Increasingly, consumers are searching to buy clothes that express their individuality. For fashion designers, steering away from conventional trends and creating a truly unique collection is something few designers can accomplish successfully.
One fashion house has concocted the perfect contrarian cocktail.
Scandal Italy is a Los Angeles-based fashion house with multiple luxury labels that manufacture in Italy to ensure the highest quality. Somehow, under the leadership of its Founder & Creative Director: Dylan Ifergane, they have perfected the impossible. Bringing ageless romantic designs time after time without fail seems to be easy for Mr. Dylan Ifergane. If somehow you don’t follow up-and-coming fashion houses, you definitely need to know about Scandal Italy, and by extension, it’s brilliantly talented designer Dylan Ifergane. Mr. Ifergane believes in pushing the fashion boundaries to the extreme by seeing where trends are going and how far in the opposite direction he can take them.
Mr. Dylan Ifergane has spent years understanding the connection between art and fashion, helping bring out unique designs that loyal customers couldn’t get enough of. Bringing silk silhouettes not seen since the 1950s Channel or knitted fabrics that have not graced runways since the 1970s by Dior.
This has taken Scandal Italy to new heights. In fact, according to our sources, Scandal Italy recently rejected a $31 Million Dollar purchase from one of the largest French luxury conglomerate, although we cannot disclose the name. Today, against all odds, we’re being honored to interview the rather private designer, Mr. Dylan Ifergane, who frowns at doing interviews with major publications.
That being said, let’s begin:
Q. A big thank you, Mr. Ifergane, for joining us today. We are grateful that you could find time for us in your busy schedule. How would you describe Scandal Italy to someone who isn’t familiar with your work?
• Well, Scandal Italy is an Italian-made romantic clothing label for mothers & daughters alike who aren’t afraid to show femininity and enjoy the flair and lace of previous decades. It is a semi-luxury label, meaning our price point is lower than you would expect for the quality. Clothing lines made in Italy typically retail in the $250-650 range. Our competitors are brands like Free People, Anthropologie, & Revolve, but due to keeping margins low, our price remains significantly cheaper at an average $70-150. So in summary, we’re a label manufactured in Italy with a focus on quality for women who don’t have an extra $400 to spend on a silk dress, but are sick of Forever 21.
Q. We have seen that in every collection, you come up with intriguing designs. How do you maintain this consistency of providing people with a variety of designs they fall in love with?
• I think launching a new collection is a bit like being a stockbroker – you can design, rectify, second-guess, edit, re-edit, & finalize but there’s still luck involved that people will fall in love with your vision for that collection. Luckily, I have had a few good streaks but I can’t say I’ve been able to perfect this yet, I’ve had collections that have been extremely well received & some that haven’t. Every major designer must come to terms that, sometimes, your taste isn’t loved – which only further motivates creatives to do better next round.
Q. We understand that Scandal Italy produces clothes only for the ageless women. But, do you have any plans in shifting from that genre in the future?
• For Scandal Italy, I don’t believe so. Having the desire to create a design that any woman, regardless of age, can wear is quite a challenge and it keeps our demographic open. That said, I admit my tastes do sometimes drift to the younger demographic, which is why I will be launching a separate new clothing and swimwear label in the upcoming months that will target a slightly younger demographic. Very excited about this!
Q. We did a little research about you and found out you owned and sold a nightclub in Miami Beach all before your 21st birthday. Could you explain this lifestyle? How did it lead you to make such a dramatic switch into fashion?
• You’ve done your research quite thoroughly. Yes, it’s true I was a founder of a nightclub conglomerate which had properties in half a dozen cities, Miami included. As much as I loved the musical nightlife, there was no magic in it for me. I started working in the industry at 14, therefore I had the advantage of seeing things from a different perspective. After a few years, I realized that the most successful people in nightlife, typically were leading extremely unhappy lives – two or three times divorced, alimonies left and right, and most with severe drug and alcohol abuse.
• I started contemplating whether that was a road I was comfortable fighting, and I quickly realized I had no interest in it. At about the same time, I got an amazing buy-out offer, so it was perfect timing. After that, I was always creatively passionate about fashion and starting to test the waters until I created Scandal – growing ever since. Wow, that was a long answer – sorry.
Q. We heard from anonymous sources that you refused a $31 million dollar buyout for Scandal Italy from a French fashion conglomerate. What made you refuse such a massive offer?
• Well, I’m not sure who you’ve been speaking to, but that’s a private matter. I won’t disclose names, only my reasoning. As a lucrative business performing strongly, I have no need to sell for a quick payday. I plan on keeping it within my family for generations to come, because I believe it will continue to grow rapidly.
Understood, well thank you so much for taking the time! Apologies if that wasn’t a subject you wanted to chat about.
• It’s perfectly fine. Thanks very much for having me as well. I look forward to reading your publication and wish you nothing but the best.
Dylan Ifergane is a rare talent in the fashion industry who always takes the risk of trying something new. His perseverance and passion for this industry are the reasons for his success. We are thankful that he managed to find the time to chat with us and share his story.
