Adam Lippes | From Athleisure to First Lady’s Choice – 100% Made in New York

Adam Lippes is one of the brands I've written about with the closest relationships to the US President and New York celebrities, with a powerful background. Together with Gabriela Hearst (who has the backing of the Hearst family group, which publishes Harper's BAZAAR), they represent the high-end, traditional, elegant, minimalist style favored by American politicians, while Khaite and The Row have a more avant-garde fashion sense.

It was with Adam Lippes that I first saw the combination of Western fashion capital and political connections. New York fashion brands are different from Italian and British ones, and very different from LA brands. New York's celebrity circle is extremely powerful, and due to America's global dominance, New York celebrities are almost equivalent to global celebrities.

01

Adam Lippes began his fashion career at Polo Ralph Lauren in 1995, gaining experience in mass retail channels. The following year, he quickly became the global creative director of Oscar de la Renta (1996–2003). In 2004, he founded the brand ADAM+EVE by launching a collection of basic cotton clothing. Under the investment of the Richemont Group, it grew into a full-category ready-to-wear brand called Adam. For the next few years, he focused on minimalist sportswear design, opened stores in New York, and collaborated with Mango. In 2007, he became a member of the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) and held his first fashion week in New York. In 2010, the ADAM brand was sold to Kellwood Company. Adam Lippes bought it back in 2012, and in 2014, he officially relaunched under the eponymous brand Adam Lippes, placing greater emphasis on fabrics and tailoring—"understated and luxurious designer sportswear." The brand's positioning also upgraded from mass-market sportswear to a minimalist luxury brand, focusing on suit sets and wool coats with minimalist designs that emphasize cutting and stitching. In 2015, a collaboration with Target department stores brought Adam Lippes to a broader market, and he has since been frequently featured in Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.

they look very banal sort of when you first look but there's a lot going on—and our clothes are very simple in a lot of ways, but you need to look closer to see how they're constructed—the seams, the fabric, you have to touch them, the layers.

Swiss Akris , which I've written about before, also went upmarket from initially producing aprons, focusing on suit sets and coat categories, and has now become a high-end minimalist brand. Many clothing brands aiming for an upgrade rely on key categories that test fabrics and patterns, such as coats, suits, and dresses. The Row also expanded from basic cotton T-shirts to suits, coats, and dresses. Khaite expanded from cashmere sweaters and silk shirts to dresses and leather trench coats (I'll specifically introduce Khaite's Lookbook in the next two articles).

Even China's ZiHo, which has been trying to go upmarket in recent years, has focused on suits, coats, and trench coats. In their own brand introduction, these major categories rank at the top.

In 2024, Adam Lippes held a party in New York to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the brand's relaunch. In 2025, Melania Trump wore an Adam Lippes custom blue wool double-breasted coat at Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony, marking Adam Lippes' successful transformation from sportswear ADAM to a top brand for American celebrities. Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden, and Kamala Harris all consider this brand.

This trajectory was predictable. Among brands worn in American political circles, Ralph Lauren and Oscar de la Renta have long held significant influence. Oscar de la Renta's founder, Óscar Fiallo, was the fashion designer for Jacqueline Kennedy, wife of President Kennedy, in the 1960s.

In 2017, Melania Trump chose a blue Ralph Lauren suit for Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony. At the 2025 presidential transition ceremony, Jill Biden wore a Ralph Lauren purple cashmere coat.

For

the 2025 presidential inauguration, the vice president's wife, Usha Vance, chose an Oscar de la Renta custom pink peony-colored cashmere coat. Ivanka Trump, at Trump's inaugural gala, also wore an Oscar de la Renta custom crystal and pearl gown paired with a silver shawl. Ivanka chose a DIOR jade green suit for the inauguration ceremony. You'll also notice the presence of the LVMH Group CEO and his eldest daughter and second son at Trump's inaugural gala.

So from the beginning, when Adam Lippes was gaining fashion experience working at Polo Ralph Lauren and Oscar de la Renta, you could see the celebrity circles he would eventually reach. The American political sphere and top editors like those at Vogue have been trying to replace the global status of the French fashion industry since the 1960s, aiming to make American fashion globally dominant. Various political figures also prioritize American domestic brands for important occasions. Now they have indeed succeeded—some French fashion editors and bloggers are gradually moving to live in New York. I previously wrote an article comparing lifestyle differences between Parisian and New Yorker, written by the French Garance Dore. Although Toteme is a Swedish brand, it first rose to prominence in New York. Chinese designer brand Alexander Wang is also based in New York.

The establishment of American literature's dominant position began with Mark Twain's desire to break away from the influence of British literature and forge an American literary style. This was largely accomplished between the 1930s and 1960s, around the time of Max Perkins' generation. The writers he discovered—Francis Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Thomas Wolfe—formed part of this movement. Woody Allen's film "Midnight in Paris" is set against this background, as well as the new generation of writers in the 1960s represented by Jack Kerouac.

Now America has forged its own path in both areas, dominating global discourse. Of course, these fields that require accumulation are concentrated in New York and the American South—LA is still too new.

Currently, Adam Lippes has 4 directly operated stores and also collaborates with department store distributors worldwide, including Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Net-a-Porter, and Saks Fifth Avenue.

In New York at 828 Fifth Avenue, there is an appointment-only Salon store, decorated in the style of America's Golden Age. Every item inside, including furniture and decorative pieces, is available for purchase.

The Adam Lippes official website also features vintage-style obelisks, vases, cushions, and statues.

The Paris store of Antwerp minimalist luxury brand La Collection, which I wrote about previously, also resembles a private apartment. When introducing this flagship store to Elle Decor, Adam Lippes joked that customers can shop while drinking champagne—it's more of a lifestyle.

Adam Lippes' clothing and stores truly represent the style that New York politicians, old money, and celebrities would appreciate—reflecting an American aesthetic from 100 years ago. You can see this style in films like The Great Gatsby and Genius (2016).

02

Adam Lippes draws inspiration from photography and interior design. After watching Werner Herzog, I discovered how these excellent creative industry professionals, including directors, writers, and designers, network in their circles. They don't overly study their peers but instead find inspiration through other creative mediums like travel, literature, and art.

Here I'll introduce the various categories on Adam Lippes' official website: coats, suits, dresses, and jumpsuits. I'll prepare a separate article about their Lookbook later. Currently, they only offer women's clothing, with all ready-to-wear items made locally in New York. The core items—coats, suits, and dresses—use cashmere, silk, and wool from Italy, with "Italian" clearly labeled on the official website. Items without this label use standard fabrics and aren't core designs, typically available in just one color and not continuing into the next season. The Tweed Chanel-style fabrics come from France.

Julia Jentzsch, which is priced for the mid-range market, doesn't achieve this level of fabric quality and craftsmanship. It's only partially manufactured in New York and relies on promoting eco-friendly principles to enhance brand image.

Coat

Adam Lippes coats use cashmere fabric with neat, simple, waist-defining long silhouettes like the one below. The Long Coat and Short Coats series are core coat styles, all made with cashmere fabric, featuring a vent in the back, with a tailored suit-like silhouette.

All feature the same four colors and identical fabric.

Suits are also often designed as long tailored styles, mostly in wool-silk blends or pure silk fabrics.

Yesterday's featured brand Julia Jentzsch includes lengthy product descriptions and fabric details, while truly high-end brands like The Row, Kiton, and Adam Lippes simply state "Italian Silk" and briefly describe the design of shoulders, sleeves, and pockets.

The core short suit is the Tux Jacket, made from silk and wool blend. These luxury suits, coats, and dresses frequently incorporate silk fabrics or silk blends. The previously discussed Swiss luxury brand Akris also uses silk for their most expensive and core jacket and parka styles.

Another suit style available in two colors is the Parker Jacket, priced lower than the above and with a more casual everyday silhouette.

The Chanel-style Tweed jacket is also a core series. French Chanel tweed style, with the Cecil Jacket fabric sourced from France.

Adam Lippes selects the finest Italian fabrics for cashmere, wool, and silk, while cotton origins aren't mentioned. Therefore, the pure cotton trench coats and short jackets below aren't core categories and come in limited colors—just one style each. The coats and suits mentioned earlier are available in multiple colors.

Dress

Adam Lippes' core dresses feature floral prints, hand embroidery, and sculpting, primarily in A-line silhouettes.Barrie also favors these small floral embellishments on clothing.

Adam Lippes' dress style aligns with the store décor and home accessories sold at the previously mentioned 828 Fifth Avenue, leaning toward floral vintage aesthetics reminiscent of the Art Nouveau movement's plant and flower decorations from the late 19th century.

The core dress silhouette is the Embroidered Eloise Dress with an A-line tank top style, available in various colors and fabrics.

For short dresses, Adam Lippes' signature style is the Tilley Dress.

Of the four colors, only the third is a viscose golden version; the others are wool and silk blends.

Jumpsuit

This is the first time I've seen jumpsuits as core items for a brand.
The core jumpsuit series is the Nansi Jumpsuit, available in both tank and short-sleeve styles, all in 100% silk and in three colors. The black version is more formal, while the others resemble luxury sleepwear.

With the already long design, the sold-out sizes are mostly large—Western people are truly tall.

Pant

Adam Lippes' core pants are the Deeda Pants with a slight flare and wide leg, similar in style to Akris .

The two images on the left show Adam Lippes' Deeda Pant, while the right shows Akris' core Wide Straight Double-Face Pants.

03

Cataloging Adam Lippes' non-core knitwear and leather collections, which merely diversify the product range but lack Adam Lippes' distinctive design elements—not recommended.

These leather pieces are newly launched collections, not Adam Lippes core items. Leather jackets and outerwear have been popularized by Khaite in recent years, which I'll cover in my next one or two articles.

Khaite's short jackets typically feature trench coat shoulder straps and prominent pockets. From left to right: Khaite 2022FW, 2024 Prefall, 2025SS

It's evident that the leather jacket designs aren't as appealing as the previously mentioned coats and suits. They more closely imitate other brands' core styles rather than incorporating Adam Lippes' own design elements.

Epilogue

After completing this review, I realized that Adam Lippes and Akris have similar positioning: elegant and formal, both with wool-silk suits and outerwear as core offerings, and featuring remarkably similar wide-leg pants with slight flares.

I refer to Akris , Adam Lippes, and Gabriela Hearst as the "luxury lady trio." All feature particularly proper suit and coat designs with traditional conservative dresses—exactly the classic socialite style in our imagination.

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