Lisa Chavy launches Livy Stone swimwear, as lingerie label Livy plans international expansion

By

Tanissia Issad

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Feb 22, 2018

After launching the Livy premium lingerie label in 2017, French designer Lisa Chavy, also the Creative Director of underwear label Undiz since 2007, is about to unveil a new swimwear line, Livy Stone.

This first collection consists of about sixty models for the Spring/Summer 2018 and, like Livy, it is split into three sub-lines, targeting all of Livy’s preferred urban consumer segments. The New York sub-line features a range of basic items in neoprene and nylon, while Los Angeles, a more hipster line according to Chavy, plays with summery crocheted fabrics and beige and gold hues. Finally, the Paris line features a more polished style, with its jewel-embroidered models. 

Livy Stone is clearly focused on the spring/summer season, but it plans to update the range the following season too, with a fresh take on some essentials. In parallel, Lisa Chavy is developing a series of beachwear items (cotton voile kimonos, playsuits, etc.) to add to the collection, akin to the homewear items she designed for Livy. 

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Lisa Chavy doesn't seem to be against the idea of opening a Livy Stone boutique in the future, though for this summer she is keener on the pop-up and event format. And for the time being, Livy Stone will have a first temporary presence right next to Livy's retail corner, open since the lingerie label's launch, at Parisian department store Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche, where from the end of March until the early summer, customers will find both Livy's premium lingerie and the new swimwear line.

In parallel, the full Livy Stone line will be available on the Livy website and, partially, at the lingerie label's Paris Passy store, as well as in five other Livy stores in France, as yet to be named.

Livy has major retail ambitions: it plans to open 28 stores in France by 2019, according to Laurent Milchior, joint managing partner of the Etam group which co-founded the brand. After recently opening a 100 m2 retail corner at the Galeries Lafayette Haussmann department store, Livy will also be available from early summer, as planned, at another Parisian department store, BHV Marais. 

"Our current priority is to open [Livy] stores and retail corners in Paris," said Lisa Chavy. Also, to gradually expand domestically outside the French capital. Livy is already present at the Galeries Lafayette in Toulouse and Bordeaux, and with monobrand stores in Lille and Annecy. Then, the label will set its sights on international markets, targeting first the UK and the USA. The latter, thanks to a promising pop-up presence at Bergdorf Goodman New York, already seems to be off to a good start.

"We have set up there since 5th February. In ten days, we sold 20% of our stocks, much more than we forecast, as we are staying there for another month and a half," said Chavy. Enough to convince Bergdorf Goodman to set up a permanent retail corner, which as suggested could be called Livy Lisa Chavy? It may be on the cards.

And if US customers will continue to be receptive to the brand, Lisa Chavy could think about opening a store in the country, and a dedicated US e-shop too. For now, Livy aficionados in the USA, like all other international customers, can only buy the label's products on the French site, which offers overseas delivery.

Besides expanding the retail footprint, Livy's main focus is working on digital tools and the customer experience. The label launched an e-shop even before opening its first brick-and-mortar stores. It now offers 3-hour home delivery, and plans to give consumers the possibility of checking store stocks online, to facilitate the setting up of appointments with sales consultants, both online and offline. 

As for products, Lisa Chavy said she is listening to consumer feed-back and taking it into account, tweaking the range and making it as consistent as possible with what her customers want. The Autumn/Winter 2018-19 collection, whose order volumes are based on the year-end target number of shops, 24, is expected to reflect this, and to focus on the items which are most popular with Livy customers.