The best parties are always the ones that are a little bit too crowded—where strangers are forced to brush up against each other unexpectedly, guests jostle to reach for a passed hors d’oeuvre and necks crane at the flash of bulbs when a famous face walks through the entrance. That was the case Saturday evening at the end of the Malibu Pier, when Ranch at the Pier owners and Malibu tastemakers Alice Bamford and Ann Eysenring hosted another Malibu notable, Lyndie Benson, at a launch party for her new clothing line.
Benson, a former actress and noted photographer, was already interested in capturing the Malibu lifestyle as she did in her book of images “The Point,” which showcases beach life near her home on Point Dume. The former wife of jazz star Kenny G is now extending her vision of a chic Malibu lifestyle into her new clothing line, Bleusalt. Many of Benson’s famous friends came to celebrate her new endeavor, crowding the top floor of the business at the end of the pier that is selling the new luxury leisurewear collection.
Supermodel Cindy Crawford came to support her fellow Malibu mom.
“Beside being an incredible friend, Lyndie has incredible taste in everything—from how she entertains to her car,” Crawford told The Malibu Times. “She’s very detail oriented. This summer she was working on this line and showing me pieces. I’m excited for her.”
Another longtime friend, actress and Real Housewife of Beverly Hills Lisa Rinna, knows the clothing business. The former owner of boutiques in the San Fernando Valley now sells her own clothing line on QVS. Rinna came to wish her friend luck.
“Lyndie and I have been friends for 30 years,” Rinna said. “I’m so excited for her. I pushed her and said, ‘You’ve got to do this.’ I think it’s genius because the fabrication is so good and the design is so smart.
“Lyndie is so good at design and style,” Rinna continued. “I’ve always thought Lyndie’s had the best style. To now see it come to fruition is—I’m so proud of her.”
Although Benson has traveled the world, Malibu was the inspiration for the clothing line.
“It’s a funny combination between casual and elegant here in Malibu,” the designer said. “I could never find the pieces I wanted except for in cashmere. So then I was trying to find the fabric.”
The mom of two did find what she called “luxuriously soft fabric.”
“It’s the softest fibers on earth,” she said. That came through the help of another Malibu mom, Dana Weinstein who, with 30 years in the clothing business, is Benson’s manufacturing partner for Bleusalt. The designs are made with a fabric derived from the pulp of beech wood trees.
“The really cool thing about it is it rejuvenates itself, so it’s a very sustainable material,” Weinstein pointed out.
The two women say they are proud to manufacture the clothing in the United States, but Weinstein explained some of the challenges.
“The biggest issue is finding the contractors,” she said. “Fortunately, because I’ve been doing it for so long, I have relationships with contractors. The company is able to oversee the quality of the work and make sure it’s made in an ethical fashion with laborers being paid a fair wage and that working conditions are good. When you import, you have no idea. All the cutting, sewing and finishing is done in Los Angeles.”
Benson added, “Other brands start here then are made in China and some are finished off here with just sewing buttons. Then they claim it’s made in the US. It’s a really upsetting thing. For me, I think we need to start bringing everything here to the U.S.”
Described as luxury sweat pants or elevated athleisure wear, Benson said the clothes could be dressed up or dressed down. Prices range from $188 to $349. With every online purchase, one dollar is donated to Cool Earth to offset the carbon footprint.
Bleusalt is currently only available online at bleusalt.com or at Ranch at the Pier in Malibu.
