The fashion industry has undergone significant changes in recent years as customers and companies try to find more sustainable and environmentally friendly ways of working. Many parts of the traditional system need to be completely overhauled as they are no longer fit for purpose when it comes to production and waste in a world facing climate catastrophe. One industry name who knows something about transforming the status quo is Moda Operandi founder Lauren Santo Domingo, who helped introduce consumers to pre-order luxury shopping, a retail model she believes is key to a more sustainable system.
“With a pre-order, a look is only produced when there is proven demand,” he tells us. “It’s one of the most conscious ways to take advantage of what’s coming in fashion, and if everyone shopped this way, there would be a lot less waste in the fashion cycle.”
The way Moda Operandi works is that it allows customers to purchase entire designer collections before they are released. These pieces are then produced on demand, rather than created through predictions about what will sell, which tends to lead to discounts and waste for what won’t. “The goal at the end of the season is to have less promotion and less waste, so it’s a much healthier ecosystem.”
If everyone shopped this way, there would be much less waste in the fashion cycle.
“In the traditional retail model, a shopper decides what clothes the women who shop at their store will want to wear each season, but even with the most accurate data from past seasons’ sales reports and astute trend predictions, there is still a huge There’s a lot of guesswork involved,” he explains. “It’s often the more commercial pieces that are sold in these stores, and many end up on sale and are eventually liquidated or destroyed, especially in the luxury sector.”
The information Moda Operandi gets from customer pre-orders also helps designers and other retailers understand what will sell, he told us.
“As soon as we receive the order, we pass it directly to the designer. They often use our sales reports to make decisions for their own retail stores or e-commerce stores; We are the only retailer that can provide this information before your factory orders are removed.”
Ben FinkShapiro
While Moda Operandi launched over a decade ago, back in 2010, it remains the only fashion platform that allows customers to shop collections before production, and the concept of pre-orders feels more relevant than ever as the industry seeks the best ways to revolutionize the fashion trade and minimize waste. This is particularly the case post-pandemic, Santo Domingo says, where designers, retailers and customers were able to get a reset on their minds about how this system should work.
“The pandemic has given designers and retailers valuable data on what sells them when consumer spending sentiment is low, allowing them to double down on what works and produce less waste.
“For designers, the reduced pressure to show up on the typical fashion calendar provided a release from the industry grid and they reassessed their vision – they had a window to do their thing, on their own terms.
“And for customers, having fewer opportunities to dress up means there was more thought behind each look or purchase: People actually started thinking about what they were buying, rather than giving in to impulse.”
It became clear that the shipping and discount model was not working.
The pandemic also highlighted clear problems that existed within the retail cycle and forced companies to change the way they work.
“It became clear that the shipping and discount model was not working. Brands were shipping seasonal products too soon, at a time when customers weren’t ready for it. This forced retailers to be competitive and run promotions, creating a race to be the first retailer to start a big sale. The pullback in demand during the pandemic exposed this cycle.”
So in many ways, the pandemic has forced the industry to look inward and try to address some of these changes. But of course there is a long way to go for luxury retail, and part of this could be the adoption of the pre-order concept on a larger scale, inspired by the Moda Operandi business model, which Santo Domingo describes as: “Take a way of shopping and modernize it again.”
If you want to hear more of Lauren Santo Domingo’s thoughts on these trends, you can listen to her talk on AMEX’s Shaping Insights podcast, where she shares her expert insight on how to revolutionize the fashion trade and sustainability. Hear it here.
Source: www.harpersbazaar.com