Meet Richard Lambertson and John Truex
PB: What was your most memorable moment as a designer?
John: I think it’s winning the American Fashion Award.
Richard: That was a shock!
John: It was in the year 2000 and especially memorable, because, obviously, you start a business and you are proud of what you do. Then to see other people to cast the vote to say they are proud of what you do as well and being able to attend with our staff to celebrate that. It was incredible moment for me. It was in the Lincoln Center at the time, done in a different form. It had a feel like it was the Academy Awards, with glass podium, P. Diddy and his mother were seated behind us. Very exciting! Having our name announced left me speechless, I didn’t say a word. I was just smiling the whole time.
Richard: I usually cry at AT&T commercials, it was really hard to choke out of.
John: Every time going to a store, having a PA, meeting clients or having a journalist show interest in speaking with you, those are important moments for us. Or having a woman walk up to us, asking about a bag and being able to express those words is just as equally important to us.
Richard: My other favorite moment – and I had this moment when I worked for Gucci – was the Fall of our first season in business. I was in the D&D Building for interior design, I got in the elevator and I turned around and there were two women. One had a Birkin and the other woman had a Lambertson Truex bag. It was the first bag I saw carrying by a real person, not somebody I knew. My heart pounded, I thought “That’s cool!”.
John: (whispering) “That is my creation!”
Richard: It is still exciting, even today when I go into a store or look out of my car and I will say “John, look at that woman”.
John: You’d ask her about the bag and she’d say “I love this bag!” and you’d say “Well I designed it!”. It is not for our own ego, that is the last thing that motivates us. But when you see her reaction and the “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you stopped me and said something”. It is the reaction you get from making someone else happy.
Richard: Or when they say to me: “I heard you were French”…
PB: In 2007, Samsonite acquired a controlling stake in your company, what has that meant for you guys?
John: In today’s world, things are much different than they were in 1998. We actually had our anniversary two days ago! We launched our first collection April 1st, 1998. 10 years ago, there were 10 accessory designers on the floor at Bergdorf Goodman. Now there are 80. Partnering with Samsonite meant freeing up the constant time we’d spend protecting us. You have to go out there and promote, but we spent more time protecting. Having a partner like Samsonite is just more arms to go around you. It does cost millions of dollars to open up a store, and the way we wanted to do it? There was an expectation of Lambertson Truex, when we opened the first store, of how it had to be done. We could not deliver anything less than anyone’s expectation and those were really high. When people talk about luxury brands, it’s Chanel, Hermes, Lambertson Truex and Bottega Veneta. So you look at those stores, and they are so fine-tuned. We had to do the same thing. Samsonite partnered with us and allowed us to open up a store that we were very proud to put out there.
Richard: They leave us out there on our own. They are based out of London, so they come here once a month. They don’t want to take away from what we’ve done and created, they have been very pleasant to work with.
PB: What’s next for LT?
John: (sighs) Lunch. Seriously though, our next goal is to get our brand out there. Open up more internationally, showcasing our product as a House, a complete accessory collection of men’s and women’s bags, shoes, travel, gloves, small leather goods. We don’t want to be anything more than that really. We want our designs to be exposed to the world in a very special way.
Richard: Like the Pradas and Guccis of the world, when you enter their shops and you buy a wallet, a pair of gloves, a belt and it is all housed in their own environment. Even the department stores don’t carry the full range of Prada or Gucci, either. Eventually, we also want to expand the product mix.
PB: Advice for fashion newcomers?
John: Take your time, don’t try to rush. My biggest advice I can give is to stick to a path. Stay true to what gave you the thought to begin with, that single moment. Do not try to be anyone else but yourself.
Richard: I think you really have to create an image, whether it’s a company image or an image of what you do. In the beginning, really stick true to it, because one of the mistakes with young people is the whole inspiration business. One day, they are in India. Costa Rica, then it’s Japan, or Russian. Marc Jacobs can do that because he’s founded his business, but as a young designer, you have to stay true to whether you are draping clothes, or whether you are working with one kind of material. It takes a while for people to notice you, unless you have a lot of recognition and money behind you. Stay true and be recognizable. That’s the hardest bit.
