven fabric.
Wholesale price points range from $52 for a basic tank to $115 for a nylon and polyester tunic dress and $220 for a full-length cashmere winter coat.
The best-selling items are from the “Mohave” group, which includes a complex design using stripes with varying spacing and knit techniques in seven different colors of yarn. “We are not a basics company,” Beach said. “People have started to come to us for the more ’wow,’ outstanding pieces that really show off what we do best, which is the more complicated stitches and colorings.”
For more information, contact the Aire showroom in the Cooper Design Space, Suite 300, at (213) 683-8488. —Rhea Cortado
