Goldschmied Remains in L.A., Plans to Launch Sportswear, Denim Line
Italian denim designer Adriano Goldschmied, who recently left denim maker Koos Manufacturing Inc. in Los Angeles, plans to launch his own line of sportswear and denim for the Fall 2005 season.
Industry buzz had him leaving town and heading back to Italy, his native country. “I never intend to leave Los Angeles because I have such a great operation base here,” the 60-yearold designer said.
Koos Manufacturing and Goldschmied parted ways earlier this month after working out a multimillion-dollar trademark buyout that leaves the 23-year-old vertical denim maker with the rights to produce denim and sportswear pieces under the AG Adriano Goldschmied banner.
The four-year courtship began in 2000 when Koos recruited Goldschmied from Gap Inc., where he had worked as a free-lance designer. At Koos, Goldschmied oversaw all aspects of product development. AG Adriano Goldschmied promotes men’s and women’s premium denim and sportswear with retail prices starting at $70. The line is distributed in North America and Japan.
Goldschmied moved to Los Angeles in 1991 to work on his own line, A. Gold. E., splitting his time between Italy and Los Angeles. In 1999, he moved his family to Los Angeles.
The denim designer—whose design credits include highend denim brands Diesel, Miss Sixty and Mauve—said he left Koos to pursue a global market. “The line will offer highend contemporary sportswear and denim that are innovative in research and design,” he said.
Goldschmied plans to launch sportswear, leather, denim and knits under a new name, which he has yet to determine. The line, for men and women, will be items-driven, he said, with a lot of attention paid to edgy and chic fashion concepts. Silhouettes will include novelty tees, leather jackets and trousers among other sportswear pieces.
The new venture could begin as early as next February, said Goldschmied, adding that a non-compete clause in his agreement prevents him from showing or shipping any denim styles to retailers until after Jan. 31, 2005.
