In the crowded café, her brisk walk and self-confident look immediately reveal: That must be Leyla Piedayesh, the founder of the German brand Lala Berlin. The label organizes a lunch in Amsterdam to meet press, influencers and retailers from the Netherlands and Belgium. Piedayesh strolls between the tables, joking and chatting.
“I like the social life. I like to be around people,” says the designer an hour later, as she takes a seat at a table by the window for an interview with FashionUnited. Next to her is Lisa Maloney, wholesale and retail manager at Lala Berlin. FashionUnited spoke to the two about theirs Plans for the Dutch and Belgian markets A year and a half ago, Lala Berlin hired a new agency here: New Market Agency, whose portfolio also includes Modström, Sessùn and Baum und Pferdgarten, with whom Lala Berlin is working on expanding its retail network in the Benelux countries, but without specific goals: “The growth has to be organic,” says Piedayesh
Between business and knitting
Organic growth – that could be a subtitle for the brand name Lala Berlin. In fact, from the beginning, almost twenty years ago, there was no strategic plan. Piedayesh did not start with an apprenticeship in fashion, but with a degree in international business. That didn’t work, and neither did journalism and television. “Then I started knitting because I didn’t know what else to do,” says Piedayesh. She started out with knitted accessories: triangular cashmere scarves with a keffiyeh motif, a nod to her Iranian heritage. “People liked them, and suddenly they were in two or three stores.”
Also, the switch from accessories to clothing was more of a coincidence than an intention. Piedayesh shrugs: “The accessories were wool, but I didn’t know what to do in the summer. I’ve made silk and cotton versions, but they didn’t turn out nearly as beautiful as the wool ones. So I started printing t-shirts, and from t-shirts it went to handknit sweaters, and from sweaters it went to a small collection, and then suddenly it was a big collection. Everything grew naturally, with no intention of going in any particular direction.”
As in nature, it wasn’t so much a matter of chance as of the coincidence of the right circumstances. The growth of Lala Berlin more or less coincided with the rise of Berlin as a European fashion city. During the first Berlin Fashion Week in 2007, Piedayesh was asked to do a show. The brand also received attention in the following years: It was seen in the internationally broadcast documentary Glamor Pour Tous, which dealt with the flourishing Berlin fashion scene. Stars like Mischa Barton, Claudia Schiffer and Heidi Klum were photographed in looks by the label.
Lala Berlin has been able to sail with the times, and the label has continued to do so over the years. However, something has changed in the brand’s approach over the past five years, as Maloney points out. While Piedayesh initially relied primarily on her intuition, today the company thinks more strategically. This has helped it develop and become profitable. For the past three years, Piedayesh has shared leadership with Lisa Maloney’s sister, Livia Lee, who oversees the business side of the company. The label continues to design unusual women’s collections with a focus on knitwear, but now also sells in Germany, other European countries and Australia.
The human side
Lala Berlin now wants to continue to grow, especially in the Benelux countries, where the brand now has 22 sales outlets. “We’re already very successful in the Netherlands,” Maloney begins, “but we’d like to go even further, including in Belgium and Luxembourg.” Maloney is referring in particular to the expansion of the number of physical stores. that Lala Berlin is so committed to physical retail at a time when online growth is particularly strong.” At first I didn’t like it at all. I didn’t want to work with many online partners because I was afraid that it would mean the demise of the physical stores, of the people who had supported us from the start. But it has become impossible to say no,” said Piedayesh. Maloney nods. “The younger generation is undoubtedly very technology-oriented. You have to find other ways to attract them because they are less interested in brick-and-mortar stores. We hope it doesn’t have that much of an impact, because for us, brick-and-mortar stores are still the best way to stay in touch with our customers.”
Piedayesh adds: “It’s the human side, the interaction, that we shouldn’t lose. A store means you can go somewhere where you can touch things, where you can talk to people. If we lose places like this, we’ll be working from home forever, ordering things online that we only wear on Instagram or at Zoom meetings. But maybe I’m a bit old-fashioned,” she muses. “I’m 51, and sometimes I feel like a grandma. Maloney: “You’re still cool!” Piedayesh laughs. “I know. But sometimes you feel like there’s a generational shift that you wonder if you can keep up with.”
The most important thing is not to be afraid, Piedayesh and Maloney both agree. Not afraid to lose contact with customers. “There are so many people in the world,” says Piedayesh, “that at some point there will always be someone, young or old, who likes Lala Berlin. It’s about being open and finding your own niche with people who like what you do.”
Maloney: “We prefer to take risks”
Sometimes you have to dare to take exciting steps, says Maloney. “The world is very complicated at the moment, there are challenges everywhere. The consequences of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, rising prices… They also pose difficult logistical and financial problems for Lala Berlin. Maloney: “You have to make good, practical decisions. What your market is, where your potential lies, where you want to grow. Unlike many other companies, we prefer to take risks. During Covid-19 there were many who didn’t want to buy because they were worried about tomorrow. The companies that took risks then are thriving today.”
It will not be big steps for the time being. “We don’t want them,” says Maloney. “We’d rather grow slowly, with retailers that we have a good relationship with. Piedayesh: “We really don’t need flagship stores that look the same everywhere. We prefer to explore with retailers. I like working with retailers anyway. They know their market much better than we do.” Again, organic growth is preferable to hard targets. Piedayesh: “I don’t want to build something that’s global but I no longer have control over and don’t identify with I don’t have to force Lala Berlin into everything. You don’t have to adapt to everything, you just have to be yourself”.
This translated and edited post previously appeared on FashionUnited.nl.