The tariff situation is weighing heavily on the strategies of fashion companies this fall, along with sourcing diversification, price hikes, receiving timely payments from retailers, and direct-to-consumer growth.

Here’s a snapshot of how five different sportswear companies — Lafayette 148, L’Agence, Ramy Brook Cinq à Sept and LoveShackFancy — are planning their businesses for the last four months of the year, and what’s on their minds regarding tariffs, prices and international expansion.

Lafayette 148: Focusing on the Customers

“We’re holding our own,” said Deirdre Quinn, chief executive officer and cofounder of Lafayette 148, which operates its own factory in Shantou, China. She said with the percent that the tariff is, “we can deal with it. Thank god, it’s not devastation.” She said she has had to selectively adjust prices, but for some products such as basics, they maintained prices. Overall, she said the price increases are about 10 percent, but they weren’t across the board.

The main opportunities for Lafayette 148 in the second half are focusing on the customers they have and making sure they have an incredible experience with the company.

Lafayette 148 has transitioned from a wholesaler into a primarily direct-to-consumer brand with 26 stores globally, which includes 12 units in North America. “Our retail is doing amazing,” said Quinn. The company opened a permanent location in Coral Gables, Fla., and will open a new store in NorthPark in Dallas next year. She noted that her two best stores, which are “neck and neck,” are on Madison Avenue and Greene Street in New York.

Lafayette 148 had a soft launch at Harrods at the end of August, and is opening pop-ups in South Korea, which are fully furnished by Lafayette 148. “It’s an amazing opportunity to test international business,” said Quinn.

The company’s shift to DTC has been a big focus. “Our retail stores are really doing extremely well and we expect that to continue. We see some softness on the web,” she said. As a result, they are investing significantly in technology. They are making a data warehouse which will be a huge push at the company by the end of the year that will allow them to bring all their customer data through one place.

Quinn said a whole shift started happening at the company right before COVID-19, and the last five years have seen an acceleration of that strategy. They have continued to build out more stores. “It’s been a really fast-paced acceleration of our DTC so we’ve had to do some catch-up on the technology,” she said.

She noted that the company still has to control expenses. “We don’t know where the tariffs will end up.” Right now they’re at 30 percent on top of the original, so 38 percent, she said.

Another change at the company is shifting its distribution center into the Brooklyn Navy Yard from the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park, where it’s been for 25 years. “Now it’s the floor above me,” said Quinn. ‘It’s the entire 15th floor. Talk about efficiencies. We went from shipping one customer 500 pieces. Now we have 500 customers getting one piece,” she said.

Lafayette 148 continues to sell Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s. Quinn said they’ve worked out a payment plan with Saks Global, Neiman’s and Bergdorf’s parent, and her banks were comfortable. “Our retail is working, our customers are buying, and our business is doing very well,” said Quinn.

Asked about the biggest challenge facing the business, she said, “It’s just the uncertainty about the tariffs continues to linger.” She said it would be better if she knew what to expect. “But instead, we’re doing our budgets for next year, but it’s difficult when you don’t know where you’re going to land.”

L’Agence: Doubling Down on Multichannel Approach

Jonny Saven, chief executive officer of L’Agence, said that opportunities are coming from the fact that they’ve developed a strong multichannel approach, where previously they were more focused on wholesale. He said they have stores opening, and an e-commerce business that’s flourishing. The three pillars are multichannel approach, product categories (to make sure they’re representing their lifestyle brand in different categories and winning in different categories) and geographic (ensuring they are doing enough to penetrate some of those geographic markets they weren’t in or weren’t thriving in, and building up to invest in those international markets).

Right now there are nine stores internationally, and L’Agence will have a full-price store opening in early November in Chicago and their first outlet in Woodbury Commons in Harriman, N.Y. They also plan a store in Dallas next year.

He said L’Agence has a good balance between wholesale and direct to consumer. “I mean obviously I think the accelerated growth is coming from the direct-to-consumer side because it’s a newer part of the business,” he said, but noted they are still getting healthy growth on the wholesale side. Some of that is international and some is just deeper penetration with existing stores.

Discussing how payments are going from Saks, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, Saven said, “It’s hard to know. It changes. It seems like a changing conversation a little bit, but for the most part, it’s been still pretty stable for us and a growing business for us. I want to be able to fulfill everyone’s needs, which means shipping product and selling products. It’s still a very strong partnership for us.”

He said the tariff situation continues to change. “Just today there was news about what’s going on in India. We don’t have a big part of our business there, but we do have some, and it’s in some important categories. I would say it’s a still pretty dynamic environment. There’s still some settling that’s happening with China. It certainly is a lot easier to predict right now than it was two to three months ago, which you know at the time was kind of all over the place. So there’s been some stabilization.”

He said that L’Agence has been diversifying its supply chain for a number of years “so we’re in a pretty good place.” He said that based on sourcing and things like that, there will be some increases in the 10 percent range.

He said dresses have been a very strong category for L’Agence this year because “we’ve sort of doubled down in that area.” He also said they’re doing more of the tracksuit business, and expect to go deeper in categories such as belts and swim.

He noted that L’Agence’s business is still quite penetrated in denim, and they just did a whole campaign around the jeans with a billboard on Sunset Boulevard, and they plan to do more advertising to build up jeans.

“There’s still a little bit of macro headwinds out there. We haven’t found there to be barriers. Right now for the business, ultimately product is what’s driving it and what’s selling through. And whenever we bring something fresh to the table, they want it.” He said they’re looking to open more stores in Europe and continued expansion in Korea.

L’Agence will have a presentation on Sept. 10 during New York Fashion Week.

As for how the second half will shape up, he said, “I think it’s consistent with the kind of growth I’ve seen over the last few quarters. It’s just really consistent which is ultimately what we’re really looking for.”

Ramy Brook: Growing Event Dressing, Casual Bottoms

Ramy Brook Sharp, CEO and founder of Ramy Brook, the contemporary label, said, “Tariffs continue to be a challenge across the industry, and like many brands, we’re working closely with our factory partners — both existing and possibly new — to navigate the impact while doing everything we can to keep our retail pricing flat. We’re lucky to have strong relationships that allow us to work through this together.”

Ramy Brook has had strong collaborations in the past with jewelry and shoe brands, and those experiences have laid the foundation for the launch of their own footwear collection this fall, starting with boots. “Jewelry has always been a passion of mine, and now we’re truly able to offer our customer a full head-to-toe Ramy Brook look,” said Sharp.

“We’re also continuing to grow our event dressing category — from birthday celebrations and galas to weddings and bridal parties. We’ve seen a noticeable uptick in occasion dressing, especially for bridesmaids and wedding guests, and we’re expanding that offering in a big way. At the same time, we’re balancing that with the addition of our more casual assortment, especially in bottoms. We have seen incredible growth, and we’re continuing to build on that based on feedback from both our partners and our own website data,” said Sharp.

She said the company is leveraging AI tools and leaning into direct mail as a powerful tool for customer acquisition.

Cinq à Sept: International Growth, More Casual and Denim Styles

Jane Siskin, CEO of Cinq à Sept, said there’s a lot of untapped potential in international markets for the brand.

“We’re in a unique position where the brand has a strong identity and a loyal following, but there’s still a lot of untapped potential. International markets are opening up for us in a way that could significantly grow awareness and revenue,” she said. The company also sees opportunity in blurring the lines between occasion wear and everyday style “bringing that Cinq à Sept polish into pieces women can wear more often.”

She also noted that the company is continuing to grow its denim offering.

“While our wholesale business continues to grow, our direct-to-consumer channel is becoming increasingly important as it gains momentum and outperforms our projections. Our first three stores are performing ahead of expectations, so a mindful, measured expansion of our store portfolio makes sense,” said Siskin.

As for the challenges over the next few months, Siskin said, “The biggest challenge is navigating uncertainty — economic, political and within the fashion landscape itself. The supply chain pressures are real; it takes time to onboard and nurture new factories and countries, and we’ve had to fast-track that process as tariff challenges continue to impact our sourcing strategy. Onboarding is rigorous, and when you accelerate it, you must be even more vigilant monitoring every step to protect the quality that’s critical to our business.

“While tariffs and price increases are a real factor, we’ve worked hard not to raise many of our prices. We monitor this closely every day while trying to balance cost pressures as we stay committed to delivering the value and quality our customers expect from Cinq à Sept,” she said.

LoveShackFancy: Opening Stores, Continuing Collaborations

Rebecca Hessel Cohen, founder and creative director of LoveShackFancy, said this fall they are opening several new stores, including their soon-to-open SoHo flagship. They are also launching a new fragrance, and will be introducing intimates as a full category. There are also several collaborations on the horizon, including Pink and Lawless, and they are returning to New York Fashion Week in September.

She said that LoveShackFancy has built an immersive lifestyle experience rooted in femininity, romanticism and nostalgia that spans fashion, home, beauty and beyond, and the emotional connection they have with their customer sets them apart. As they continue to scale, Hessel Cohen said, “The greatest challenge is keeping that magic intact. How do we keep delivering on the feeling and experience while reaching more people, keeping it fresh, opening more stores, and expanding into new categories? How do we evolve while holding onto the heart and soul of what we’ve created? We’re not interested in simply growing for the sake of it — we’re committed to growing with heart, holding onto the soul of the brand while continuing to evolve with our girl. That’s what I think about every day — how to grow with intention, without ever losing the feeling and intimacy.”

“Tariffs continue to evolve, and like many brands, we’ve certainly felt the impact. That said, we’re staying ahead of the curve by working closely with our sourcing and legal teams to navigate changes and ensure we remain as agile and prepared as possible. Flexibility has been everything. We’re lucky to have incredible partners and factories around the world, and we’ve leaned on those relationships to help us adapt and continue delivering the best product at the best value. For us, it’s about being proactive: strengthening our supply chain, staying nimble, and nurturing the relationships that allow us to move with confidence through whatever shifts may come,” said Hessel Cohen.

She said they’ve made a few shifts, and some modest price increases in key categories, renegotiated terms with factories, and they are expanding production to countries like Vietnam, India and Turkey.

“We remain committed to our ‘good, better, best’ pricing strategy to ensure accessibility without compromising on quality. And through it all, I truly believe there will always be reasons to celebrate, be it weddings, graduations, birthdays, and beyond. We want to continue being that moment of joy for our girl, no matter what the world looks like around her,” she said.