The Apparel Entrepreneurship Podcast · Apparel Entrepreneurship

Your Guide to Fashion Retail Success | AEP087

·1 hr 20 min·5 clips

Aparia found its brand direction when one vegan fur coat sold while the other 19 pieces did not.

1. The Apparel Entrepreneurship Podcast episode AEP087 examines fashion retail success through retail, PR, editorial placement, and networking. 2. Anna and Klaas Christensen host Elizabeth, a jewelry designer and co-founder of Flying Solo, whose platform supports small fashion brands through retail, PR showrooms, and Fashion Week shows. 3. The episode asks how a small apparel brand can create demand, prove market fit, and move beyond D2C without overbuilding its collection. 4. Elizabeth says Flying Solo began in 2016 with 10 co-founding designers who wanted collaboration instead of fashion’s usual competition. 5. Flying Solo grew from the original designer group to more than 200 brands, over 50 employees, and locations in New York and Paris. 6. Elizabeth argues that D2C can generate initial revenue, but clothing customers often want to touch and try products before purchasing. 7. She says retailers look for evidence that a brand can sell rather than simply occupy shelf space, so founders should build a following through PR and repeat customers. 8. Elizabeth advises brands entering a new market to test physical fit and demand through a pop-up, short-term store, or Flying Solo before shipping a full collection. 9. She explains that a concept store rack is usually 50 to 60 inches wide and can hold about 10 to 12 skus, while a brand may present up to 20 pieces for selection. 10. Elizabeth recommends editing runway collections for retail because statement pieces can be expensive, difficult to wear, or unattractive on hangers. 11. Elizabeth’s Aparia example shows a 20-piece apparel collection where one vegan-fur coat sold repeatedly while the other pieces did not. 12. Aparia tested mustard and black versions of the coat and eventually made vegan fur central to its brand identity. 13. Elizabeth says Freya New York used Meta ads successfully but still lost customers who wanted to touch and assess its vegan-leather bags in person. 14. The episode distinguishes D2C’s higher margins and inventory control from retail’s established customer traffic and staff-assisted selling. 15. Elizabeth warns that exclusive retailer requests can serve a store’s window-display needs without creating a fair outcome for the designer. 16. She recommends trying one collaboration first, checking the benefits for both sides, and learning before accepting multiple exclusive arrangements. 17. Elizabeth describes retailer payment behavior as influenced by brand demand, saying a store is more respectful when losing the brand would also mean losing future revenue. 18. For editorial outreach, she recommends a clean Instagram showing the latest collection, a PDF line sheet when useful, stylist targeting by aesthetic, and prompt shipping. 19. Small apparel founders testing retail, PR, market fit, and collaborations. 20. D2C-only founders uninterested in physical product experiences or merchandising.

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