Leyendecker: Conceptual But Wearable
There is not one ounce of fluff in Jessica Moss and Lisa Lamar’s short and sweet Leyendecker collection. Through ruthless editing, their debut line for Fall 2006 contained a handful of items that were each distinctly different.
“There are only six pieces— you either like it or you don’t,” said Moss of the Los Angeles– based line. “For the most part, buyers were relieved when we came in with six pieces. They would say, ’That’s it? I love that. That’s so great.’ ”
“Our customer is really craving a lot of cool, more-sculptured black pieces right now,” said Ilaria Urbinati, a buyer for Los Angeles–based boutique Milk, who said she wrote Leyendecker’s Fall line because of its uptown-chic style. “I think that’s what’s going on in fashion right now. It’s a little bit of a sleeker, cooler, underplayed type of person versus the over-the-top-ness that we’ve been doing for the last couple of seasons. [Leyendecker’s blouse] with the ruffle—it’s simple, but it’s sort of adventurous at the same time.”
Tracey Ross and Creatures of Comfort, both in Los Angeles, and Kick Pleat in Austin, Texas, also bought the line.
The Leyendecker style is clean and minimalist in silhouette, but with complicated pattern work that borrows from vintage construction techniques. Moss and Lamar share a history of designing one-of-a-kind masterpiece items and tamed Leyendecker to be wearable with just the right amount of conceptual artiness.
One polyester/rayon blend dress accentuates the backside with a seam that scoops in the small of the back, followed by panels that kick into a skirt. Horsehair-netted lining along the inside hem of a dress stiffens the skirt to a full tent. A Melton wool shrug is lined so the cropped back swoops away from the body.
Leyendecker’s meticulously tailored woven dresses, tops and skirts aim to be refreshingly dressed-up from the casual and form-fitting market of jeans and T-shirts.
“[Nowadays] silhouettes happen to be your body, not what a garment can do for your body,” said Moss. The foundations of Leyendecker’s clothes are constructed to mold the body into a desired shape, whether a long and slimmer waist or an inches-thick rigid skirt hem.
Lamar elaborates: “We want to get the shapes by more than just your average bust dart. It’s like origami.”
Wholesale price points for the expanded Spring collection range from $100 to $225.
For more information, call (310) 502-8804 or visit www.leyendeckerlosangeles.com. —Rhea Cortado
