Boots, Bags and Rock 'n' Roll
Accessories company Tylie Malibu is preparing to debut a women’s clothing line for Fall 2004 that will convey the same Malibu attitude as the company’s rock ’n’ roll–style handbags.
The 100 percent cotton line will feature T-shirts, sweat shirts and denim jeans. Wholesale prices will range from $30 to $45 for T-shirts and from $150 to $220 for denim.
Faded neutrals will foster a worn, earthy Malibu look and design influences will come from companies such as Great China Wall, according to designer and owner Lisa Tylie Izad. “[The line is about] California lifestyle— think rock ’n’ roller’s wife,” she said.
The Los Angeles–based company broke into the accessories industry three years ago, when Izad’s search for the perfect retro-influence handbag led her to create her own— complete with a vintage belt as a strap.
“I hated handbags,” Izad said. “I couldn’t find one I liked. I threw a belt over my shoulder that my Mom wore in the ’70s, and I said, ’That’s it.’”
Izad began producing her own collection of leather and suede handbags with straps reminiscent of the embellished belts of the ’70s. Signature pieces in the collection feature relaxed Italian calfskin bodies with customized leather straps. The top-selling “Classic” bag has a perforated-suede body with optional crystal and stud detailing on the leather strap. Tylie’s average bag wholesales from $125 to $195.
Tylie Malibu’s line appeals to clientele looking for function and comfort with understated funk.
“We don’t make ladylike bags,” Izad said. “It’s casual, but you can still wear it to The Ivy and feel like you have a cool bag.”
Tylie Malibu has grown from its humble beginning in a 1,200- square-foot Malibu apartment to its current 3,300-square-foot production space in downtown Los Angeles’ Art District. Izad started the company out of her parent’s Malibu home in January 2000. By 2001, she had relocated and hired her first employee, production head Kelly Dinisco. The company now has a crew of 18 employees.
“I used to cry all the time because I had no money, but I never went without paying anyone— even if it meant getting the lights cut off,” Izad said.
Today, Tylie Malibu’s personalized bags and belts sell in more than 800 specialty stores, including Kitson on Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles.
“Lisa has her finger on the pulse of what the L.A. girl wants,” said Kitson owner Fraser Ross. “The crystal [Classic] bag became the ’it bag’ in L.A. and with the movie and TV industry. The ’it girl’ is no longer in New York—it’s the L.A. girl.”
Tylie bags have been spotted on the arms of “it girls” Kelly Osbourne, Gwen Stefani, Christina Applegate, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Halle Berry.
Izad counts on her loyal client base to promote her upcoming line. “We have our own cult-like following of people that get us; it allows us to do different things,” she said.
Kitson already has a long waiting list for Tylie’s latest hit: a Koola Burra sheepskin boot with appliqueacute;d words, such as “Malibu” and “Love,” and shapes, including crosses and fleur-de-lis emblems. The boots retail for $345.
“Those girls are visionaries—they don’t get much press, but their items turn into the hottest things hellip; they’ve evolved the sheepskin craze into a different customer,” Ross said.
Tylie’s boots will remain in short supply, however, because of a shortage of sheepskin. Izad has put a temporary hold on accounts interested in the boots.
Tylie Malibu is carried in the Michael Cohen showroom, located in The New Mart in Los Angeles. For more information, call (213) 613-0833.
