L1 FW19/20 Men’s Outerwear Preview

Retail Buyers Guide: Men’s Outerwear FW19/20

Brand: L1 Premium Goods
Interviewee: Jon Kooley – Creative Director

What’s the overall theme behind next year’s outerwear?
The theme behind the 19/20 season was to redefine our standard of premium. The overall refocus on the elements that are important to us as a brand, and to create a cohesive interpretation of this across all categories.

From which big trends do you take your inspiration? And which other brands, designers, artists or influencers do you follow who shape the style of your brand?
L1 has always been team driven. Our primary source of creative inspiration is the team itself, and the diverse styles, needs and personalities that need to be represented within this line. Finding the balance is not always the easiest task but in the end offers a very unique line season to season.

KEY PRODUCT FOCUS:
What are the three most important products in next year’s range? Why? Please tell us about them.
I would say first and foremost our whole Theorem line is a very important product group for us this season. Establishing a full range of technical 3 layer, 4-way stretch, 20k/20k outerwear is something we’ve wanted to do for some time and it will be very exciting to see how our take on performance is received. In addition to Theorem, several team riders have signature pieces or pro-colourways this year, giving them a creative outlet to get exactly what they want. New for this season, we also added a Men’s one-piece called the County, mimicking a prison-style jumpsuit.

Are your price points going up or down? Where does this pressure come from?
I would say season to season there is always pressure to have a strong offering in the lower price points. As far as our brand stance is concerned our fundamental goal is to give our customers the highest quality product with thoughtful creative designs. As for this particular season, we’ve expanded our collection in both the higher and more entry-level price points. From a global standpoint, it really varies country to country on needed price points and we aim to cover all the needs required.

What new fits/silhouettes are coming next year?
I would say you will see a significant change for this season as the trend is moving away from super tight and leaning more toward a relaxed or straight fit. As far as fits go we have anything anyone could ever want. You will see more of the encased elastic at the hem of some of the pants as the team is leaning more into a streetwear-inspired direction at the moment.

What’s new in colours/prints?
L1 has always been known for a more muted, earthy colour palette. For this season, however, we’ve added a bit more of a balance between both pop and neutral colours, as well as several new prints.

Here’s the place to talk about fabrics, features and technical innovations. Here we’re principally interested in *NEW* technical stories that you haven’t offered to retailers previously.
As I mentioned above, our Theorem capsule is our primary tech story with the 3 layer, 4-way stretch, 20k/20 fabric. In addition to that, staying true to our ethos of offering the highest quality product we can to our customers, we’ve increased the functionality on almost all of the fabrics in the line to 20k/20k waterproof / breathable membranes.

Any has-been trends that your brand is moving away from?
I would say that trends are relative to the brand and the customer. As a brand I see us offering less of the super tight fitting pants but that’s not to say there aren’t still some of the classics in the line.

What are your top marketing stories for next season? This will help us to put some focus in the right place.
I can’t accurately speak to all of the marketing plans for the next season. I can say has we’ve increased our team there are some fresh and exciting things in the works for the coming seasons.

BASE LAYER FOCUS: Do you do baselayers? What’s happening here, what’s your base layer strategy next year? Please let us know your tech innovations, materials, colours and price points.
This season we are offering baselayers. One for Men’s and Women’s. Incorporating our L1 repeat lining print and pairing it with our high-end Theorem line to round out the full performance package.

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