‘Avec Les Filles’ Red Hot Sales’ featured in WWD

September 27, 2019

Avec Les Filles’ Red Hot Sales Just this June, global manufacturer and wholesaler Bagatelle International Inc. acquired the heat that is Avec Les Filles, the trend-driven lifestyle fashion brand whose specialty – at present – is outerwear.

Avec Les Filles translates to “With the Girls” in English and embodies that very mentality while paying tribute to brand beginnings set forth by founder, Joyce Azria (daughter of BCBG founder, Max Azria). Today, Avec Les Filles captures a more all-encompassing pulse and identity.

Inspired by the powerful and influential women of the past, present and future (be it past icons such as Jane Birkin, Brigitte Bardot or todays starlets such as Zendaya, Kaia Gerber, Gigi and Bella Hadid) – Avec Les Filles blends modern retro with runway street style in its outerwear collection. Designing across generations, the Avec Les Filles women are Gen Z-ers and Millennials, as well as their moms. Tapping into the city-wise and playful sophistication that denotes the styles of Avec Les Filles, any woman can be “with the girls.”

Having doubled the brand’s outerwear business for three consecutive years, Jamie Litvack, executive vice president at Bagatelle International, Inc., shares why retailers can’t get enough of Avec Les Filles, and how direct manufacturing, strategic licensing and expanding product categories has served the brand’s growth.

City-wise and playful sophistication denotes the Avec Les Filles woman. Worldclass Taste with Exceptional Value “It’s a brand that a mother and daughter can enjoy shopping together,” said Litvack. Non-restrictive of customer age, an inherent “emotional reaction” and affinity for “comfortable chic” is what ignites the sales for Avec Les Filles.

“The Avec Les Filles Woman has her eye on what’s going on in the world and the current trends,” said creative directors; Sofia Wahlberg and Bradley Mounce. Three core design pillars shape the brand aesthetic: runway, street and retro. By mixing these three design pillars, the brand aims to offer an innovated way of dressing that allows the wearer to have fun with fashion without neglecting wearability.

Creating access today means fashion that “checks all the boxes” being – affordable, on-trend and of quality, so the customer can constantly update her look with pieces that match her lifestyle and add value to her closet. With major support from retailers such as Urban Outfitters, Shopbop, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales and Neiman Marcus, among others, shoppers can snag an Avec Les Filles coat for anywhere from $99-$199, at “all the places she already shops.”

But in spite of checking all the boxes, Litvack believes Avec Les Filles has subtly accomplished a lot more in the coat department, saying: “The line has challenged the traditional outerwear floors to think outside the box and be more current in trends, fit and styling.”

In the age of Instagram, customers seem to be straying further away from neutral in their outerwear, instead seeking out a “statement coat” that makes them stand out from the crowd. To meet those demands, retailers are placing repeated orders to Avec Les Filles.

“We feel that this “must-have” factor will play a big role in Bagatelle’s new direction for the sportswear line and all other categories in the future,” said Litvack. Avec Les Filles soars after the Bagatelle acquisition with new creative direction and spirit.

Cutting Through the Noise 

Under the helm of Bagatelle, which was founded in 1968 and is noted as a full-fledged global wholesaler that manages designing, development and manufacturing, Avec Les Filles has secured a new roadmap and future under the control of both Wahlberg and Mounce.

Its mission today is to “cut through the noise and provide positive inspiration to all women,” not just one woman. Beginning an ambitious growth trajectory first with the outerwear category in all the major department stores and e-commerce (www.aveclesfilles.com). Building out its influencer marketing, Avec Les Filles will continue using Instagram as a platform to grow its brand audience and connect with the modern muses that speak to the brand’s cool-girl DNA, including the likes of: fashion stylist and entrepreneur, Rachel Zoe; starlet, Nicole Richie; and influencer, Blair Eadie; among others whom capture today’s modern influence. Alongside the recent website launch, the brand will host a pop-up shop in SoHo stocked with its entire lifestyle outerwear collection from October through the end of 2019.

Being housed under Bagatelle allows a distinct advantage in design, leveraging speed to market so that whatever the consumer needs are, a quality product can be delivered at an attractive price point. Off the cuff of a red-hot outerwear business, Avec Les Filles will be launching a contemporary ready-to-wear collection for Fall 2020, while forming strategic licensing partnerships in the footwear category.

“The number one comment we always hear is that Avec Les Filles fills a white space in the retail market,” said Litvack, adding that “buyers always say they feel like a kid in a candy shop when they enter our showroom.” Whether it’s in star prints, novelty fabrics or brightened hues – Avec Les Filles is a palate cleanser for retailers, and driving force for red hot sales.