The Platform designers at Moda Operandi
For Moda Operandi, the support of emerging designers has been a constant since the company was founded back in 2010, and currently, 25% of its sales center around new fashion names. However, with the launch of The Platform, these lesser-known labels will have a dedicated home, helping to cement the luxury e-tailer’s reputation as the go-to for discovering new talent.
The first crop of designers to be featured on the microsite are New York-based Alexandra O’Neill and her Markarian collection of ready-to-wear dresses; London-born Eleanor Balfour, who previously worked with Stephanie Von Watzdorf at Figue and at Oscar de le Renta; Yeon Park, who launched her direct-to-consumer label in 2014; and Olesya Kononova and Anastasia Riabokon, whose Ukrainian label Lake Studio has to date only been available in Eastern Europe.
Not only will these designers and their collections be featured on The Platform, they will also benefit from the full support of the Moda Operandi team. The company will work with them for a minimum of three seasons, providing marketing assistance and advising on assortment planning, product development, manufacturing, sales forecasting and brand development, and aims to support a total of 25 designers over the next three years. And while exclusive to Moda Operandi online, participating brands will still be able to stock their designs in bricks-and-mortar stores.
“We’re identifying the designers who have a very strong point of view,” explained CEO Deborah Nicodemus to Forbes.com, and “those that others may not be familiar with”, a strategy that will continue to position Moda, and its consumers, at the forefront of fashion.
Read more about Moda Operandi here.