Lisa Marie Fernandez (Q5037)
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Lisa Marie Fernandez is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Lisa Marie Fernandez |
Lisa Marie Fernandez is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
How do you talk about bikinis when the world is in the grip of a pandemic? Lisa Marie Fernandez held appointments for her spring 2020 collection in Paris back in September. “Luckily,” she said on a phone call yesterday, “the collection is really positive and colorful, pretty and optimistic. That’s what I was craving even before all this happened.”For anyone in the mood for a shopping pick-me-up, Fernandez’s suits and cover-ups in buttercup yellow, blush pink, and mint green could indeed be just the thing. The ’60s retro silhouettes of the pointy-cup bikinis and one-pieces are transporting; with IRL travel discouraged, time travel is the next best thing. And the fact that her effortless sundresses—in lounge-y shapes well-suited for at-home living—are made in America from organic gauzes render them all the more appealing. Shopping locally and sustainably are always important, but even more so in this crisis.Personally, Fernandez is staying positive. “We have some orders, people are buying things,” she said. “And the warm weather is almost upon us.”
2 April 2020
Lisa Marie Fernandez launched her swim label 10 years ago with a neoprene one-piece; she was way, way early on the sportification of fashion. For Spring, she’s put a pointy-cup bikini top in her collection. If, somewhere not so far down the line, you’re feeling for a latter-day Bond girl two-piece, Fernandez will be the reason why.The other surprising development in her new lineup that might just catch on, given its appearance on recent runways? PVC, which she used for a pin-up–style bustier one-piece, as well as for athletic silhouettes that hearkened back to her early rash guard–style suits, all va-va-voom in unique ways. Though the abbreviated tank top and zip-front bike short–style bottoms in PVC are completely water-safe, they could double as underpinning accompaniments for one of her breezy dresses. Some women are likely to be tempted to mix and match them with cut-offs or jeans and T-shirts.“The collection checks both boxes,” Fernandez said. “Our clothing has been very feminine and bohemian, but now we have the bodycon, too.” Having reached the 10-year milestone, what’s next for the label? Fernandez says she’d like to open her own store, but she’s not in a rush and wants to do it her way. That’s worked pretty darn well for her so far.
4 April 2019
One of the most exciting developments in the retail space in 2018 has been the popularity of niche brands. Go to Net-a-Porter or MatchesFashion.com and the designer lists are peppered with little-known names that do a surprisingly big business. Lisa Marie Fernandez, whose label turns 10 in 2019, was very much a pioneer in this regard. She saw a hole in the swimwear market for highly functional, deeply chic suits and she plugged it, first with her neoprene maillots and rash guard–style one-pieces, later with more fashion-forward looks, like the best-selling off-the-shoulder Leandra top and a cropped, clingy cardigan. Fernandez was also early to the still-growing destination wear category.These days the longtime New Yorker lives in Malibu, where she can pretty much dress in gauzy peasant frocks all year round. And she operates on her own schedule, irrespective of industry protocol. Many brands are presenting their Pre-Fall 2019 collections this month; she’s only now releasing her Resort imagery. Per usual, this Resort collection is full of pieces to make other longtime New Yorkers want to drop it all and move to Malibu right along with Fernandez: angel-sleeve cotton maxi dresses, eyelet skirts, and matching wrap-style pouf-sleeved blouses. The novelty was in her forays into less beachy sportswear pieces like the cropped pants and “double-breasted” skirts that she paired with her popular cropped Diana jacket, so named for its resemblance to the silhouettes Princess Diana favored in the ’80s. These are cut in linen to retain some of the line’s inherent beachiness. There are also body-conscious metallic PVC minidresses that look retro in a clubby way. To this office worker, who spends little time on the beach or in nightclubs, the former category has the more compelling resonance.
18 December 2018
Princess Diana was the muse for Lisa Marie Fernandez’s latest collection, with its pastel polka dots and double-breasted dresses. There’s kismet in that, considering the global fascination with the recent nuptials of her son Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, but Fernandez insists it was pure coincidence.It’s a claim you can pretty much believe; this is a Spring 2018 collection conceived many months ago. Most designers presented their Fall 2018 collections in February and March, but Fernandez works on her own schedule. Her business is swimwear and destination-wear, so it’s easier to operate off schedule than it would be if she were doing seasonal ready-to-wear. But if it works, it’s because the product is good and made with unexpected materials in distinctive trend-setting shapes. That’s probably another reason she delivers late: the copycats.The directional silhouettes this time around are that boxy, double-breasted sundress (it’s retro enough to be intimidating to some) and a paper bag–waist bikini brief. Fernandez likes to tell a story about retailers’ early resistance to her belly button–grazing bikini bottoms. Now, of course, those briefs are a core part of her collection. More than likely, she’s onto something with this new shape, too.
29 May 2018
Lisa Marie Fernandez has relocated from New York to the top of Topanga Canyon. Whether it’s temporary or permanent she doesn’t know, but one thing’s for sure: The California sunshine agrees with her. And with the temperature difference, it’s definitely a better place from which to do research for her swim and destinationwear lines.For Spring, Fernandez is getting behind black-and-white polka dots and smocking. She’s brought the ruffled silhouette of her best-selling and much-imitated Arden and Mira suits back and, in some cases, made it a double ruffle for newness’s sake with the Sabine style, while dots take them in a flirtatious, girly direction. The smocked bikini (named after Selena Gomez, a devoted client) and gauzy cotton dresses give off an innocent vibe, too. The black-and-white swim and resortwear is designed to mix and match, and Fernandez encourages her customers to wear her maillots beyond the beach. That may sound like a new Californian talking, but any Lower East Sider could tell you that one-pieces and jeans are trending here, too.Expanding on her design philosophy, Fernandez said, “Anything too elevated or avant-garde is the kiss of death in swimwear. It has got to be pretty and positive. Gray is not the way to go.” So, in addition to the dots and smocking, she’s got brilliant colors, including a sun-kissed marigold and a bright pink. The pink is in the Japanese cotton she developed last year, and, like those denim blue suits, it promises to fade from exposure to seawater, chlorine, and sun “like your favorite pair of old jeans.”
11 April 2017
Editor-turned-entrepreneur Lisa Marie Fernandez swiftly became a fashion favorite for the savvy cuts and surprising fabrics of her swimwear. Her flounced bikinis and patchworked denim maillots, for instance, are completely ocean-worthy, but they work offla plage, as well. Chalk it up to her years as a stylist: Fernandez began adding pieces like wrap skirts and shirtdresses to her collections early on. The news for Resort 2017 is just how large her destinationwear category is getting; according to the designer, it’s up 50 percent.But it’s not just bigger, it’s bolder, too, with a look that she describes as “very Latin.” The colors are mood-elevating lemon yellow, tomato red, and deep sea blue. For trimming there’s crafty rickrack in those same vivid hues, and she’s also gotten deep into eyelet. Fernandez herself favors long bohemian silhouettes, but here she put an emphasis on short, flirty cuts in 3/4-length-sleeve and sleeveless variations. To belt or not to belt is up to the client.On the swim front, bikinis in a new multicolored striped cotton that riffs on traditional Mexican blankets seem destined to be popular, as do the silhouettes with double ruffles. Fernandez has a good handle on her brand vibe and seems poised for growth. The question is: Which direction to go? We’d like to see how she’d approach knitwear—beach sweaters, please! Poolside accessories such as towels and pillows would likewise be a natural extension of the LMF universe.
28 November 2016
“It’s just before Easter—everyone’s thinking of going away.”Lisa Marie Fernandezwas talking through the launch of her Spring collection. She is one of fashion’s most innovative designers of high-quality swimwear, and this season marks her plunge into see-now-buy-now instant availability—a move calculated to stymie her many copyists and give women something fresh to get their hands on. “I think you get bored with seeing things everywhere,” she declared. “And we had to take issue with these impostors.”Her combined flair for swim psychology and technical fabrics—and for listening to the feedback of friends—has led to some chic new configurations. Enter the Genevieve twinset bikini: a tiny cropped jacket, strapless bra, and high-waisted bikini bottom in plaid seersucker. “There are women who don’t love their arms. And a lot of people don’t like to take too much sun on their shoulders,” explained Fernandez. Also welcome the Triple Poppy maillot: a madras check design with three knotted tiers, a sexy compromise between a swimsuit and a bikini, named forPoppy Delevingne.Leandra Medineherself wore her favorite off-the-shoulder-topped Leandra bikini for the lookbook shoot.There’s a sense of American ’60s and ’70s nostalgia at work here, but Fernandez emphasized how much research and development had gone into “remastering” retro-look materials to guarantee that every piece functions in the water. “Everything has to be swimmable,” she said. “Even the jacket—you can just rinse it out in the sink.” Still, she’s taking her vacation-mentality wardrobe further onto dry land, with breezy gingham skirts, crop tops, and a voluminous tiered peasant dress with a scooped back. “Destinationwear” is Fernandez’s classification for it. A total package, then, and one you won’t find anywhere else first.
22 March 2016
Just when you thought designers had done every last little thing that could be done to denim, along comesLisa Marie Fernandezand her Resort line. The indisputable hit of the collection will be the patchworked denim swimsuits, cut in styles both familiar and new to fans of the label. Fernandez promises the two-pieces and maillots will fade and fray in the sun and surf, just like your favorite pair of cutoffs. It would be interesting to see honest-to-goodness jeans from the designer, who has been known to rock killer flares in real life, but she is very strategic about her brand’s growth. Sundresses, caftans, and muumuus (her word, not ours) are more natural extensions of her swim business, so she’s focused her attention on them this season, using lightweight Japanese denims and chambrays for a variety of silhouettes, from swingy trapeze styles to shirtdresses you can wear well beyond the beach. There was no shortage of other novel fabrics either. Fernandez worked with velvet and neoprene-backed suede—both water-safe—but the denim was the knockout.
2 December 2015
When Emily Ratajkowski launched her Inamorata swimwear line, Lisa Marie Fernandez wasn’t the only one who noticed similarities between her own eight-year-old collection and the actress and social media star’s debut. In fact, the resemblances were so pronounced on two suits that Fernandez sent Ratajkowski a cease and desist letter the day after the launch. The PR blast that followed was heard ’round the world, and Ratajkowski was soon in “hot water”; the story made theNew York Post. That’s one of the drawbacks of being an Instagram sensation, we suppose.Litigation aside, the best way to fight copycats is to keep innovating. Though Fernandez has long made a point of building on her brand staples season after season, evolving fabrications but sticking by her best-selling silhouettes, she’s also done a fair bit of expanding this season. That goes for her bathing suits; this is the first time she’s done a straightforward triangle string bikini, believe it or not. And it goes for her growing clothing offering, as well. Fans of her popular off-the-shoulder Leandra suit will be pleased to discover that she’s replicating the shape on summery tops. There’s also a terrific floral print on natural linen that she used for a top and skirt combination and a shirt dress that could believably go to the office on a humid, sticky day next summer. Fernandez is no slouch in the Instagram department herself. One repeat customer wrote “swimsuits are the new shoes.” Now there’s an idea with potential, Lisa.
22 December 2017
Lisa Marie Fernandez has a laser-sharp focus and a long-term plan. "We maintain our core," she said of her swim and active collection. "It takes a long time for a global audience to catch on." To ensure that people can recognize a Lisa Marie Fernandez swimsuit when they see one, she sticks to the same silhouettes every season, adding one or two new looks and cutting the pieces that don't work.The result this time out was another round of maillots, bikinis, and terry dresses and robes that will feed right into the getaway bags of Fernandez's fans. (For a list of those fans, take a look at the names of her pieces—all named after friends, like Yasmin Sewell, Hannah Bronfman, and Liberty Ross, who also model for her lookbooks.) This season, Fernandez switched up her colors to nautical red, blue, and white and added charming rope details to bikini bottoms, and anchor-stamped buttons to pinup-worthy high-waist looks. The zipped terry swimsuits are still sexy, and Fernandez said they look even better when they're wet and the texture comes through. Flamenco-style flounces on neoprene bikinis were particularly flirty.Fernandez is smartly studying the habits of her body-con customers. Her active bodysuits, bras, and boy shorts—in stripes and solid terry, all with her signature scuba zipper—are meant for the girl who takes Barry's Boot Camp on the beach and then jumps straight into the ocean.
11 September 2014
It's a big moment for Lisa Marie Fernandez. The swimsuit line she launched on a whim half a decade ago is arguably one of the most influential brands in its category, spawning imitations up market and down. Surfing on its success, she's getting into the activewear business. Lululemon this isn't. Fernandez sells $315 neoprene bikinis and has an abiding affection for Hermès and Céline. The fleece she's using for bodysuits, cropped tees, and wrap tops is vicuña-soft. It'd be a shame to actually break a sweat in the stuff. Better to think of it as loungewear—there's not much that would feel better against the skin.Fit and fabric have always been paramount for Fernandez. Part of her secret has been returning to the same cuts and materials season after season; slow expansion, rather than change for change's sake, is her m.o. So there was a lot here that looked familiar, but that's not a bad thing. What was new was a fine Italian crepe in ivory and pastel shades of mint and lilac that she used for versatile wrap styles more bohemian in spirit than her sporty early suits. They jibed more with Fernandez's own personal style than anything she's done to date. It's easy to picture her breezing into a rooftop party in the plunge-front style accessorized with one of this summer's essential pleated handkerchief-hem skirts.
10 June 2014