FOMO Guides New Site for Frazzled Fashion Buyers
Click here to read the full article.
FOMO haunts fashion buyers, always on the hunt for what’s next. And now many are grounded due to travel restrictions, or budget cuts.
Enter Stylepulse.com, a new online platform from Paris-based buying office and retail consultancy Lambert & Associates that lets retailers discover thousands of curated brands remotely, or better prepare for buying trips. The subscription-based site, free for the selected brands, just went live, allowing Lambert, which mainly services big department stores such as Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and SKP, to open its services to smaller, multibrand retailers.
The site was in development well before the coronavirus pandemic scuttled international travel, but fashion buyers were already overwhelmed shuttling to Europe, where most important designer collections are presented and sold, according to Helene Hanum Lanza, Lambert’s chief operating officer.
Hanum Lanza also pointed to a market saturated with trade shows and showrooms, particularly in Paris, making it well nigh impossible for smaller stores to see everything.
The site allows buyers to browse by category: women’s ready-to-wear, women’s accessories, home, fine food and beauty, with men’s wear and children’s wear coming on stream later this year.
Each brand entry includes line sheets, look books, prices and details current distribution, adjacent brands, social-media popularity and sustainability considerations — along with a link to connect directly with a sales rep.
Lambert’s staff scoured the main fashion capitals and emerging fashion weeks from Copenhagen to Colombia to find noteworthy brands, which are also vetted for their ability to produce and expedite their products to the U.S., Europe and Asia, with the exception of China. Among their finds are Ssōne for rtw, Arizona Love for shoes and S.Joon for handbags.
Rates for the site start at 450 euros per month and run up to 1,950 euros for packages that offer additional support, including remote buying and direct introductions.
Best of WWD
Sign up for WWD's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
