L'Agence finds tailored and 1920s inspiration at NYFW

L'Agence found the most classic setting to present their fall/winter 2020 collection: The Bowery Hotel. The event was the fourth consecutive presentation the brand has held during NYFW, and while denim is still the main focus for the brand, they have evolved into tailoring at a time when designers are bringing elements of the 1920s back as the roaring '20s 2.0 is here.

With the last decade being so much about athleisure, it was a bit of a surprise that L'Agence would begin to focus so much on tailoring, but as usual, it all goes back to their denim. "We feel tailoring is very important," L'Agence CEO and creative director Jeffrey Rudes said to FashionUnited. "Our blazer business and what we have been doing has a bit of tailoring, and what we have been doing walks back to the jeans. The tailored suits take it to another level, and we feel for the season that's trending."

L'Agence presented fall/winter 2020 at the Bowery Hotel

In the spirit of 1920s inspiration the latest collection also featured a lot of sequins and the tweed blazers are woven with lurex. Typically shine, lurex, and sequins are restricted to L'Agence's holiday collections, but this year it will be a year round endeavor.

Rudes also has a very interesting process for ensuring that everything always goes back to L'Agence's denim, the crown jewel of the brand. "Everything is designed to go back to the jean," he said to FashionUnited. "When we do fittings for collections, I put jeans on the model. We don't just want to see the top or jacket, we want to see the whole outfit. I want to see everything she is wearing, how she's wearing it, we are creating the outfit, not just a piece."

His approach to design is working for the brand, as they have been able to produce more product over the last year and are still on a trajectory of growth. "Our business is really good, and we've been growing in the stores with larger space," Rudes said to FashionUnited. "So, those extra SKUs fill the larger space. We don't sell everything to every one customer. Only our own stores have the full breadth of the brand and everything. We really control how many SKUs are large stores have because we don't want everything to look crowded."

The brand is also very curated about what products go into what stores, and what customers might find in their Los Angeles stores they won't necessarily find in the Miami store. The company's growth is mostly driven right now by their Madison Avenue flagship store on Manhattan's Upper East Side and their e-commerce business.

The L’Agence fall/winter 2020 presentation comes on the heels of the unveiling of a tertiary US brick-and-mortar retail space (and second in Manhattan), having just opened a 2100 square-foot boutique at 45 Greene Street in Soho boutique district in December 2019. The original L’Agence flagship boutique remains a mainstay on L.A.’s quintessential Melrose Place, with further retail expansion plans for the near future.

photos: courtesy of Jacopo Moschin