Business of fashion

ASOS launches Marketplace



Pioneering as ever, Asos.com is poised to launch its brand new Marketplace just in time for the holiday season. A place where an individual can sell off their own unwanted fashion wares or a store can set up its online space, it’s a timely poke in the eye to Ebay and its increasingly unfriendly attitude to independent sellers. The only stipulation to individual sellers in the Marketplace is the merchandise must be photographed ‘street style’, so none of your dingy still life pics, these need to be styled on a human body, preferably in an interesting way in order to get the most exposure on the Asos site.

Taking its cue from sites like Lookbook.nu, Asos has tapped into the consumers’ desire for wearable styling ideas and personal context. Sellers are encouraged to shoot their pictures in photogenic scenarios to make them as ‘editorial’ looking as possible. The picture/item can be ‘liked’ which will place it highly in searches. The selling process is straightforward. A price is set and payment is made by Paypal with Asos taking 10% of the sale price.

A big draw of the Marketplace will be the ’boutique’ of vintage sellers. Selected vintage retailers can upload their logo and product (again, styled on people in situ) and merchandise their area as they see fit to make the space their own.

For designers and retailers, there is the opportunity to set up shop in the Marketplace. When the site launches (ETA mid-end November), Browns Focus and Faster by Mark Fast wil be among the first retailers/designers with a presence. “We want to help small businesses grow,” I was told by an Asos rep at the press day this morning. “This way we can build a platform that exposes small businesses to our vast database.”

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Claire’s embraces haul vloggers



Clever Claire’s has tapped into the haul vlogger trend with a shiny new website. One of the first fashion brands to harness the power of haul vloggers, the Claire’s team trawled the streets of America scouting for girls to video blog for the site. The strangely addictive Youtube craze whereby teen girls hit the malls then upload a ‘shop and tell’ video blog is a perfect fit for a youth-focused brand like Claire’s. The retailer’s three brand ambassadors blog and vlog on its site, (hopefully) building a cult following and doling out tips and advice to current and future customers. There’s also a chance for wannabe vloggers to nominate themselves as a future ‘Claire’s Curator’.

It makes total sense to me for retailers to engage with their customers by inviting them to say nice things about their products on their sites (I’m guessing these teens are paid, if not in cold, hard cash, then surely in clothes). Customers trust the opinion of other consumers and especially when the gushing comes in the form of an authentic, home-made looking video. It also doesn’t hurt that the products being raved about are also featured alongside the blog posts to instantly click and buy.

As young consumers tire of celebrities, it seems likely that a new type of ‘blog star’ might take over. The benefit of haul vlogging – a bit like QVC – is it brings the personality closer to the consumer, allowing for a more engaging user experience. With the news that Forever 21 is about to land in the UK, I wonder when we’ll start to see UK youth retailers utilising haul tactics on their websites.

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The future of fashion: inclusive or exclusive?



Just as we get nicely comfortable with the idea of fashion for all, the goal posts shift again. Fashion’s Night Out was a fabulously jolly affair with customers, celebs and designers all happily sharing the same breathing space. This round of fashion weeks will have more brands than ever live-streaming their shows, while a number of designers and CEOs also tweet from behind the scenes (hello @vbfashionweek, @MarcJacobsInt). Marc Jacobs’ tweeter, CEO Robert Duffy has also been giving away bags and surfboards (eh?) to lucky tweeters, creating quite the fashion frenzy. Very caring, very sharing.

But just when it was getting so cosy and democratic – BAM! – all change. Yes Burberry is live streaming its show online and broadcasting it on screens in-store but those in-store iPads aren’t just for any old civilian. No, the in-store treatment is for a select few privileged customers, so while they get to watch, shop and quaff champagne in the luxe surroundings of Burberry’s serene-but-sexy temples, the rest can press their noses against the window and like it will have to make do with their iPad at home on the DFS with a cup of PG Tips for company.

Tom Ford made his much anticipated and (not-very-well-kept) secret comeback yesterday during New York Fashion Week and what a to-do there was. No live-streaming for Ford. Instead there was a small salon-style show where only a handful of VIP press were present and they were strictly instructed that “all photographic and recording devices are prohibited. Thank you.”

Ford introduced each outfit modelled by an all-star cast including Beyonce, Lauren Hutton and Julianne Moore. How thrilling! And the outfits? Well we won’t be seeing those for quite some time, the official pictures were taken by Terry Richardson (allegedly for French Vogue) and are embargoed until next year. Blimey, New York Fashion Week has never been this exciting. Ford has clearly decided that all this ‘fashion for everyone’ guff has reached its tipping point and is leading the charge in the opposite direction. At his preposterously luxe end of the market, he’s making a case for super-exclusivity, the kind where customers are more than happy to pay for the privilege of wearing something that’s not been seen on every other Tom, Dick and Sharon.

Is Ford onto something here? It was noted recently that Chanel has scissored its sample sale guest list. The Chanel sample sale invitation is already one of the most coveted perks in the fashion and beauty business and invitations are like gold dust. The culling of the list sent out a firm message; for all that they may be embracing bloggers, setting up etail sites and interacting on Facebook, there’s no doubt that exclusivity still has meaning for luxury fashion brands. Just ask Tom.

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Mrporter.com hires staff



News is trickling in of hires at Net-a-Porter’s sibling site, Mr Porter. Toby Bateman, currently buying manager at Selfridges has been appointed by Natalie Massenet as buying director for the new menswear site which launches in January. Working alongside Bateman will be buyer Katja Delaloye, previously at Brunschwig & Cie and Hofstetter Sports.

I’m very interested to see who will make the grade for Mr Porter’s editorial division. Net-a-porter is as well known for its magazine (made up of mostly ex-Elle staffers) as its buying and it will be fascinating to see what kind of content is deemed appropriate for the Mr Porter man. Incidentally, the editor hasn’t been appointed yet so if you fancy your chances, apply here!

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