Inbox hero: why fashion founder Substacks are the new influencers
It’s only taken oh, circa 15 years, but fashion brand founders (and creative directors) have finally twigged that they are their own best brand ambassadors.
From their first baby steps on Instagram, when the likes of Linda V Wright, Nili Lotan and Tibi founder Amy Smilovic (above) showed their faces and styling prowess, pro tastemakers have gifted their customers a ‘real way’ insight into clever wardrobe building, versatile styling and non-hard-sell (yet paradoxically seductive) selling.
And now they go even better. Substack is proving the perfect platform for sharing not just fashion how-tos but other lifestyle recommendations – from travel to food to business know-how.
Alex Mill’s creative director Somsack Sikhounmuong chats midnight doom scroll links and relatable wardrobe hacks – “when u love The Row but still have to pack your lunch” (below) – as well as his wannabe fashionista NYFW memories (adore!) on his Substack, while Amy Smilovic aka The Creative Pragmatist gives us foodie recommendations alongside thoughtful dressing intel and her SS25 show music breakdown. Ann Mashburn meanwhile, may not have Substack but she does have a blog – You Need This… I Promise – on her own website. She’s a former fashion editor, so she gets it.
What these savvy creatives realise is the power of community in the conversational, direct-to-inbox delivery of a newsletter or Substack. If they’re really smart, they’ll use the chat function to ask real-time questions to this super-engaged customer. In a way, it’s taking a leaf from the beauty founder playbooks of Lisa Eldridge, Caroline Hirons, Trinny and Beauty Pie, who all built their customer base by keeping it real on YouTube and Instagram, which includes going deep in the weeds of the comment sections for unfiltered feedback at the most granular level.
Where Instagram and YouTube (and now TikTok) are big on pictures and videos, Substack is the place for telling as much as showing. Designers can explain the nuts and bolts of their designs or inspirations or give us a real insight into the behind-the-scenes of running a business. Well, they try. While some succeed – Amy Smilovic’s The Creative Pragmatist does what it says on the tin – other don’t quite manage to keep up.
Emily Oberg (of Sporty & Rich fame and formerly a fashion editor for Complex) started ‘Emily Loves’, “a weekly newsletter dedicated to the things I see, think, eat, read, watch, and like”. It began promisingly with her impressive founder story but demonstrates every blogger’s problem – it’s easy to get started but life can get in the way of keeping things going.
I mean in truth, yes, it’s a lot.
Creating content on the regular is a full-time job alongside the already jam-packed role of designing collections, managing teams and y’know, just keeping shareholders happy. So we should enjoy these personal and entertaining parasocial Substack relationships while they last. The beauty of the founder/creative director newsletter is its chatty, friend-to-friend intimacy. The in-a-cab commentary and on-the-fly iPhone pics are exactly the way 2007-era blogs disrupted legacy media.
The cynic realist in me predicts the Substack job will eventually be passed to a ghost-writing ‘editor’ or ‘team’ which is inevitable when the novelty wears off and the bubble eventually pops. For now though, we’re in a golden era of longform founder content. They get to build loyal audiences and gain feedback from followers, while readers get insider advice and entertainment. Let’s savour the moment while it lasts…
WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: Amy Smilovic; Somsack Sikhounmuong/ The Row; Amy Smilovic; Ann Mashburn
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here
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