Gap store in China | Source: Juncture Mag

Gap plans store closures in US, while opening new locations in China (Washington Post)
“The struggling retailer, which runs the Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic chains, detailed plans on Thursday to close 189 locations, or 21 percent of its namesake Gap stores in the U.S., by the end of 2013. At the same time, the largest U.S. clothing chain said it plans to triple the number of Gap stores in China from about 15 by the end of the year to roughly 45 by the end of next year.”

eBay’s New Retail Platform Is Mostly Free, So What’s the Catch? (All Things Digital)
“The platform, called X.commerce, was unveiled yesterday at the company’s developer conference in San Francisco and is designed to help any size retailer, ranging from family-owned stores to Toys “R” Us, keep up to date as shopping goes online and mobile.”

Female Founders Of Snapette Not Your Typical Geek Entrepreneurs (Forbes)
“The founders of Snapette are not your prototypical start-up entrepreneurs. At least in the minds of some Silicon Valley venture capitalists… While there are many shopping and style websites, Snapette is different because it focuses on actual products in the real world connected to location.”

Prada and Schiaparelli at the Met (On the Runway)
“Elsa Schiaparelli may share a birthday with Karl Lagerfeld (Sept. 10), but Miuccia Prada is unquestionably her sister in soul. Putting these two nimble minds together makes sense, and not simply because both are educated Italian women who enjoy a good fashion joke. The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that the spring 2012 exhibit at the Costume Institute will be ‘Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada: On Fashion.’ It will open May 10 and run through Aug. 19, with the gala on May 7.”

The woman who built a wardrobe with doors all over the world (Guardian)
“While the British high street struggles in the face of the economic downturn, My-wardrobe saw 68% sales growth in the first half of this year. Sales doubled in the 12 months to May after Curran introduced more upmarket brands such as Missoni and Phillip Lim. More than 900,000 shoppers visit the site each month to view collections from 180 designers, spending an average of £260.”

Mr Porter Screenshot | Source: Mr Porter

NEW YORK, United States — What began as a trickle is now starting to look more like a mass exodus. Jeremy Langmead, formerly of Esquire, is now at Mr. Porter. Andrea Linett, formerly of Lucky magazine, is now at eBay. Dennis Freedman, formerly of W, is now at Barneys. Fiona McIntosh, formerly of Grazia, is now at My Wardrobe. And the list goes on. It seems that there are almost weekly reports announcing that yet another magazine veteran has fled a traditional publishing company to take up a position at a brand or retailer. Recently, it was British Vogue that was in the headlines, when creative director Robin Derrick and fashion director Kate Phelan both announced within days of each other that they were leaving the magazine. Phelan is set to become creative director of Topshop, while Derrick’s plans have yet to be revealed.

By now, it’s a well-known fact that times are tough for traditional, ad-supported editorial outlets. For example, from 2007 through 2009, Condé Nast — publisher of Vogue, Vanity Fair and others — saw about $500 million in revenue disappear, a decline from which it has yet to recover. In fact, Condé Nast CEO Chuck Townshend recently admitted to the Wall Street Journal, “My eyes are wide open. I don’t consider [the traditional ad-revenue model] to be a perennially sustainable stream of revenue.”

While the Great Recession cut traditional advertising spending dramatically, the internet has also given brands and retailers a cost-effective Clway to circumvent publishers and engage consumers directly with their own editorial content. Back in January, David Carr nailed the implications of this trend in a piece entitled “Publishing, Without Publishers.”

But while there’s been a great deal of discussion about the death of old business models, and the emergence of new ones, there has been relatively little said about the impact of this evolution on the actual content itself. In what ways — positively or negatively — will the rise of content created by brands and retailers transform what we call editorial?

Perhaps no fashion business is better known for integrating editorial and retail than Net-a-Porter. “Merging magazine reading and shopping creates the ultimate playground for fashion lovers — an entirely shopable magazine,” said Claudia Plant, Net-a-Porter’s editorial director, who left Tatler ten years ago, becoming one of the first members of Natalie Massenet’s team, pioneering this new editorial model.

But where previous editorial models relied on content to attract readers who might then feel an affinity for the brands being advertised, this new model puts commerce at the centre, with editorial content working to reinforce consumer engagement and make the website more “sticky.” In other words, it’s less about consumers coming to these sites for the content and then deciding to shop, and more about people coming to shop and lingering to explore some content, which helps to drive sales.

“The retail aspect serves as the foundation and lays the groundwork in conceptualising the editorial content on the site,” said Jeremy Langmead, editor-in-chief of Net-a-Porter’s menswear site Mr. Porter. “It’s very much editorial being harnessed to drive retail,” agreed Fiona MacIntosh, consultant creative director at My Wardrobe. “We are starting to track reader’s responses to our editorial. If a certain story didn’t generate more sales, then we’ll bin that and find a new way of engaging the consumer.”

But should sales be the only barometer of editorial success? What about the amount of time spent with a piece of content, the number of social media shares it gets, or the seemingly old-fashioned concepts of providing value to the reader or furthering an editorial point of view? And what about editorial independence and integrity?

Despite the fact that traditional publishing companies have ‘church and state’ policies that officially separate advertising and editorial, it’s a barely-kept secret that editors at major magazines routinely engage in behind the scenes favour-trading, ensuring editorial placement for their advertisers.

But at least in principle, maintaining editorial independence and integrity is more than ethically important. It’s also a practical selling tool. That’s because, for readers, an important part of a traditional magazine’s appeal is the promise of honest, uncompromised opinions. For marketers, the appeal of advertising with these publications is, ironically, somewhat the same: the opportunity to be affiliated with the opinions of an editorial outlet without, ultimately, being responsible for those opinions. If the editorial ever wanders into uncomfortable territory (for example, the December 2010 issue of French Vogue, which featured heavily made-up children in luxury womenswear) the advertiser can disown the media outlet and walk away relatively untouched.

For this new breed of retail sites, where content is built around commerce, establishing an independent editorial identity, without impinging on the brands that drive a significant portion of the revenues that ultimately pay the bills, is a significant challenge. It’s a conflict that’s familiar to veterans of traditional ad-supported editorial, with one important distinction: at the end of the day, an advertiser is far more passive than a retail partner. This makes the balancing act of driving the bottom line while creating the kind of independent editorial content that consumers want to spend time with (and not just thinly-veiled advertorials) all the more difficult.

Alongside retailers, a number of brands are also creating and publishing their own editorial-style content. In a much-cited quote, Joanna Shields, EMEA Vice President at Facebook, pointed to British luxury brand Burberry as leading this trend. “Burberry is producing its own original content,” she said. “Burberry is no longer just a fashion company — today they are a thriving media enterprise.”

But for brands, the challenge of creating their own content is both simpler and more intractable, as there is even less opportunity to credibly negotiate an independent space between seller and consumer. Nevertheless, the approach comes with clear advantages: the message being delivered is their message, without mediation. But for this very same reason, branded content also comes with limitations and risks. In addition to offering plausible deniability if the message goes off track, traditional editorial outlets perform the function of interpreting and translating brands for their specific readerships. When Love magazine, for example, includes Louis Vuitton in a piece of fashion editorial, the result is quite different to the way a Vogue story might communicate the same brand. But when brands become media outlets themselves, though they may vary their approach to suit specific geographies and media channels, the results are more uniform. And if brands take a misstep, it’s much harder to backtrack or disown the message.

Emerging brands such as Acne have had great success creating their own smart, opinionated editorial content with Acne Paper. But most brands prefer to partner with agencies like Vice Media Group’s Virtue Worldwide or Condé Nast’s newly launched Ideactive, for two main reasons: despite the brain drain going on at publishers, brands often lack the full range of skill sets they need to create their own content and because they still prefer to establish a buffer between themselves and any opinions put forth in the content they publish. Still, when compared to the aggressive sloganeering of traditional advertising campaigns, the timidity of most brand content is notable.

This timidity has lead most brands to maintain a clear division between their brand content and their core messaging. But American denim giant Levi’s is proving to be an exception to this rule. In recent campaigns, the brand has experimented with transforming its advertising into something that feels closer to editorial content, with opinionated spots shot by art house directors such as M Blash and Cary Fukunaga. “[Our advertising] has got a point of view, that’s for sure,” said Joshua Katz, senior manager of global engagement marketing for Levi’s.

Over the last year, the brand has also turned itself into a platform for content creation, establishing a series of content-rich creative workshops in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles and commissioning original content like Outside In, a documentary film by director Alex Stapleton. “The workshop project started with the idea that, instead of just talking about the people we admired, we could create a platform to actually work with them. What is different about our project is that we’re not dictating what happens. We have to have a certain amount of trust and let these things live and be what they should be,” said Katz.

“Editorial content, in all its forms, is an engaging and effective way of articulating who you are and what you stand for to users who are increasingly interested in the narratives surrounding a brand,” said Horacio Silva, who recently departed his position as online director of New York Times style magazine T to join brand marketing and entertainment agency All Day Every Day as director of content.

But despite the risks, for both brands who create their own editorial and retailers who editorialise their inventory, it’s worth remembering that content only establishes affinity if it expresses a clear and confident point of view. In the end, that continues to be what separates bland content from intriguing editorial. As Langmead says, “The editorial content provides us with a voice.”

The trick is making sure you have something to say.

Ken Miller is creative director at All Day Every Day and the editor of three books, SHOOT, Revisionaries and a forthcoming fashion volume for Rizzoli International.

Brooks Brothers: Made in America | Source: Brooks Brothers

Made in America: A hook for wealthy shoppers (Ottawa Citizen)
“The Made-in-America label has undergone a deluxe makeover. Everyone from Brooks Brothers to the Olsen twins is using it to hawk luxury goods… ‘There is a customer that appreciates that the product is made in the United States and is willing to pay for the difference.’”

My-wardrobe boosts foreign dress effort (FT)
“‘The past 12 months and first quarter of 2011 has been a pivotal time for my-wardrobe.com. Not only have we seen phenomenal growth in the UK market, but we have already seen a significant rise in sales across Europe as we lay the foundations for our international expansion.’”

Luxury brands and Social Media (North Jersey)
“Having 4 million Facebook fans or more doesn’t amount to much unless the online interactions also boost the bottom line. ‘Ultimately, this is about social commerce… Social networking is nice, but social commerce is much better, and that’s where we need to get to.’”

LVMH denies attempts to destabilize Hermès (Reuters)
“Puech dismissed efforts by LVMH Chief Executive Bernard Arnault to strike a conciliatory tone regarding the Hermès approach. ‘After six months, we are the target of incessant attacks of the kind we’ve never seen in 174 years, even though LVMH says its approach to us is friendly… With friends like these, who needs enemies?’”

The Mexican fans Ralph Lauren could do without (Guardian)
“Sometimes, the market gets away from the marketers… For the Mexican children who see narcos as role models, the Polo look becomes something to imitate, and knock-off versions are readily available and widely worn. This is the sort of success a label would happily do without.”

John Galliano | Source: The Creator Blog

PARIS, France – The process of writing this season’s wrap-up left a somewhat bitter taste in my mouth. Looking back, several of the most salient themes from this round of fashion weeks involve unsavoury behaviour, gossip and highly unprofessional comments from some of the industry’s most important figures.

Whether it was John Galliano’s inexcusable anti-Semitic rant captured on video for the whole world to watch, the scrum of increasingly aggressive street style photographers hunting editors down like game before the shows, or the distasteful comments made by Patrick Thomas, chief executive of Hermès, regarding the stake built up in its business by LVMH, it seemed everywhere you looked this fashion week members of the industry were behaving badly.

With all the whispering, gossiping and backbiting going on, it’s surprising that anyone even noticed the clothes. So, let’s start with the clothes then!

1. OUTERWEAR EVERYWHERE AND A FEW FASHION PRINTS

Click here to view the embedded video.

Outerwear was everywhere this season, reflecting a growing understanding amongst designers that coats, jackets, parkas and ponchos get lots of wear and are the first statement of individual style, and therefore deliver a big bang for the consumer buck. Joseph Altuzarra, Alexander Wang, and Burberry’s Christopher Bailey were amongst the designers at the vanguard of this outerwear moment.

Thakoon showed one of the best collections of the season in a gilded hall at New York’s Plaza Hotel, with stunning contrasts of mismatched prints inspired by Masai tribes. It felt like we were in Paris, which I guess was the point as the collection also looked to French aristocracy for visual cues. The offsite location stood out from the increasingly chaotic spaces at Lincoln Center and Milk Studios. Ambience and atmosphere count for a lot when you’re trying to create a mood and put on a real show. Bravo Mr. Panichgul.

Rodarte and Proenza Schouler also delivered stellar collections, demonstrating the continued evolution of their own special design signatures. Proenza Schouler’s Navajo knits and prints were a knock-out, while Rodarte showed their second consecutive highly creative collection which one could actually envision hanging on a retail rail – and selling.

Although there were some great fashion moments in London, overall, the week was not as strong as usual. One notable exception was Mary Katrantzou, whose signature digital prints delivered massive runway impact in a tightly focused collection that for the first time expanded to new categories like knitwear, a smart way to expand her offering beyond dresses.

Jonathan Saunders’ collection of colour-blocking (and the surprise introduction of menswear!) proved he is definitely now back on firm footing in London after a hiccup during the seasons he spent in New York. And, Giles Deacon put out a focused fetishist collection that showed his more serious, sombre side. Indeed, for many an editor, his was the best show of London Fashion Week, and that hasn’t been something we’ve heard for awhile.

Ann Demeulemeester’s show in Paris was a beautiful vision of primal female warriors. Lanvin was gorgeous, as usual. Céline showed off the on-going evolution of Phoebe Philo’s “new minimalism,” with a more graphic and colourful show. And Rick Owens brought a kind of couture quality to his singular dark aesthetic of carefully constructed clothes.

2. THINK BEFORE WE TWEET

Derek Blasberg Tweet | Source: Twitter

It seemed like just another fashion month, and then, with the high-profile meltdown of John Galliano, everything changed in a matter of hours. Soon, the fashion gossip mill was in a frenzy, turbocharged by Twitter which made the whole situation more ugly as the days went by and speculation about Galliano’s successor intensified after he was first suspended, and ultimately dismissed by LVMH.

A tweet by Derek Blasberg from backstage at the Katy Perry concert in Paris, citing an anonymous source which ‘confirmed’ the widespread rumour that Riccardo Tisci would be named Galliano’s successor set off further speculation on websites and blogs, who sometimes took Mr. Blasberg’s comments as though they had come straight from an official Dior press release. I found at least one website that took the Tisci rumour and reported it as fact, without any mention of the source at all.

But Mr. Galliano wasn’t alone. Rumours about the futures of Stefano Pilati, Hannah McGibbon, and Christophe Decarnin dogged designers and lit up the internet throughout Paris Fashion Week, creating a virtual feeding frenzy of immense proportions. We were an industry feeding on ourselves.

So dear fellow members of the fashion Twitterati, let’s think before we tweet. Careers and businesses can be impacted by what may seem like an innocent bit of speculation on Twitter, but can quickly turn into boldfaced headlines on major fashion websites, a hugely destabilising force at the most critical moments during the fashion calendar. We are all still learning how to use this powerful tool responsibly.

3. STREETSTYLE PAPARAZZI

Click here to view the embedded video.

Over the past few seasons, the number of photographers outside the shows has ballooned as interest in street style photography (and street style stardom) has soared. It’s been an amazing phenomenon to observe as many previously behind-the-scenes women such as Yasmin Sewell, Caroline Issa and Taylor Tomasi now provide inspiration to hundreds of thousands of fashion lovers around the world, appearing in outfits that are often more interesting than what is on the runway.

But the rapid rise of street photography also has a darker side. The ‘bloggers walk’ in the Jardin des Tuileries, site of many major Paris shows, is now completely out of control. Indeed, it’s become increasingly difficult to tell the difference between the aggressive paparazzi who stalk Hollywood celebrities outside bars and clubs and a few of the bad apples amongst the hordes of photographers that accost editors as they come in and out of shows.

Several street style bloggers told me confidentially that the competition is extremely fierce for getting the best photographs, which can then be sold on to global editions of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar each for as little as $200, but up to $1000 or more.

Word to the wise: if you build a relationship with the women you’d like to photograph, and treat them with a bit of respect, you’ll be much more likely to get a great shot where they look their best and aren’t running to avoid you. Chasing them around, getting in their way, and coaxing them to come out of their cars is a sure fire way of alienating the objects of your fancy.

The best streetstyle photographers are streetsmart and dashing figures who build passionate online followings for these fashion personalities through the power of their photos. They compose beautiful shots that are flattering to their subjects and still interesting enough to spark a conversation, reflected in the hundreds and hundreds of people who chime in to say what they think. And most of all, they are gentlemen (or gentlewomen.)

4. CONSUMER PARTICIPATION

New York Fashion Week | Source: Fabsugar

While there has been a general trend towards smaller shows and presentations, PR professionals tell me they have been dealing with unprecedented demand for seats, making allocations more and more difficult. At Céline, many senior editors from the UK were forced to stand and more than one front-row blogger complained to me about not having access to Givenchy or YSL.

But alongside the growing number of requests from traditional media, major retail outlets, boutiques, online retailers, bloggers, and social media managers, more and more consumers are no longer content to simply watch the livestream at home. They too want to attend the shows in person and be part of the action, a trend which was most apparent in New York.

For several seasons, American Express has been inviting its cardmembers to attend shows in its Skybox at the tents, but these attendees have been somewhat removed from view: observing as opposed to participating in the show environment.

In contrast, at the Jason Wu show, I was seated next to a section allocated to Nordstrom, which had chosen to give away most of its seats to top clients who had flown in specially for the event from across the country. Indeed, department store buyers told me the pressure to find seats for top consumers is “enormous.” If a woman spends more than $1m in a store, she has come to expect VIP treatment.

The enthusiastic ladies at the Jason Wu show asked me questions about what I did and were eager to learn about the fashion personalities in the front row. It was a refreshing conversation with people who were truly curious about fashion as a culture. That the clothes on the runway weren’t available to buy for several months was apparently not a concern.

5. IMMEDIACY VS. EXCLUSIVITY

Moda Operandi screenshot | Source: Moda Operandi

Other businesses were attempting to satisfy growing consumer interest in fashion week through pre-orders. Burberry and Proenza Schouler have been offering direct buying from the runway for a few seasons now. But this time around, there was a lot of buzz about Moda Operandi, the new fashion e-commerce business founded by Lauren Santo Domingo and my friend and former McKinsey colleague Aslaug Magnusdottir.

Their offering of high-profile flash sales of the latest runway collections from some of the industry’s most celebrated designers certainly had people talking. Having coined the term “pretail,” the Moda Operandi founders have also cleverly suggested that the insights gleaned from their sales will help brands to merchandise their stores and work with other wholesalers, knowing what styles are most popular based on real consumer data. And, because they take a 50 percent deposit on all purchases in advance, the business operates with a positive cash flow model similar to the one that made Michael Dell’s company famously successful. In the approximately 6 months between payment and delivery, Moda Operandi can use the deposits paid by consumers to finance the working capital costs of running its business, and also giving a much-needed deposit to designers, who can also benefit from upfront cashflow to finance production.

But relying on this kind of financial model also creates other restrictions. When a consumer pays for things on Moda Operandi, they can never get their cash back. According to the terms and conditions, returns are only possible for apparel and footwear products, and even then, only for store credit. Everything else is not returnable. Some women I spoke to weren’t deterred by this, and had already excitedly logged on to the website to shop, but others were bothered by having to take all the financial risk to buy clothes on Moda Operandi. Why not wait, they asked, for the clothes to arrive in store if they would have to wait 6 months for delivery anyway?

Meanwhile Tom Ford, in his usual contrarian approach, has defied the trend towards fashion immediacy and severely limited access to his collections, going so far as to having journalists sworn to secrecy and sign non-disclosure agreements about his presentation in London. Is Mr. Ford taking fashion a bit too seriously? Or, has he found a brilliant way to drum up even more interest in his clothes as they hit stores in a few months time by orchestrating a fashion media crescendo at the same time. Only time will tell.

One other website of note this season is my-wardrobe.com which has just had its first major facelift under former Grazia editor Fiona Mcintosh who joined as creative director in February. Naturally, there are flourishes of Grazia in the yellow highlighted design and snappy copy, a smart way to deliver on the company’s new everyday luxury strategy, fueled by a recent £6m investment injection from Balderton Capital.

Grazia of course is one of the most powerful sales tools for women’s fashion of the moment. Designers frequently tell me that if their designs are featured in Grazia, they sell out everywhere. As a weekly magazine featuring things that are in store now, I’ve always wondered why Bauer Media has not created an online version of its magazine to at least earn affiliate revenue for all the products it manages to sell, if not set up a full-fledged e-commerce site. It seems like a very big missed opportunity that my-wardrobe.com is now going after.

6. JUST NATALIE

Natalie Massenet and Jeremy Langmead | Source: Net a Porter

In an industry that has been named and shamed this season, there is at least one individual that is setting a good example.

Since our Fashion Pioneers interview last summer, Natalie Massenet has continued her ascent to the top of fashion’s tech elite, not by acting like a grand poobah but by focusing on building her business. Whereas so many in our industry can get complacent or become tyrants (or both!) once they are firmly ensconced in the front row, Natalie is the kind of leader who cancels a trip to New York Fashion Week to hunker down with the Mr Porter team in the days leading up to its widely anticipated launch.

The results show in her team. When they are in public, they show a stylish united front and in private they don’t backbite about each other. At work, they are professional and responsive, and show up when they say they will. If they are going to be late, they send an apology. They say thank you, and they care about the details too.

Net-a-Porter’s success is often attributed to its high quality content. But as the company builds new businesses, it is the seamless back-end operations which pick, pack and ship hundreds of thousands of fashion products and deliver them to 170 countries around the world that make a big difference. This has enabled the company to quickly launch two new businesses – The Outnet and Mr Porter –  in less than 24 months.

The lynchpin for all of this is the positive role model and force for innovation that Natalie represents in our industry. It’s no wonder that to many in the industry, she is now just ‘Natalie’ and that she has become a positive face for the fashion business to the rest of the business community and the wider world at a time when the industry has been tainted. Hers is an example we can all follow.

Imran Amed is founder and editor of The Business of Fashion

Tommy Hilfiger Summer 2010 | Source: Tommy Hilfiger

Tommy Hilfiger Announces the Opening Champs Elysees Store (PR Newswire)
“The Champs Elysees store will serve as a true flagship for our brand in France and will further anchor our significant retail presence in Europe… It is an important milestone in our continued efforts to establish anchor stores in every major city around the world.”

Balderton invests $9m in My-wardrobe (FT)
“My-wardrobe is also looking to expand its appeal to customers outside of the UK, with a focus on France and Germany. Until now, the French market has been concentrated on online sales of discounted high-end clothes and accessories.”

The grown-up model comes of age (FT)
“Using older models in 2010 is less about the wow factor and more about reclaiming a generation. ‘Brands used to be obsessed with youth. Now they are realising that people in their forties are the customers and they’re addressing that.’”

Mittelmoda fashion awards in Italy (Telegraph)
“A fashion graduate from the National College of Art & Design, Dublin, and two MA graduates from London’s Royal College of Art, are among the prize-winners in the annual Mittelmoda.”

Dior Blooms Brightly (IHT)
“Backstage at Christian Dior, a simple pair of glasses transformed the show Monday into an extraordinary 3-D screen vision of women as flowers. Petals lapped their hips, colors were a hothouse explosion of vivid shades and skirts were shaped like the parrot tulips.”

Sarah Curran, Founder and CEO, my-wardrobe.com

LONDON, United Kingdom — The Business of Fashion can exclusively reveal that my-wardrobe.com, the London-based fashion e-tailer positioned at a mid-level pricepoint between Net-a-Porter.com on the high-end and Asos.com on the low-end, has just closed its second round of investment.

My-wardrobe continues to grow at a rapid pace, having achieved an extremely healthy 169 percent jump in sales in its third year, growing from £1.56m in sales in 2008 to £4.23m in the fiscal year ending March 2009.

It may not be surprising then that a group of high-net worth investors have injected an undisclosed sum of money to further the site’s expansion into menswear and international markets, amongst other initiatives. Perhaps as a sign of the times, the new funding valued shares at the same price as in the first round, as opposed to achieving a higher share price as would have normally been the case in the past. That said, the investment opportunity was heavily over-subscribed, demonstrating the market’s continuing belief in the online fashion retail segment.

It’s been a busy few months for my-wardrobe’s CEO Sarah Curran, who has also just brought in a new Chairman, Jean-Marc Bouhelier and concluded a first-ever shop-in-shop concession deal with BCBC Max Azria, but I caught up with her quickly after our panel discussion in Vienna to bring you this BoF exclusive.

BoF: You’ve just closed a round of funding in the middle of a deep recession. Tell us the details of the investment. Did you have to take a lower valuation on your business?

Following the first round of investment, my-wardrobe.com has been trading to forecast. We entered the second round of investment at the same time as the global recession was officially announced in the media. Taking into account the current economic situation, we took the view to keep the share price the same as with the first round of investment.

BoF: Raising funding in this economic environment is no easy task. How difficult was it?

The second round of investment was actually an easier sell to investors than with the first round. This came off the back of the continued and accelerated growth of the business, delivering what we promised in the first round in the Information Memorandum. As with the first round, our strategy was to target high net-worth individuals rather than institutional money. Incredibly, the second round was so successful that we found ourselves being oversubscribed, which considering the climate, it was very fortunate place to be. In fact of the investor presentations that we made, our success rate to conversion was around 80 percent.

Ultimately the reason we found it easy is because we were still delivering our growth despite credit crunch and recession. We were able to show that we had tracked according to forecast numbers, against a particularly brutal economic environment.

Following the closure of the first round, we also formalised our board and strengthened our management team. This gave future investors confidence and reassurance that the company had the support required to take it to the next level.

BoF: What do you plan to use the funds for and how long do you expect them to last?

Fundamentally the funds will be used for working capital to assist in range development, customer acquisition and developing the company’s team resources. We aim to continue the improved sales performance and we don’t have any plans for fundraising requirements. However, we will continue to monitor market opportunities and if we feel that it makes sense to invest in these opportunities, then we will consider our options at that time.

BoF: What advice do you have to other businesses looking for funding in this environment?

Believe in your product and be passionate about your brand, whilst thinking about the longer term implications of the amount of equity that you are willing to put forward. In your financial model, present a conservative forecast, but work to an aggressive target, ensuring that you always over-deliver.

Make sure that you are put in front of investors who actually understand your industry. It may sound obvious, but at times we were put in front of people who didn’t understand or believe in the online retail sector, so make sure that the potential investors that you present to have a good understanding or a belief in your product or market.

BoF:  What are your other plans for the future of my-wardrobe.com?

Our main priority at the moment is to focus on menswear and womenswear and develop and improve these departments. For the future we are considering broadening our channels and looking at options for international development, but our attention has to be on delivering the perfect 360 experience for the customer on my-wardrobe.com.

Imran Amed is Editor of The Business of Fashion.

CEO Talk is an ongoing series of discussions with fashion entrepreneurs and business leaders as they combat the economic downturn. Previous interviews are listed below:

• Natalie Massenet, Chairman and Founder, Net-a-Porter
• Camilla Skovgaard, Shoe designer and Entrepreneur
• Susan Lyne, Chief Executive Officer, Gilt Groupe
• Priya Kishore, Founder and Creative Director, Bombay Electric
• Alex Bolen, Chief Executive Officer, Oscar de la Renta
• Jeffrey Kapelman, Chief Executive Officer, Hilldun Corporation
• Bonnie Takhar, Chief Executive Officer and President, Halston
• Sara Ferrero, Chief Executive Officer, Joseph Group
• Paolo Fontanelli, Chief Executive Officer, Furla
• Stella Iishi, President and Founder, The News Inc.
• Greg Furman, Founder and Chairman, Luxury Marketing Council

LONDON, United Kingdom — London, of course, is widely known in the fashion world for its unbridled creativity and superb emerging fashion talent. But, increasingly, it could also be described as fashion’s Silicon Valley, with a growing number of innovative fashion ecommerce startups sprouting in the city, following in the footsteps of the ultimate luxury e-tailing pioneer, Net-a-Porter.com.

During my visit to Vienna for the 9 Festival for Fashion & Photography, I had the privilege of hosting a discussion amongst some of the newest fashion e-tailers on the London scene, bringing together Sarah Curran, CEO of my-wardrobe.com, José Neves, CEO of farfetch.com and Stephanie Phair, Director of theoutnet.com.

Thanks to our easy-to-use Flip Video Mino, we managed to capture some of the most poignant responses from our illustrious panel and are pleased to share them with you in the coming weeks. First up: How are your clients changing their shopping habits in the downturn?

RSS and email subscribers, click here to watch the video.