Escada
Munich, 1978 — bold colour, print and silk, cut with real construction.
Munich, 1978.
Escada was founded in Munich in 1978 by Margaretha and Wolfgang Ley. Margaretha, a former model with training in tailoring, gave the house its signature: bold colour, print and detail, cut with real construction underneath.
The label became known for vivid printed silk blouses and separates — statement pieces that still read unmistakably as Escada in vintage.
The marks of the house.
- 01Colour & printA house built on bold colour and elaborate print — the opposite of quiet, and proud of it.
- 02Printed silkBest known in vintage for vivid silk blouses and separates.
- 03Construction underneathMargaretha Ley’s tailoring background shows in the make beneath the pattern.
- 041980s–90s statementIts most collected pieces capture a specific, confident era of womenswear.
"Some houses whisper. Escada was built to be seen — and its silk still is."— Anemoia Vestiaire, on Escada
Silk, colour and make.
Escada lives in printed silk. Our silk note explains how to read silk quality — the substance beneath the pattern — and the wider library covers the rest.
We assess each Escada piece on the cloth, the print, and the honest condition of the garment — and we describe exactly what we see.
We make no claim of certification or exact dating beyond what the piece and its labels show.
Full measurements and condition are on each product page. Where maker labelling is present, it is recorded as found.Why vintage Escada
is collected.
Escada’s vivid printed silks from the 1980s and 1990s are increasingly sought after — they mark a specific, confident moment in womenswear, and genuine examples have grown scarcer as they have been worn and collected. Vintage is the way to own that era, condition described plainly.
