Luxury Loves Company: Fashionable Radical
Just a couple of months after it debuted in May, new fashion brand Luxury Loves Company landed in top-fashion boutique Kitson. It was a coup for LLC designer Diane Rosenstein, a woman who, until recently, had no experience in the fashion industry. She says her new success is more than the luck of the draw. Rather, she said, her line’s balance of luxury and radical chic is finding an audience.
Working out of her living room in Los Angeles’ Laurel Canyon area, Rosenstein crafted radical statements by using shocking graphics such as an Andy Warhol–esque depiction of an infamous 1974 picture of kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst toting a gun. For luxury, she uses soft Turkish cotton and organic cotton to construct her T-shirts, hoodies and shirt dresses. According to Rosenstein, the cotton is produced by fair-trade manufacturers. This label signifies a promise from offshore manufacturers that their employees will be paid a living wage.
The joining of radical and luxury piqued the interest of Kitson Men buyer Jay Andrews. “It’s a little bit different from what we carry. Some of the stuff is edgy, but it is selling well, and it turned out to be a good gamble. We like launching new designers,” he said.
In one LLC shirt dress, Rosenstein places her pop-art treatment of Patty Hearst in front of the garment. With a nod to designer Vivienne Westwood’s punk days, Rosenstein put bondage-style straps on the back of the garment, dubbed the “Double Patty” T-shirt dress. Retail price points range from $75 to $95.
Fashion is a second career for Rosenstein, who has worked as an interior designer and a gallery owner. She said the radical graphics are not meant to glorify violence. Rather, they are an attempt to capture a moment in time, just like her shirt bearing some lyrics from Grandmaster Flash’s anti–cocaine abuse song, “White Lines.”
Her foray into fashion was helped by her work with professional graphic artists, fashion designers and garment finishers. Ultimately, Rosenstein hopes LLC will do more than start conversations. “I’m out there to make a brand,” she said. “I want to make handbags and hoodies. I want this to be as good as it can be.”
For more information, e-mail sales@luxurylovescompany.com or call Rosenstein at (323) 397-9225. —Andrew Asch
