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Leyendecker, Geren Ford, More: What Happened to These LA Brands?

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Leyendecker/Facebook

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Now that Band of Outsiders founder Scott Sternberg has officially confirmed the end of his beloved label, we're taking a look back at a few more cult-favorite LA brands that are no longer with us. See below for some candid details on why three favorites ended, and what the future holds, straight from the designers themselves.

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Brand: Crybaby Presents
Founded: 2011
Ended: 2013
Known for: Crazy-creative lookbooks and stylish pop-ups.
What the founders are doing now: While co-founder Lisa Ziven is keeping quiet regarding which LA designer she is now the PR manager for, her former Crybaby partner Dakota Solt is open about her role as a trend forecaster and quick response designer for Nasty Gal. She also works with designer Juliana McWilliams on After Party by Nasty Gal, the retailer's eco-friendly sublabel that's made of reworked vintage and vintage surplus fabric.

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Brand: Geren Ford
Founded: 2002
Ended: 2012
Known for: Stellar sample sales and a printspirational Annex.
Founder Geren Lockhart on why it shuttered: "At the end of 2012 I had been working to evolve my brand for about two years. I had investigated a few different-to-market strategies that were more vertical models. I wanted to have a brand where the value and experience of the product benefited the consumer and the world more than the existing models do. On a macro level I was frustrated that I was creating opportunity every day that I couldn't take advantage of because of the brands place in the market. In 2012 at Geren Ford the process to create and distribute a collection from first sketch to final payment of final invoice was about 24 months. I looked up and realized there was a huge world I wasn't getting to see. That is when I decided to shudder the brand early enough to keep the option for it to live again some day. I often daydream about what the brand will look like when life is breathed back into it."
What the founder is doing now: "Today, my world is made up of a very different ecosystem of efforts and rewards where I get to do what I do best. At heart I’m a storyteller. For the last two and a half years I’ve been traveling the world and doing the work to show up for the global life I didn’t get to when I was operating a brand every day. I am currently incubating a couple of different brands with partners and have a serious passion for the business of travel. The first to market is the lifestyle brand Born Packed. In addition to my own projects, I work extensively as a creative consultant in an ongoing capacity for brands as diverse as the feature film studio 20th Century Fox, and the luxury eco beauty brand Kjaer Weis."

leyendecker2

Brand: Leyendecker
Founded: 2006
Ended: 2013
Known for: Making superfans out of celebs like Emma Roberts and Kourtney Kardashian.
Co-founder Jessica Moss on why it shuttered: "It wasn't our decision entirely. After a very delayed spring production delivery [co-founder Lisa Guajardo and I] decided to let our long-time production manager go. After which, we discovered that he had been embezzling a lot of money from the business for many, many years. We were entirely self funded up to that point, and the business just couldn't survive that hiccup. If we had uncovered the situation sooner, we would probably still be in business today."
What the founders are doing now: "We have been busy relaunching the line Red Haute (check it out at Saks.com!), and we're also developing a new contemporary line for spring 2016 that is top secret; it combines understated chic with the comfort of activewear. We are crazy-excited about it. In the time we took off between closing the business and our new place of employment, we started a small home accessories business called Texa. We were burnt out on the idea of manufacturing and volume and thousands of the same garment hanging in our warehouse, so we went the opposite route, and considered the idea of one-of-a-kind objects. The pillows we create are artisanal, handmade here in Los Angeles from mostly recycled materials. We are carried at Church in West Hollywood and Cavalier in San Francisco!"