A year of firsts: How Lié Studio is growing its ‘essentials’ concept

Scandinavian brands have garnered global acclaim for their thoughtful, minimalist approach to fashion and design. It is the same mindset that has been woven into the fibres of accessory brand Lié Studio, an emerging label from Denmark, a country in which it has begun to establish a more prominent physical presence. Such an expansion naturally presents new, yet interesting challenges for the “essential wardrobe brand”, largely in the way of translating its fervour for slow, long-lasting pieces into a retail format that encapsulates this concept.

It was exactly this that founders and twin sisters Amalie and Cecilie Moosgaard seemingly achieved in their recently opened retail store, the first to launch within the brand’s three year lifespan. Designed in collaboration with Danish architect Julius Nielsen with the goal of attracting the modern-day, busy city dweller, the store itself essentially comes as a reflection of these individuals. A curation of the brand’s collections, both jewellery and its newly launched leather range, sit within explorable furniture, complete with pull-out drawers encouraging discovery. Speaking to FashionUnited, the duo said: “It has been important to us to make the store feel like a home – with many furniture pieces you would find in a private residence – because we want the store to be a true extension of the Lié universe.”

Lié Studio opens first store as extension of brand identity

The decision to open a physical space did not come lightly, however. Like other European capitals, retailers in Copenhagen have suffered in the aftermath of post-pandemic consumerism and the resulting tightening of budgets. Yet, according to the Moosgaards, there are still opportunities in the city for emerging brands needing to evolve their identity on a physical level. “That has very much been the case for Lié Studio. We have had a strong-ecommerce business since we launched, but we also saw a need for a physical space where we can directly interact with our consumers and offer a unique and immersive brand experience that cannot be replicated online,” the duo said, before noting that the store’s emergence had been a “rewarding process”.

While the brand may have solely served customers online for its first two years of existence, the store opening came on the heels of strong financial growth for Lié Studio. In 2023, alongside an increase in net profit of 1,086.7 percent, to just over 4.3 million Danish Krone (around 487,000 pounds), its EBITDA also rose to almost six million DKK, representing a 733.25 percent increase. During this period, much of the Moosgaards’ focus had been on strategically building relations with new retailers in its core markets –the US, the largest for the brand, followed by Denmark, the UK, Germany and Sweden– bringing its partners to a total of 100 global names.

Its financials are only anticipated to grow even further in the current period of 2024. Next to the launch of a collaborative capsule with Net-a-Porter in May and the opening of the aforementioned store, it also marks the first year that Lié Studio has ventured into the leather category, and thus the first time it has explored beyond the realms of jewellery. Through this new category, the brand hopes to build even further on the “essential wardrobe” idea, extending its take on timeless pieces into leather items that aim to “complement any uniform”.

New leather range anticipated to aid in financial growth

As such, the range of bucket bags, wallets and miniature crossover purses, are meant as a “natural addition” to the brand’s existing universe, bringing to the spotlight a collection that the designer duo said they have been working on “for almost as long as we have been in existence”. With this in mind, it has also forced the Moosgaards to evolve their own production values, having already placed significant importance on this area of business for the existing jewellery line, which for the most part is currently produced in Thailand.

The leather, meanwhile, is 100 percent crafted from Italian cow leather and manufactured in Portugal, a location the founders selected after rigorous research in a bid to find the right supplier and producer. They added: “Working with leather has been challenging, and it has been a completely different process compared to working with precious metals, as livestock materials are quite different from raw materials, and we did not wish to compromise our standards. Through comprehensive research and cooperation with high-quality manufacturers, we strive to mitigate unsustainable and unhealthy suppliers that jeopardise the welfare of employees and customers, as well as the quality and longevity of our products.”

Still in its infancy, this area of Lié Studio’s business is expected to continue evolving, however. While teasing future projects, the brand’s founders said that they are eventually planning to intertwine the two production processes of each category for a collection they are not yet ready to unveil. It will, however, maintain the brand’s business model of long-lasting staple designs, which they emphasised only ever grows through new pieces that add value to the core lines.

When asked what to expect from Lié Studio in the near future, the Moosgaards, remaining tight-lipped, said: “We are working on many exciting product launches as part of our mission to create the Lié wardrobe essentials. In addition, we are committed to expanding our global market presence and maintaining strong connections with our consumers. This involves engaging through our physical stores and digitally building our community on social media platforms.”