2 days ago
Can the Woman Behind Reformation Strike Gold Twice?
Yael Aflalo was in her office in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan on a recent Friday, considering the current fashion. 'On one side of the spectrum, there are super boxy and oversize clothes, and then on the other, it's extremely feminine,' she said. 'I don't think that's how most consumers are.'
The first collection of her new clothing line, Aflalo, came out in September. 'I wanted to make something that was — you're supposed to say this word in luxury — 'wearable,' that you could just put on,' she said.
'Luxury' is a word Ms. Aflalo does embrace, with a caveat or two. She is a fan of fashion lines like Saint Laurent and the Row, but she finds that most large luxury houses treat their clothes as an afterthought.
'They are mainly concerned with their accessories and rightfully so, because that's where they're making their money,' Ms. Aflalo said. 'So the clothes are not as thoughtful. I wanted to make a luxury brand where the clothing was the focus of the design team.'
Ms. Aflalo, 48, is a design veteran who has had her finger on the pulse of what women want to wear for 25 years. In 1999, she started Ya-Ya, which made casual dresses with a Southern California quality. (Ms. Aflalo grew up in Beverly Hills.)
In 2009, she started Reformation, a brand that built on the ease of Ya-Ya, but made with sustainable materials, largely deadstock fabrics. Customers shopping at the SoHo store were greeted with the words 'Change the World Without Changing Your Style.'
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