Today in New York: Layla Delridge
One of New York’s many stereotypes is to be the uber cool city prototype, a place in where shopping is a heaven-like experience and where cool hunters face with some sort of El Dorado- made of clothes.
Everyone who has been there knows this is true. And it’s also thanks to designers as Layla Delridge that this “idea” of the Big A is still so strong and powerful.
Her brand, Ledthread, is – in fact- all you think when you think about the City: hip, fierce, edgy, stylish, sophisticated, utterly gorgeous, smart, unique.
Try wearing one of her belts: it’s just like strutting down 7th avenue.
:: Why and when did you start Ledthread? I’d made and sold clothes for years in Los Angeles, but the current version of Ledthread was born in Spring 2008, after I moved to Brooklyn. I was freelancing, making patterns and samples for the sewing website BurdaStyle, which was in the same building as the Etsy offices. Discovering an amazing community of makers and a vibrant handmade marketplace inspired me to seriously concentrate on Ledthread.
:: Where do you get your inspiration from? From nature, especially the desert, the sky, and the sea. From traditional dress the world over, with a special penchant for nomadic peoples and the Japanese. From psychedelia, particularly Joshua Tree and Burning Man.
:: Who is your ideal buyer? Whomever Ledthread resonates with! My customers are super cool ladies. They appreciate the idiosyncrasies and human touch inherent in handmade, and they know that being fashionable can mean simple, yet bold, clothing. My customers aren’t particularly concerned with trend or label–they’re smart unique creatives with nothing to prove but something to say.
:: What is your favorite NYC place? A beach in the Rockaways that feels like it’s at the end of the world. I only go in the winter, when I can take my dog. We both go crazy: she runs in circles through sand and surf, and I laugh and sing and walk on my hands. It’s usually totally deserted, and we always find strange things, like broken sculptures, stopped clocks, buried saris and heaps of torn-up roses.
:: Do you think New York can still be considered the place-to-be for young creatives? Of course! Why wouldn’t it be? I’ve been many places and met interesting creatives in all of them, but the energy, inspiration, and opportunity in New York is unsurpassed.
:: Where do you shop in NYC? Besides my armchair Etsy shopping, I like Eerie Basin and Holler & Squall for old, beat-up, beautiful things for the home. For clothing, I like OAK, Sodafine, Alter, Kaight, and Ina. For markets: the Brooklyn Flea, Renegade, and the BUST Craftacular.
:: If I say Italy, you say…? Tutto posto! On my obligatory coming-of-age European backpacking tour, I ended up in Positano after a stranger adamantly insisted I go there. The sun, the mountain, the sea, oh! the light–magical. I felt I may turn into either a bird or a mermaid at any moment. And I met a girl. She took me more deeply into Italy than I could go on my own. And that girl, Kristin Hanson, is still my best friend, and we’re both Brooklynites now. This past October, we went back to Positano, and it was just as magical as it was 10 years ago.
Category: DESIGN, ENGLISH, FASHION, Today in New York, VESTITO A FESTA
