|
(NEW YORK) Eschewing a star-studded party that
would undoubtedly have been hounded by paparazzi
clamoring for post-baby photos, Gwen Stefani
opted for a calmer, more intimate affair Thursday,
when she and Tim Schifter launched their
higher-priced L.A.M.B handbag collection. An
exclusive group of retailers and editors were on
hand for the hour-long event, held at the four-month
old Schifter + Partners Showroom in the Flatiron
District. Even Kingston, Stefani’s
three-month-old son with husband Gavin Rossdale,
was present, cradled in a stroller adorned with
camouflage-print canvas. The cozy space, lined with
wall-to-wall shelves displaying the 33 different
styles of handbags, was anchored by four large white
fiberglass tables, inspired by the trunks bands use
when on tour, according to Schifter. The bags, which
retail for $395 to $700, will make their debut on
December 1. The Daily chatted with Stefani and
Schifter on the collection and their upcoming
Fashion Week plans.
Gwen, who is this new
L.A.M.B girl? |
Tim Schifter and Gwen Stefani
© Patrick
McMullan |
Gwen: The L.A.M.B girl is me,
and it’s always going to be me. It’s funny because when I
look back at what we did before, those bags were so me at
the time, but with limitation, because it was a
collaboration and there was only so much room to flex. By
the end of it all, we were really outside the box, and now,
years later, I’ve grown up and want the quality to be on par
with the things I wear right now.”
Tim, take me through the idea
behind these bags.
You wanted bags that were familiar in shape…
| Tim: The idea of the
collection first of all was to create something
timeless, something classic and with an irreverent
twist. That’s why going into the design process, we
came up with a concept that we really tried to stick
with as we came up with the collection group: style
after style, leather after leather. The bags
themselves are closer to the European luxury feeling
than the American contemporary handbag category. I
think they’re highly differentiated but priced in
the contemporary. Gwen’s unique personal take on
fashion incorporated her signature elements like
Rasta colors and the old English lettering. For
spring, we’re incorporating velvet into the
collection. For this first launch, there are two
collections—the Signature collection and the leather
collection which is called Love. The reaction has
been phenomenal. We were going to launch it for
Spring 2007 delivery but the retailers wanted it for
holiday.” |
A look from the
L.A.M.B Love collection |
You’ve doubled the doors that
the bags will be launched in. What are they?
Tim: We’re launching nationally with Nordstrom,
Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, Henri Bendel’s,
Holt-Renfrew in Canada, eluxury.com, and in a select group
of specialty stores like Intermix.
Tell me about
your synergy with each other.
Gwen: Tim came to me and asked if I wanted to
design, and that was a stroke to my ego. I’d never
collaborated with anyone outside of music, and I’ve learned
so much from him because he’s so passionate and gets things
perfectly. I blend really well with that, with people who
love what they do. It was hard in the sense that we had this
open forum and we could do what we wanted, and with the
quality, the sky’s the limit. He was really helpful in
helping me edit and get it through the inspiration and
narrow down the different themes. He’s good at that part and
I’m good at saying, ‘I want this and I want that.’ Tim
reeled it all in and here we are. It’s so beautiful to see
the final product.
Tim: We’ve worked together on and
off for a long time and have a friendship. We understand how
to work together. It’s almost intuitive. She knows what I
want to do, I know what she wants to do. We started
designing the first L.A.M.B handbag collection in April, and
here we are in August, and we have the full collection.
That’s quite a fast process. We knew what we wanted to do
and a lot of thought went into it. It’s a collaboration that
works on the creative side enormously well and she’s also a
business partner, so that adds another dimension to her
involvement and interest in the brand.
Last season
Gwen staged a pretty flashy fashion show for the debut of
your fashion line last September. This season, you’re toning
things down a bit. Why?
|
Tim: Between her new baby
and working on her new solo album and working on the
handbag collection, there’s only so much she one
person can do. Gwen is doing a presentation at
Industria Super Studio and it’ll be very interesting
a unique approach. And, of course, the handbags will
be included. What are
your goals for this young brand?
Tim: Based upon the
initial retail reaction and launching it in over 225
doors, and how right I think this collection is
especially for a new collection, I think it has
enormous opportunity. I’ve felt confident about it
from the beginning. Until you show it to the press
and retailers and get their read you just don’t
know. Now there are orders and the enthusiasm
validates it, and based on that, the opportunity is
greater than I thought it would be. |
A look from
the L.A.M.B Signature collection |
Gwen: It’s still so young
despite having come so far. I never would have dreamed it
would come this far. I’d be up here with the bags around me
looking as good as they do. The idea is just to keep going
and going. I just want to keep going and get more
sophisticated and be really broad, but at the same time
funky. I’m thinking about launching a line of sunglasses
next.
What about eventually opening your own
retail doors?
Tim: It hasn’t been formerly discussed because
this has all happened so fast and furiously. Right now we
are focused on making the product better and better. But I
never say never; reaching a consumer directly is always
intriguing.
JIM SHI
© 2002-2006
Fashion Week Daily
|
