LSD Clothing: Timeless Fashion for Women of All Ages

LSD Clothing, a Belarusian brand, positions itself as a purveyor of everyday stylish clothing for women of all ages. We had the pleasure of speaking with the creative director, Daria Lebedeva, about her clients, goals, and favorite designers.

About the Brand Concept

LSD Clothing stands for Lifestyle Simple Design – simple clothing for life. We create everyday wear with designer touches, aiming for our pieces to remain stylish and relevant across multiple seasons, transcending trends.

Unique Design Approach

Our uniqueness lies in our engineering approach to design. I strive to maintain a balance between analytics and creativity. In creating clothing, I follow three principles:

Versatility: Our clothing should easily pair with other wardrobe items.
Comfort: Our pieces must be maximally comfortable to wear.
Designer Feel: Our garments should feel meticulously designed and visually distinct from mass-market offerings.

We pay great attention to the fit of our garments. We develop patterns from scratch, and it can take around 3-4 months from sketch to production for a single model. We extensively test samples and refine the fit down to the millimeter.

For example, our bestseller – the trench coat – features double-wide loops that allow the coat to fit different heights. The width of the loops is such that when the belt is tightened at the waist, the coat drapes into stylish folds. This approach is applied to every garment we create.

Brand Origins

From the age of 11, I dreamed of becoming a fashion designer. I graduated from art school, then from VGTU, and gained production experience at “Elema”. However, I felt that I had enough knowledge and education. I created my first fashion project – it failed. After that, I realized that I had both positive and negative experiences and was ready to create a brand. My husband supported me, and we created the brand and continue to work on it to this day. It’s been almost three years.

Inspiration

Architecture inspires me. My favorite architect is Le Corbusier. Among designers, I really love Nicolas Ghesquière. I am very close to his architectural component in design. I may sound cliché, but I adore old Celine. For me, Phoebe Philo’s style is a guiding star. I love representatives of the old school of design. Hype will pass, but real design will remain.

When creating the collection presented at Brands Fashion Show, I was inspired by the architecture of Zaha Hadid. I like sculptural silhouettes, the smoothness of lines.

Target Audience

Our client is a woman who votes for conscious consumption, chooses cruelty-free products, carries a thermos for takeaway coffee, and cleans up after her dog in the park. She is passionate about her work and does not like to be idle. It is important for her to look stylish but not spend much time and effort on her appearance. She is the kind of woman who has cool loafers and fashionable sneakers in her office locker simply because her life dictates different dress code scenarios. She values quality in everything and loves comfort. Service, convenience, quality of execution, and design are important to her.

Team and Expansion

Our team consists of 13 people, and we plan to expand. All responsibilities are strictly divided. We have two good clothing designers who create garment patterns. The designers help embody my ideas and work carefully on the fit of the clothes on the figure. My husband handles financial matters. There are tailors in the experimental workshop, a brand manager, and a content manager.

We sell our clothing collections in Smolensk, Moscow, and St. Petersburg, in addition to Belarus. In the near future, we do not plan to expand our geography. We strive to master the markets of Belarus and Russia well. Our task is to establish all production processes and achieve regular updates of the assortment.

Advice for Designers

Calculate everything. Of course, creativity is wonderful. But you need to understand the process of production and the process of selling products. If you imagine a brand as a machine, then money and sales are the fuel that allows the machine to move towards its goals.

Long-term Goal

When we first started producing eco-leather jackets, there were many requests to repeat the same model but in genuine leather. We did not yield once, despite the excellent opportunity to earn money. And it was the right decision, which I am proud of. When the meterage of the material exceeded a kilometer, I realized that even such a niche small clothing brand as ours can make a choice: either you support the industry without violence, or you work a kilometer of animal skins. We have made our choice.

I really want to reach the level where our volumes can influence and promote the idea of cruelty-free fashion. We want to show that it is possible to create stylish, high-quality clothing without harming animals.

For more information, visit their Instagram page.