Avangard USA
California Market CenterC534(213) 623-2610
French-born businessman and designer Philip Teboul is launching his new Avangard USA label and corporate showroom just in time for the Aug. 8–11 Los Angeles FashionMarket.
Teboul describes his collection of men’s and women’s high-end T-shirts and tops as “avant-garde,” with textured fabric, prints, embellishments and edgy designs. The collection, which wholesales for $19 to $69, comes in a wide array of styles, all constructed in Los Angeles from made-to-order fabric. Eventually, the line will include bottoms and denim.
The new 1,200-square-foot showroom is heavy on color and ornamental touches. The space is lined with thick metal racks designed by Teboul. Many of the racks are accented with lantern-shaped metal finials, giving the room a bit of an Excalibur look. Two large dark-gray metal tables with brass studs anchor each side of the room.
The walls are alternately painted a deep burgundy and a spring green. Big black flat-screen television panels on the wall will be used to help buyers custom-design their own tops. “They can decide if they want long sleeves or short sleeves and which fabric. There are 20 different colors and different prints. Then they can see what it looks like,” Teboul said.
This is not the first apparel line for the Frenchman. He was the founder, owner and designer of Sledge USA, a collection of contemporary casual knitwear carried by stores such as M.Fredric and Nordstrom. At one time, Teboul had a Sledge store on Melrose Avenue, where he sold tops as well as custom-made leather items, jewelry and accessories. But when he ended up spending all his time working at the store as well as handling the manufacturing side of his label, he closed the retail venture nearly four years ago to concentrate on design and production.
Recently, he sold Sledge USA to his former partners to form Avangard USA in conjunction with Fantastic Garments of Hong Kong, which has factories in China, Mexico and Nicaragua. The partnership will enable the company to do larger orders overseas as well as smaller orders in Los Angeles. —Deborah Belgum
