. In 2009, Karen Kane launched a second label called Fifteen Twenty, a collection of upscale items designed to strike a balance between classic and cool.
“Michael found that after a few years, that wasn’t for him,” Lonnie recalled. “One night he came over for dinner and said, ‘I’m leaving my job.’ I asked, ‘So what are you going to do?’ Robert also went his separate way for a while. After finishing his studies in 2016 in fashion and apparel design atThe New School, he returned to Los Angeles to work as a design assistant with Raquel Allegra.
To make a successful transition, she suggested business owners start with a plan. That was exactly what Lonnie did. “You have to make sure the family members who are going to continue on afterward are well rounded in what the business is and are experienced in a number of areas of the company,” he explained. “They also need to develop relationships in the industry that are separate from the ones their parents have.
So it was a natural progression that Michael and Robert would come on board. “Lonnie and Karen never pressured us to get involved, but I think they always had hoped that one day we would be involved,” said Michael, who refers to his parents by their first names when discussing business.When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the family worked as a team when some tens of thousands of orders were canceled overnight. Before the pandemic, Karen Kane had 175 employees.
Robert’s line of high-end contemporary clothing with more delicate fabrics including cupro, recycled cotton denim, organic cotton, and repurposed deadstock is all sewn in house. Since launching his brand Robert has seen his creations get better every year. They are now carried by 100 specialty stores.