Loyd/Ford Made in LA

With my much needed trip to Los Angeles last week, I thought it would be a great time to feature one of my favorite new labels, LOYD/FORD, the German design duo that creates the most beautiful handmade embroidery and beading, and it’s all done right in LA.

I first saw some of LOYD/FORD’s SS16 collection at the opening of the new Barneys flagship in Chelsea. I just fell in love with the intricate beadwork and fabulous laces. When I found out that the designers, Stephan Loyd and Franck Ford, create all of the pieces by hand with a team of sewers in their downtown L.A. workshop, I was simply amazed. It’s so hard to find this kind of craft and intricacy in today’s mega-manufactured market, but these two really are making it a point to keep all of the work in house, and sewn by hand.

You know how happy that makes me to know that? So happy. 

I just love the combination of the embellished and the chic, bringing a kind of Victorian-era sense of detail to the modern woman’s closet. But these aren’t just pretty things, these gowns are meant to be worn. Really worn. Stephen Loyd says the pieces are constantly changing depending on how you sit, or stand or dance, because “it’s not only about how it looks, it is also about how it works.”

Originally from Berlin, with a design studio in Palm Springs, a workshop in Downtown L.A., and a showroom in Paris, Franck and Stephen take inspiration from all of these places, drawing on everything from Hollywood glamour to Parisian flapper costumes, with a touch of tough downtown cool. With an acute attention to detail, and a flare for dramatics, the Loyd/Ford evening wear is certainly impressive. Worth checking them out. They will definitely be on my radar and in my closet!