Larry Hansel Launches New Line, Re-enters Juniors Market

It’s the end of an era.

In December, Larry Hansel will ship the last of his final collection for Rampage Clothing Co., the juniors brand he founded in 1982 and sold to New York–based Iconix Brand Group for $45.9 million in 2005. For the past three years, Hansel held the license to design and produce Rampage, but now that his licensing agreement is up, Hansel is hard at work, launching two new projects.

First up to bat is Golden State, a fashion-driven young contemporary brand targeting an older demographic and the specialty-store market. Launched for Fall 2008, Golden State is already in 200 stores, with projected sales of $15 million for 2010.

“This represents a whole new market for us,” Hansel said. Competing with brands such as BB Dakota and Free People, Golden State features better fabrications and more sophisticated design than Rampage. “We make premium denim and use silks, leather, hand knits, custom printing, specialty hardware. The design is more eclectic,” Hansel said.

Reworked classics—including prairie dresses and Members Only– and motorcycle-style jackets—are produced in a variety of fabrications. Median wholesale prices for Golden State range from $20 to $80.

With five designers producing six collections per year—each with 150 to 200 pieces—Golden State benefits from Hansel’s experience with sourcing and fast fashion. Hansel anticipates launching a swim and beachwear collection under the Golden State label in 2009.

Even as he expands into new markets, Hansel isn’t ready to let go of the juniors market.

Rampage, which represents 30 percent of Commerce, Calif.–based Larry Hansel Clothing’s total business, will leave a big void in December. Hansel intends to fill that space immediately with Grass. Originally a contemporary denim label Hansel invested in and later purchased outright in 2006, Grass sold in stores such as Ron Herman, Lisa Kline and Fred Segal. Come Spring 2009, Grass will be repositioned as a juniors-related separates brand targeting the same stores that currently buy Hansel’s Rampage styles. With 100 to 150 new pieces per month and wholesale prices of $28 to $125, Grass is set to hit the ground running. “We’ve been preparing for this for three years,” Hansel said. As part of his licensing agreement with Iconix, Hansel had to stay out of the juniors market for the duration of his contract. Now, he said, all bets are off. “Basically, I’m doing what I would do if I were launching Rampage in today’s market. Grass, as far as I’m concerned, is the brand-new Rampage repositioned for today’s world.”

According to Hansel, Rampage is set to do $50 million in business in 2008. His goal for Grass is $40 million in sales for 2009. —Erin Barajas