Indie Design Duo Victoria Feldman and Tomas Berzins Discontinue Victoria/Tomas Label, Shift Focus to Creative Collaborations
Independent designers Victoria Feldman and Tomas Berzins have decided to cease the operation of their Victoria/Tomas label, according to insider reports. The pair, who have regularly presented at Paris Fashion Week since 2017, will shift their focus to collaboration and other design projects in the future. They have also made the decision to close their Paris atelier.
Feldman and Berzins attribute this decision to market forces and their desire to shift from managing day-to-day operations to creative explorations. The Victoria/Tomas label, established in 2012, was stocked globally by Neiman Marcus, Harvey Nichols, Le Bon Marché, and boutique retailers like the eminent Colette.
The duo founded the label straight out of fashion school, subsequently becoming finalists in the Hyères International Festival of Fashion and Photography the following year. The label quickly earned renown for its innovative offerings like the 2020-launched reversible clothing concept.
After the pandemic, Feldman and Berzins noted a dramatic shift in the business climate with a spike in retail closures. “Especially after COVID-19, the business slowed down a lot, to be honest,” Berzins said. “We felt like the wholesale was going down, slowly but steadily.” A shrinking wholesale market dealt a significant blow to their financial health.
“The industry has had a lot of change, negative change, starting from the wholesale [business], where we were focused mainly for our business since the beginning,” Berzins explained. “When the big shops are shutting down, or [filing for] bankruptcy, you cannot replace them easily.”
With the onset of the pandemic, the company lost 70 percent of its turnover due to order cancellations and shop closings. In subsequent years, they witnessed the permanent closure of about 50 shops they had business relations with.
“It really affected the turnover,” Berzins shared. “We succeeded to survive many, many seasons after COVID-19, but we came to a moment when we said, ‘Is it healthy to do that?’ We want to do many, many things. We have a lot of ideas, but when you have this kind of weight of the market, it kind of breaks you and you don’t feel passionate anymore.”
Despite these challenges, the duo remains optimistic and will channel their creativity into design collaborations and product development with existing brands. They have already had a successful partnership with fragrance brand Caron, designing a carrying case for the house’s perfume bottles.
Expressing openness to all types of creative collaborations, including high street or sportswear brands, Berzins remarked, “We don’t have any limit with it, we don’t have any taboo to where we can or cannot work. It’s just a question of fit with our vision, and with a human aspect [including] the team.”
“We’re very motivated and looking very positively toward the future. We can’t wait for new adventures,” Feldman added.