Gwen's Big L.A.M.B
Stefani and Schifter's luxe new bags
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?
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.”
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.
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.
