Designer - Escada

by iScent

Established in the late 1970's by husband-and-wife team Wolfgang and Margaretha Ley, Escada (named after an Irish race horse) was an instant success, with its distinctive creations featuring unusual combinations of colours and patterns, intricately designed knitted fashions and exclusive embroidery.

Born in Sweden, Margaretha Ley had already established a successful career, first as a model for Vienna's Fred Adlimueller, then as a runway model for Parisian designer Jacques Fath in the 1960's. Prior to her modeling career, Ley worked for Sweden's royal tailor Leja, where she gained experience in designing and producing clothing. In the late 1960's and early 1970's, Ley also worked as a designer for Mondi, a German clothing label.

Margaretha established Escada's reputation for design, whilst Wolfgang took charge of the financial, administrative and manufacturing areas of the business.

Margaretha Ley's designs, and the company's commitment to the high-quality, luxury goods sector, assisted the business to grow.

With the launch of its own chain of retail stores, Escada expanded at a rapid pace during the 1980's. The company began establishing stores in most of Europe's major cities, as well as around the world, including New York and Japan.

In order to fuel this expansion, the company listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 1986.

Escada was able to boost production capacity with growth into accessories and its related categories, whilst expanding its range of production expertise. The company continued to seek new markets in which to extend its brand, and in 1990 launched its own collection of perfumes and fragrances. This in turn led to the creation of Escada Beaute and the development of an in-house line of beauty care products.

Ley's collection was extensive, designed to clothe a woman from head to toe. By the early 1990's, the Escada line featured more than 1,200 pieces, and included jewelry, handbags, accessories, gloves, scarves, and footwear.

Tragedy struck the business in 1992, however, when Margaretha Ley died at the age of 56. To compound this loss, the global recession that hit in the early 1990's, severely affected the brands sales and Escada's rapid expansion finally caught up with the business, leaving it heavily burdened with debt.

The company restructured, ceasing divisions running at a loss, and closing the majority of its unprofitable stores, particularly under the Laurel brand. Into the mid-1990's, the company also re-shaped its operations into divisions that were more defined. These new divisions included Escada Sports, to encompass its sportswear lines, and Escada Development for its accessories.

In November 2009, Escada was purchased by the Mittal family, headed by Lakshmi Mittal, after filing for insolvency.

Escada comprises the segments of Fashion (Escada Collection and Escada Sport), Accessories (bags, shoes and small leather goods) and Licenses (fragrances, eyewear and children's fashion).

The line's first fragrance, launched in 1990, was Escada by Margaretha Ley. Other launches include Escada Sentiment (2000), Magnetism (2003) and Escada (2005).

A series of limited edition seasonal fragrances began in 1993 with Chiffon Sorbet, followed by Summer in Provence (1994), Ocean Blue (1995), Jardin de Soleil (1996), Que Viva (1997), Light Silver (1997), Sunny Frutti (1998), Loving Bouquet (1999), Lily Chic (2000), Tropical Punch (2001), Sexy Graffiti (2002), Ibiza Hippie (2003), Island Kiss (2004), Rockin Rio (2005), Pacific Paradise (2005), Sunset Heat (2006), Moon Sparkle (2007), Ocean Lounge (2008) and Marine Groove (2009).

Recent fragrances include Into the Blue (2006), Escada S (2007), Incredible Me (2008) and Desire Me (2009).

This article was published on Thursday 20 May, 2010.

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