The flurry of Los Angeles store openings continues at Palisades Village, the latest being A.L.C., the contemporary brand founded by former stylist Andrea Lieberman in 2008. Lieberman teamed with her former assistant and current super stylist Petra Flannery to host a small dinner at The Draycott on Thursday for her close friends Liz Friedlander, Jennifer Meyer, Erin Foster plus stylists Karla Welch, Erica Cloud and Annabelle Harron. Draycott owner Marissa Hermer was also in the mix, as was actress Olivia Hamilton.
“A small gathering is more my speed,” said Lieberman, a Westside resident. “I admire all these women so much and am so thankful for their support all these years.” Flannery has similar praise for her old boss and good friend. “I’ve learned so much from her, and how she puts her brains into her business. Andrea is proof that you can do it all — family, work, friends.”
Andrea Lieberman and Erin Foster
Jason Lowrie/BFA.com
She’s certainly come a long way since she opened her first shop in New York’s SoHo, Culture & Reality. That was inspired by the two years she spent living in Africa post-Parsons, and Lieberman said she still treasures a trunk of old merchandise that her father saved from the store. “That was back when the rent was $1,200 a month, not a square foot,” she said.
Now Lieberman says the joy is in the journey to designing each collection. “I’m almost done with it by the time it hits the store,” she said. “My favorite moments are being creative, hitting upon a great idea and just go, go, go.”
Welch, who has her own collaborative company called x Karla, agreed. Her next project involves retooling 100 pairs of vintage Levi’s she bought from a private collector. “Me, Virgil and Vetements were allowed to buy 100 pairs each, so I just went crazy going through stack after stack. It was like Christmas,” she said.