Derek Lam’s spring 2027 presentation opens Friday afternoon with more color, prints and embellishment than Robert Rodriguez’s February debut. The bigger change is happening behind the scenes, as the company rebuilds the label with a smaller distribution network, a tightly controlled price range and less dependence on promotional customers.
Public Clothing Company sold the intellectual property of Derek Lam 10 Crosby to NYC Alliance in April, separating the contemporary line from the revived Derek Lam Collection. The main line returned to NYFW in February under Rodriguez, six years after it was shuttered.
Derek Lam president Danielle Alalu is positioning the collection within a $295-$1,295 price range, below brands including Zimmermann, Ulla Johnson and Veronica Beard.
“We’ve seen a white space in the advanced contemporary world in terms of being a little bit sharper from a price-point standpoint,” Alalu said in an interview with Glossy ahead of the presentation. “Prices have gone up so far, and with a lot of these brands, the customer might say, ‘I can just buy designer at that point.’”
The company is also rebuilding its customer base. Its relaunched e-commerce site currently produces around 15% of sales, with wholesale accounting for the rest. Rather than targeting shoppers accustomed to buying 10 Crosby on sale, Derek Lam is returning to old customer lists and prioritizing people with a history of full-price purchases.
“The first day we launched the site, our first sale was from a customer who had not shopped with us since 2022,” Alalu said. “She came out of the gate and bought four pieces.”
Wholesale is being rebuilt just as selectively. Derek Lam has signed Goods and Services Showroom, which represents brands including Frame and Self-Portrait, to manage its global wholesale business beginning with spring 2027. Approximately 85% of Derek Lam’s current customers are based in the U.S., and the brand will present to international buyers in Paris in October.
“We want to lead with specialty and DTC, and then we want to be strategic domestically from a department-store standpoint,” Alalu said. “If you looked five years ago, we were in all doors. You would go in, and sometimes it looked good, and sometimes it didn’t.”
Specialty stores and the Derek Lam website will receive more curated products and smaller capsules, while department stores will carry categories backed by the company’s sales data. Poplin dresses can account for as much as 45% of its spring and summer business, according to Alalu. Modal tops and dresses, along with woven blouses that can move from day to evening, have also performed well.
Rodriguez has been tasked with delivering those products at advanced contemporary prices without flattening the design. For spring, he has introduced more color, print and embellishment while continuing the utilitarian details and architectural shapes associated with Derek Lam.
“Robert has a real knack for picking very expensive fabric, but then he is great at sourcing alternatives that feel and look the same at contemporary price points,” Alalu said. For one design, Rodriguez bonded lace to the back of a T-shirt to give it the appearance of a dressier fabric while retaining its softness.
Friday’s presentation will be smaller and more interactive than the 35-model event staged for Rodriguez’s fall 2026 debut. Guests will be able to move through the space and examine the clothes, though Alalu said the company may consider a runway show in a future season.
Derek Lam will continue selling selectively through Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, with a Saks atrium takeover planned for October.
Derek Lam will continue selling selectively through Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, with a takeover of Saks’s New York atrium planned for October.
That commitment comes after a difficult period between Saks and its suppliers. Delayed payments prompted some brands to halt or restrict shipments, contributing to inventory gaps across its stores. When parent company Saks Global filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January, it owed approximately $3.4 billion to creditors. Chanel filed a $136 million claim and Kering was owed $60 million, while LVMH, Richemont, Burberry, Zegna and Brunello Cucinelli were also among its largest unsecured creditors. The company emerged from bankruptcy in June as Exemplar Luxury Group and is now trying to rebuild its assortments and relationships with brands.
“We stuck by them through thick and thin,” Alalu said. “We really see the value of them existing in the market. It creates competition, and it gives choices to the consumer.” She added that Derek Lam has seen “really positive momentum” from the relationship and is working closely with buyers to balance the retailer’s needs with the brand’s relaunch strategy.
For Derek Lam, its second season back at NYFW is about reasserting its place in the New York wardrobe, not asking customers to abandon European luxury. “Perhaps [our customer] buys her bag at Celine and her shoes from The Row,” Alalu said. “She mixes and matches the way we know women do.”
