Ethically produced in LA with remarkable attention to detail, Italian fabrics and expert tailoring, AGAIN pieces are unusual yet refined. And as it turns out, the secret to achieving both accessibility and exclusivity is the procurement of the right garment at the right price for the right retailer; in a word, selectivity. AGAIN’s dresses, skirts and pants are made for the girl who pays attention without obsessing; who seeks elegance but appreciates irregularity. She’s the girl who presents herself, not her image, who effortlessly wears the outfit you wish you thought of. These notions are at the crux of the brand’s innovative identity, which, when combined with quality production, propel the label to join the ranks of our underdog city’s fashion elite. As the reigning czar/king/queen/prince/princess of US fashion, New York has colored (in a de-saturated neutral) the landscape of the industry while casting a shadow over any conflicting paradigm. Fashion is notoriously akin to religion for New York, and is, fiscally speaking, what the entertainment industry is to Los Angeles. I’ll never forget a conversation I had with contemporary artist Zak Smith, who described a woman getting dressed in the morning as becoming who they want to be for that day. The appreciation of narrative and whimsy is embraced by Los Angeles, in lieu of the New Yorker’s mantra of effortless elegance. While one capitol embraces design and hierarchy, the other lifestyle and accessibility. And with the curious emergence of innovative LA design houses like Rodarte, Alexander Wang and Band of Outsiders, let the parallels be drawn between the bicoastal feud and the linear-slash-non-linear divide between Paris and London. (Yep. Said it.) The same youthful exuberance that’s fueled London’s irreverent new class of designers, like JW Anderson, Christopher Kane and Sarah Burton, can be felt throughout the ground-breaking collections of West Coats ingénues. And it’s in that same idiosyncratic vein that AGAIN has begun to find their niche. “I design the clothes, but Courtney has to hear the ‘no’s.’ At the same time, she’s selective and has no problem saying ‘No, this does not belong in your store,’” explains Amber. Courtney elaborates, “We want it sold, but we want the right fit—AGAIN isn’t for everybody” It’s the same principle that’s the secret to Ready-to-Wear darling, the Row, produced right here in Culver City. To avoid the sale rack, you have to discriminate. While buyers this SS13 market pleaded for color, Amber forged ahead with her neutral, yet feminine pallet of taupe, beige and plum. “After enough buyer feedback, sometimes you want to be like OKAY—here’s your fucking red.” But while going with one’s gut can cost you immediate numbers, integrity is the essential foundation on which the world’s most respected design-houses are built. Back at the showroom, thumbing through five seasons on the rack doesn’t get redundant, as each piece is unexpected, yet unmistakably AGAIN. The label has intuitively found a way to surprise the consumer within the context of an overall identity.
With genius subtlety, cleverness and a
healthy disregard for the status quo, AGAIN has architected an exquisite brand of timeless quirky-chic. And while, like London, LA has its share of chavy unicorn-fluffers, it’s the inherent price we pay for paradigm-shattering innovation. What we’re trying to say is, you can count AGAIN among the growing number of reasons to give a damn about LA fashion.