Schwartz’s designs sell at high-end department stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale’s. Almost everything he makes, except for the leather jackets and faux-fur jackets, is manufactured in Los Angeles with contractors he has been using for decades. “Our mantra has always been ‘affordable luxury,’” he said. His dresses, however, don’t sell for thousands of dollars but hundreds. The company gained a reputation for reinterpreting red-carpet gowns seen at celebrity-studded events such as the Academy Awards and the Emmy Awards. Almost on a daily basis I refer back to this collection.”ĪBS by Allen Schwartz has always been strongest in the casual dress, career dress and evening-gown category. Inside his 60,000-square-foot building-which houses designers, sample makers, customer service and shipping- there is a large open space carved out for Schwartz’s own vintage collection of clothing he has been gathering for 35 years. Schwartz not only studies what is in the stores, but he makes a few purchases. I feel like there is something I could always do better,” he explained. He always takes his camera to capture what is on the store racks. Another day he might stroll down Robertson Boulevard and Melrose Avenue. One day it may be Venice and Santa Monica. Three or four times a week, he takes off in the afternoon to shop the stores in a particular LA neighborhood. “I just came out of three meetings and it is only 9 a.m.,” he said in a recent interview. He rises early and is in his office by 7 a.m., where all creative meetings take place before noon. Schwartz is constantly reconfiguring his ideas by seeing what is out there in the market and what is not. VINTAGE GATHERING: There are more than 15,000 blue jeans in Allen Schwartz’s archives.

Recently, he added Jen Terry to the Blue Pearl team as a designer. Madison, the Los Angeles store chain known for its selection of designer and contemporary clothing, said it will be stocking the Blue Pearl line, said womenswear buyer Emily Goldstein.įirst-year revenues for Blue Pearl tallied up to $2 million with projections of $4 million to $6 million in 2014, Schwartz said. “Allen continues to surprise me with his fresh ideas.”

“I feel confident that the line will look awesome on my customers’ bodies,” she said.

The store’s owner, Wendy Freedman, said she loves the label because of the fit. Polkadots & Moonbeams on West Third Street in Los Angeles has seen the line and plans to carry it. Designed to resemble washed-out denim, it has white contrast sleeves to make it appear to be a denim vest. One of the signature pieces for Spring 2014 is a chambray moto jacket made of 100 percent lambskin leather. The Blue Pearl collection is expanding its offerings with dresses, jackets and tops, and the label is planning to sell its merchandise to more specialty stores. The line has also been stocked at the ABS by Allen Schwartz flagship store in Santa Monica, Calif., where it accounts for half of all sales now.Īnd the label is growing. “I felt there was a big void in the casual-fashion zone,” Schwartz observed.ĭRESS UP: Allen Schwartz holding up a T-shirt dress and lace dress from the ABS by Allen Schwartz collectionīarneys New York was one of the first outlets to show it. With reinvention in mind, Schwartz last year quietly rolled out a new denim and leather-centered young contemporary label, called Blue Pearl by Allen Schwartz,with retail prices ranging from $200 to $400. and after more than 30 years as head of his own company, ABS by Allen Schwartz. The fashion veteran-dressed in a white T-shirt, black-and-white printed corduroy pants and striped turquoise socks-comes by this formula after 10 years of working as the creative director at the original Esprit Corp. I don’t want to be caught holding the bag,” Schwartz said, sitting inside his vast headquarters building on the edge of the downtown Los Angeles Fashion District. SAMPLE ROOM: All the samples for the company are made in the large sample room.Īllen Schwartz has been in the fashion business for more than 40 years, which has taught him two basic elements needed to survive: Stay on top of the trends and constantly reinvent yourself.

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