Luca Luca Pulls Out on Madison and Then Some

Rewind back to 1999 when I "officially" joined the press corp Luca Luca was a design house who by that timw had hit its full stride! A must attend" show with top models and killer clothes. The man behind all this was designer Luca Orlandi, a pleasant men with a wonderful personality to match; he was on top of the world.  The years rolled on and the company did fine gaining editorial spreads in all the major fashion magazine.

In 2008 Mr. Orlandi hired a new creative director Raul Melgoza, a finance major from the University of Southern California who then attend Parsons School Of Design and graduated top of his class. Shortly after this took place Mr. Orlandi sold his company to Equitium Group which is a company formed from ex McKinsey employes, they also hold Caswell & Massey.

By this time the cracks had started to show within the company. I can recall from personal experience being invited to a show, getting phone calls, reconfirming, only to be told a week before the show would start that I could not attend? This went on for about a season and a half and by then I was OVER THEM! As well the quality in the clothing seemed to be going in a different direction as well the design, in short Luca Luca had lost its edge. The personal treatment alone would send any fashion editor worth his or her salt away from this house.

Within the slow demise of this house there is one winner, and that winner is Mr. Orlandi himself! 2008 began the economic collapse which we are still facing to this day, did Mr. Orlandi see something we missed or was it a case of building a great fashion house and getting top dollar for it? I'll never know but we have seen this happen with other house like Rochas which was bought by Proctor & Gamble who had the license to the fragrance, shorty after the house closed.

In its heyday Luca Luca had two stores on Madison Ave, the first its flagship at 63rd Street and Madison which now houses the Hermes mens store and the other on 1011 Madison 78th street. With now no presence in New York City what about the other boutique locations? I called chicago and Worth Avenue in Palm Beach both lines dead. The only shop still running is Maimi- Coral Gables. I would think due to a bad a economy and a cheap rent the Equitium can keep the store running.

The real question will be in September when the shows happen, will Luca Luca be in the running? If not I think we then know the fate of this once great fashion house.

Luca Orlandi Photo:www.modelindustry.com
Luca Runway: www.lucaluca.com

The Hilbert Project Fall 2012- On The Radar

It seems that most fashion designers are driven by some sort of inspiration, may it be a muse,destination or movie the choices are endless but it seems there's one designer who might not subscribe to this line of thinking?! Enter Schjanna Rydenour, a designer based in Brooklyn New York. By day she acts as a designer for other companies who are in need of design flair but the Hilbert Project has been in production for two seasons and looks upon "easy dressing with style" as the guideline for this house. An added bonus is the price point with most pieces hovering under $400. The concept of easy stylish pieces makes a day to evening switch effortless. While the style factor is not over the top which is a good thing the clothes allow one to utilize accessories, and who does not love that?! There's a lot to like about this line, but like all designers it's an uphill climb some make it, some don't. To view the current collection click here