Lakan Golden Creates European-Inspired Designer Womenswear in New Orleans

Along the quiet of the white brick wall that elbows off of New Orleans’ Magazine Street and leads to the LAKAN studio and showroom, hangs a small brass plaque declaring “open by appointment or by chance.”

It’s an ironic serving of allegory for designer Lakan Golden’s womenswear that strikes this same balance between order and whimsy. Focused on highly motivated women who appreciate sustainable luxury in their style, LAKAN gets creative by playing with the rules, not breaking them. And the designs of the New Orleans native at the heart of the made-to-wear label are nothing if not deeply relational. 

“Sometimes I’m on the road,” says Golden, a frequent traveler for inspiration, almost apologetically, when discussing her humorous signage. “Or sometimes I have the curtains drawn and doors locked, because I really am in the weeds on a design, ya know?”

Launched in early 2023, the LAKAN collection brings a lot of character to iconic pieces like high-waisted herringbone skirts, mother-of-pearl-accented silk blouses and wool tweed top coats.

Golden offers consultations and fittings for clients to choose among her array of silhouettes, fabrics and detailing, while she assists with the build-out of their wardrobe. The chosen pieces are then manufactured by a small team in New York City and shipped back to New Orleans for a final fitting and any alterations needed.

“I wanted to create an experience for women, and that had to be driven by how I want to dress,” says Golden, often found wearing neutrals and earth tones that dance with surprising textural interplay. “Versatility is so important, too. So, I like designing things as a set that are also able to be deconstructed and worn as separates.”

LAKAN also skillfully blends masculine and feminine touches, proof of the brand’s evolution from Golden’s years creating bespoke suiting for Harper + Jones Custom Menswear. She remains a partner designer for the Dallas-based brand and continues to work in men’s suiting, but her muse shifted after realizing that women like herself who want a quietly sophisticated look but don’t have a lot of time to hunt for disparate pieces that make up a vastly underserved market.

No matter the medium, the true impact of art is found less in the material presentation and more in the idea itself. Ideas can change people more than people change their clothes. And using depth of texture and timeless looks to transcend trends, Golden doesn’t just want to clothe women, she wants to embolden them. This is the designer’s true art.

“I want my women to think endlessly and fearlessly in how they layer their clothes,” says Golden. “That’s what makes an ensemble unique and personal to them, and that’s what is so meaningful about designing and styling for me. I think LAKAN is for those who want to be free-spirited in their style, but still want to celebrate the form and function of classic looks.”

New Orleans is a funky city, but Golden is helping tend a culture of women wanting to lean more into beautiful, if understated, classics. She credits her energy for finding such a community to her time after college working at designer Rebecca Minkoff’s headquarters in New York City.

“That’s what you do, you go to the source,” Golden says. “New York gave me so much drive, just being surrounded by that creative energy, that environment. That’s where I got my hustle. It really changed me.”

Life has moved fast for Golden since her brand’s launch. The 36-year-old entrepreneur has had two sons with husband Evan Golden, CEO of KREWE, since LAKAN began in 2023, and her label is in the middle of a year-long pop-up in the Dallas showroom of Harper + Jones. Golden aims to continue co-branding LAKAN with the veteran menswear company as a one-stop shop for power couples.

Now that the core of her collection is established, she is focused less on completely new designs and more on re-envisioning pieces with new fabrics — all while remaining sustainable and intimately hands-on.

“I’m not designing for the masses,” Golden says. “Connecting with clients is the reward for me, it’s what I love to do. There’s so much personal touch to this. Everyone who walks in here has to be ready for an experience.”

Q&A

What’s one misconception about women’s style that you hope you hope to help clients overcome? That in order to stay relevant in fashion, you must keep up with every trend. At LAKAN, my goal is to redefine what it means to invest in a wardrobe —showing women that quality, versatility and timelessness are the true foundations of style.

Give me one example of contrast in your designs and why you love it.  I love mixing suede with flannels and cashmere coatings with linen-blend trousers. I love mixing unexpected textures. These contrasts add depth, character and a sense of lived-in luxury. In my interiors in the studio and at my home, something new is always next to something old. I love the stories that come with history, and to me, our environments aren’t warm and interesting enough without a history to see and a story to tell.

If you could design a piece for anyone famous, who would you choose and why? A few come to mind. Cameron Diaz, Jessica Alba, Whitney Wolfe Herd, Gwyneth Paltrow and Julia Roberts. I feel they all embody the LAKAN woman. They each have a strong individual sense of style, but they are entrepreneurs that have built industry-changing companies. I personally feel drawn to working with entrepreneurial women.