Sies Marjan shuts down due to impact of coronavirus

By

Robin Driver

Published
Jun 16, 2020

As the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic continue to take their toll, Sies Marjan, the New York-based brand founded by Sander Lak in 2015, has announced that it is closing down.
 

Known for its intensely colorful creations, the brand was backed by billionaires Howard and Nancy Marks, previous investors in Ralph Rucci, and had won itself a dedicated fan base, having been worn by celebrities including Zoe Saldana, Emma Stone and Jordan Roth.
 
“What we have worked on has been a dream come true,” said Lak in a statement. “Thank you to everyone who has given their time and talent to Sies Marjan over the years. We have built a singular brand whose legacy is not just in the clothes and collections but within each person who contributed along the way.”

Lak, who has previously served as design director at Dries Van Noten, won the CFDA Award for Emerging Talent in 2018 with his own brand, which was named after his parents, and also snatched a nomination for CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year in 2019

In its half-decade of operations, Sies Marjan’s runway shows became a consistently well-attended fixture of the New York fashion season and, having launched menswear in 2017, the brand also became a pioneer in coed shows.

However, while the challenges presented by the coronavirus crisis may have been the final straw for Sies Marjan, many have pointed out that, despite the popularity of its runway shows, the brand never really succeeded in securing a wide enough commercial appeal with its provocatively hued wardrobe.
 
The label also suffered a significant blow last year, when Barneys, one of its major stockists, filed for bankruptcy and was subsequently sold for parts.
 
The shuttering of the brand serves as a stark warning to the fashion industry concerning the dangers of Covid-19 for the sector, particularly for medium-sized companies that can neither count on the financial safety net provided by colossal international conglomerates, nor afford to scale back and regroup quite so ruthlessly as less encumbered start-ups.