The in-the-know stylist Liat Baruch’s newest endeavor is with Bloomingdale’s — a limited-edition collaboration.
Thursday’s Aqua x Liat Baruch debut marks the first time that she has joined forces with a major brand or retailer. The two parties were connected by the Malagón Group’s Camila Malagón and their alignment regarding the design aesthetic led them “to give it a go,” Baruch said.
Having woken up Thursday feeling “super nervous and jittery,” she said, “I hadn’t told many people about it. But today I woke up feeling like it was my wedding day. You’re putting yourself out there in a different way. The Bloomingdale’s client is pretty major and I’ve been shopping there since I was a kid. It’s a big deal for me.”
Her plan at first is to visit some Bloomingdale’s stores to style people who are looking at the line organically over the next few weeks. She will then start posting on her Instagram to flag upcoming store visits.
“This is something I really want to pursue and do more of,” Baruch said. “It would be an interesting challenge to see how I would apply my skill set and perspective to make existing brands different. Just like working with clients. Five might call for a spring shop and they will all look different even though I am shopping from the same spring inventory. Also, the women and men vary in age, what they do and what they need the look for,” she said.
Having started her own business in 2016, her full-service approach also includes taking a wider look than matching designer dresses with red carpet events. For Bloomingdale’s, she created “fun and flirty core pieces that can be incorporated in your closet for many, many seasons.” Baruch said, adding that the weights of the cashmere and tweed options, as well as the color selection, make them suitable for spring. Having been wearing the cardigan samples from the line since last fall, Baruch said she pairs them with jeans and a boot, or with a blazer over it. A vest can be sported with a T-shirt under it or completely bare, she said.
Initial interest was strong, based on the response to her Instagram posts. “I feel like I get the most responses and traction when you put your personal style on anything,” she said.
“So many people said, ‘Where do I get that? Who makes it?’“ she said. “I told them, ‘Please wait one second.’”
A slipdress from the new Aqua x Liat Baruch collection.
Photo Courtesy Liah Baruch
Baruch is known to be a style setter through her work with famous clients, who include (but Baruch does not single out) Sofia Richie Grainge and her sister Nicole, Kirsten Dunst and Megan Fox among others.
Baruch has given a lot of thought to the 28-style range that retail from $98 to $168, as she would any high-end client. She always considers how to style something four or five different ways, how it might work casually, more formally or to work if that’s applicable. “Clothes are very expensive these days, so you need to make sense of it. And the only way for you to make sense of it is if you don’t look like you are wearing the same thing every day,” Baruch said.
She said, “If I put something with jeans, I ask myself, ‘But what kind of jeans? Where am I? Where am I sitting?’ Focusing on the little, little detail make people realize, ‘Oh, I didn’t even think of – you can wear it to work, wear it on a date or walking your dog on a Sunday morning.’”