After the burnouts: Raul Lopez on how Luar bounced back

To receive the Vogue Business newsletter, sign up here. Raul Lopez didn’t attend fashion school. But this week, the designer of Luar feels like he’s attending his own graduation. Lopez’s show is closing New York Fashion Week for the first time, occupying a slot previously reserved for the likes of Marc Jacobs and Tom Ford. “It’s crazy how impactful this is,” the designer says, speaking to Vogue Business from outside one of his Portuguese factories shortly before flying back to New York. “I feel like it’s not just for me. It's like New York City is closing with me. It is a special moment for everyone who's been there through my whole journey — showing them that consistency really is a thing, you know?” The New York-based Dominican-American designer, who initially rose to prominence as co-founder of Hood by Air with Shayne Oliver, launched Luar as Luar Zepol (his full name backwards) in 2011. The label was quickly picked up by Opening Ceremony, but was placed on hold in 2014 and, again, in 2019 — the year he dropped the “Zepol” — because of cash flow issues and burnout. Lopez returned to NYFW for SS22 in what he describes as a “renaissance”. The collection was picked up by Nordstrom and Bergdorf Goodman launched an exclusive capsule of the Luar Ana bag. Luar’s business now gives every indication of hitting its stride. The evidence includes the launch of the bestselling Ana bag, a fast-growing social following and a series of well-received runway shows. Luar is being worn by Doja Cat and Dua Lipa, and stocked at 18 stores. The designer is unable to break out sales figures but the label is profitable and sales surged by 140 per cent from SS22 to SS23. Lopez was named CFDA accessories designer of the year in November 2022. He credits his renewed success to his improved mental health. Back in 2019, Lopez wasn’t making enough money to produce his runway collections, pushing him to a second burnout since the launch of Luar. “The success of my collection is one hundred thousand per cent linked to how I feel,” he says. “Before I took my break [in 2019] I was depressed and that was why the business was performing poorly. Your collections are just like your babies, you know? If you really feel shitty, your baby's gonna feel shitty.” Now, as he puts it with a smile, he’s “totally on the hamster wheel again”, but this time round on his own terms. Luar only showed in the Spring season over the last two years, but he felt “so good” after his SS23 show that he decided to show an AW23 collection. “I was really hyped up to do last season and I feel the same way this season, which is really weird for me,” he says. “If I don't want to show the next season, then I won't! I want to create my own calendar.” To a certain extent, you have to resist the demands of the industry, Lopez says. “Everyone's going to just continue to want you to keep showing. If you don't show, it's OK, the internet is still there. You know, you can continue to repost your collections and stay relevant.” The internet is a mess, so get involved The internet has become Luar’s playground, where Lopez communicates its irreverent, witty tone of voice to the world. Lopez himself is central to this with more than 34,000 followers on his personal account, where he posts his own looks with tongue-in-cheek captions. The latest fit pic is captioned “premium trash”. “Raul is central to Luar because the collections are the embodiment of his spirit,” says Yumi Shin, chief merchandising officer at Bergdorf Goodman. “His energy is contagious and when you’re with him, you feel welcome, like you’re a part of the family. He brings that idea of collective togetherness to the collection. The fact that he's so authentically this brand really resonates with people.” During the pandemic Lopez and his cousin raised money and delivered food to around 300 disadvantaged families in New York. “If it wasn't for my community and if it wasn't for my people, I would not be here,” Lopez says. “As Luar grows, what I want to do is create foundations, give back.” Alongside his community, Lopez understands the internet generation and how to create a unique brand universe online. “Our social is all about surrealism, playing with people's minds,” he says, referring to his tongue-in-cheek photoshops of people wearing the Luar Ana bag, ranging from women in Renaissance portraits to the Grinch. “I wanted Luar to be funny. A lot of people who are in fashion and people in all these different communities secretly live for the same thing but don't wanna say it because then they think it’s cheap. Everyone looks at memes, everyone loves a celebrity,” he says. Lopez brings much-needed energy to American fashion, says Rickie De Sole, women's designer fashion and editorial director at Nordstrom, which has stocked Luar since the SS22 comeback. “You feel a deep sense of community when you attend a Luar show or event. The collection oozes his energy and love of fashion.” A surrealist approach extends to Luar brand experiences. In August 2022, Lopez created a play on the Prada Marfa concept store with a pop-up in Lower Manhattan, accompanied by a video of Luar taking over the actual Prada installation in Marfa, Texas. Alongside the DJ and drinks, 50 guests scanned the QR code to purchase a special bright orange edition of the Ana bag during the event. The Ana bag, launched in 2021, accounts for over half of the brand's sales. Lopez had been sitting on the idea for the bag, with its distinctive circular straps, for two years, but wanted to wait until Luar had more visibility before launch. “If we didn’t have the awareness in place, I was scared that someone would take it and knock it off,” he says. The Ana is structural and boxy with a 1980s-style handle, a nod to Lopez’s Dominican mother and grandmother. The regular size retails at $325. “It’s more accessible than a Vuitton bag but it stands up in a room with bags that are worth 10 times the price,” Lopez says. “I think that the bag has done exactly what I wanted. It's cultivating this world where everyone belongs to this Luar world, where there’s no social class, there’s no classism and like there’s no race.” “The Ana bag is an undisputed cult accessory [that] sets Luar apart with an accessible price point and unique design,” says Nordstrom’s De Sole. “It’s a familiar structured silhouette considered traditionally ladylike but updated for a modern woman. It’s ageless in its appeal.” Yumi Shin, chief merchandising officer at Bergdorf Goodman, agrees. The retailer began stocking the Ana with an exclusive capsule of colours in September 2022. “Luar feels like a party and everyone's invited,” says Shin. “The Ana and the brand are so closely intertwined. You want to come along for the ride and the opportunity to get your hands on the latest colourway.” Other hero items include Luar’s eyewear, trench coats (as spotted on Dua Lipa) and tech jackets, Lopez says. Trust your team, don’t touch the money Lopez has focused most recently on team building, but his party-loving public persona didn’t help him initially. “I was having all these people help interning, but at the end of the day, they just wanted to go to parties,” he says. “They were living more for the caricature of me and not my work.” The strengthening of the team has enabled him to focus on his strengths — design and branding. Lopez prefers to fund his lifestyle with consultancy work for the likes of Palm Heights hotel in Grand Cayman (where he sought refuge after pausing Luar in 2019). The profits from Luar are retained for the business. “Don’t touch the money,” he says. “The brand’s money is not yours. Don't look at it. That means no metrocards. Nothing,” he says. Now, he’s on an extended riff. “As young designers, you make collections, then you get into stores. Then all the money that you get from the stores, you start buying stuff for yourself with, like food and rent. And then when you have to pay to make the next collection, where's the money? Then you're scrambling. And then you're borrowing. Then you burn your relations with the stores and word spreads.” He’s described a classic trajectory — one that Lopez, now older and wiser, has no intention of pursuing. Key takeaway: After over a decade of challenges, Raul Lopez has persevered with Luar. Now, after building a strong team, launching an accessible “it” accessory and consolidating Luar’s witty social media strategy, he’s finally built a business that can sustain. Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com. More from this author: From Aspen to Courchevel, luxury fashion taps the skiwear opportunity Tommy Hilfiger awards €100,000 to social impact startups Koalaa and Moner Bondhu Copenhagen proves fashion week can be responsible and still fun

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