Frame, the Los Angeles denim label, is puttin’ on the ritz again.
For the second time in nearly one year, the denim company turned lifestyle brand founded in 2012 by Erik Torstensson and Jens Grede is collaborating with the Ritz Paris to create a capsule collection that incorporates the logo of the famed hotel opened in 1898.
On Sept. 8, Frame and the Ritz Paris will debut a 42-piece, limited-edition collection that includes both apparel and accessories. Prices will range from $140 to $2,200.
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“It was very natural to continue to tell this story,” said Torstensson, from his home in the Hamptons. “We had 22 styles the first time around, and now we have 42.”
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Coming back to the lineup is the varsity jacket, selling for $2,200, as well as a cashmere sweater for $598 to $648, and a baseball cap, the least expensive item, for $140. Of course, denim is included as well as sweatshirts and T-shirts.
New to the collection are a puffer jacket, a pajama set, tracksuit, a velvet smoking jacket, velvet slippers and high-top sneakers. There are even items for children (sweatshirts that say “Junior Suite” and gifts for pets). “It’s like more of a total package,” explained Torstensson, who is also Frame’s creative director.
When the first collection debuted last fall it quickly became a favorite among celebrities and fans who liked the idea of having something with the Ritz Paris logo on it. It was spotted on Naomi Campbell, Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Moss, among others.
This wasn’t Frame’s first collaboration with a luxury hotel. Three years ago, Torstensson moved to New York, where Frame opened a store on Madison Avenue.
At the time, the Frame cofounder was living across the street from The Carlyle hotel and thought it would be a nice gift to Manhattan to partner with the luxury lodge to create a small collection of Frame x The Carlyle merchandise. Last year, a larger collection was launched.
Then, Camilla Fayed, a Torstensson friend whose father, Mohamed Al-Fayed, owns the Ritz Paris, called him after seeing The Carlyle collaboration. “She said, ‘How dare you not call me first?’” Torstensson recalled. “I said, ‘I would love to do nothing else but to work with you.…I am all yours.’”
The Ritz Paris team and Frame worked on the first collection, which came out in late September last year and quickly sold out. Frame x Ritz Paris varsity jackets are now reselling online for as much as $5,000.
This time round, the two businesses are continuing that team design effort and having fun while they do it.
“A second opportunity to share our brand’s identity outside of our historical avenues has been incredibly exciting,” said Natalie Bader Messian, who is on the hotel’s board of directors.
The new Frame x Ritz Paris collection will be sold on the Frame website, at the hotel and through a few pop-up shops. There will be a men’s and a women’s pop-up at Bergdorf Goodman in New York, at Printemps in Paris and at Galeries Lafayette in Doha, Qatar.
Don’t be surprised if you see another collaboration next year. Said Torstensson, “Hopefully, there will be more to come.”