Favorite Daughter Hits the College Campuses With Graduate Hotels
Favorite Daughter, a sportswear brand headed by sisters Erin and Sara Foster, is teaming up with Graduate Hotels, the boutique hotels on college campuses, to bring experiential pop-up spaces to the lobbies of the properties during popular football weekends.
Graduate hosted the brand last weekend at Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss., and will be at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn from Oct. 1 to 3, University of Arizona at Tucson from Oct. 8 to 10 and University of Michigan in Ann Arbor from Nov. 5 to 7.
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The Fosters, who are also writers and entrepreneurs, are selling merchandise specific to each market as well as pieces from their collection. They are also on-site engaging with the students and discussing their entrepreneurial journey.
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“When we set out to create Favorite Daughter, Erin and I always envisioned a brick-and-mortar concept. What we love about this partnership with Graduate is that it offers a unique backdrop within these lively college towns, plus we get to pretend we’re in college,” said Sara Foster.
“We love the youthful vibe of the Graduate properties, and I personally fell hard for the Nashville property when I was planning my wedding in Nashville,” said Erin Foster. “We like how our playful brand pairs perfectly with the hotel’s aesthetic. We had the best time kicking off our partnership at Ole Miss and are so excited to connect with more students and hopefully get invited to some college parties. We never went to college so we have a lot of catching up to do.”
Favorite Daughter, whose web site is shopfavoritedaughter.com, is a joint venture with Centric Brands.
Suzy Biszantz, group president, men’s and women’s at Centric Brands, said they are excited to partner with Graduate Hotels. “We love their innovative concept and captive audience. We want to approach traditional retail differently with Favorite Daughter. There is tremendous value in bringing this brand to an existing curated audience as opposed to waiting for new customers to come to us. It’s a great opportunity for fans of the brand to meet Erin and Sara, who are wonderfully relatable and speak so authentically to this demographic.”
Amy Wexler, chief marketing officer of Graduate Hotels, said they are always looking to activate their spaces in “unique and memorable ways.”
“It is remarkable to see the engagement from Graduate guests and neighbors. Erin and Sara are female entrepreneurs with an inspiring perspective that aligns perfectly with our brand,” Wexler said.
Last weekend, bestsellers at Ole Miss were the Favorite Daughter signature cashmere sweater ($198), the Valentina Jean ($198) and the exclusive Favorite Daughter collegiate sweatshirt ($88). As far as custom items, they are doing logo sweatshirts, weekender bags, water bottles and key chains, retailing from $10 to $40.
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