The year in brand building: Lessons from fashion and beauty disruptors

*To receive the Vogue Business newsletter,* [*sign up here*](https://signup.voguebusiness.com/vb)*.* Fashion and beauty’s youngest, most disruptive brands are rewriting the rules of success in the face of industry-wide turbulence. This year, the *Vogue Business* Future Edit featured the industry’s emerging class of brand and company founders, who are finding new ways — often under pressure — to connect with audiences, while figuring out how to grow sustainably and find the right partners. Across a variety of up-and-coming fashion and beauty companies, we pulled together the common themes we learned from those leading change in the industry from the bottom up. ## **Relatable, collaborative content attracts loyal customers** Fashion and beauty brands launched during the pandemic had no choice but to build communities online, and in the process, they became very good at it. [Djerf Avenue](https://www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/gen-z-tiktok-brands-are-changing-how-we-shop), launched by Swedish fashion influencer Matilda Djerf, set up Zoom calls with her most loyal customers during the pandemic, which she’s continued through 2022 (in addition to in-person meet-ups). Now, the founder will launch an online portal for her community on the brand’s website. “It feels very new, very fresh, very true to us and it’ll be a safe space for our customers to hang out and communicate with each other,” she said. [#image: /photos/639af7ec7e39094fcc947089]|||Djerf Avenue is launching an online portal for its community on the brand’s website after founder Matilda Djerf set up Zoom calls with her most loyal customers during the pandemic, which she’s continued through 2022.||| London-based streetwear label [Stitch](https://www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/gen-z-tiktok-brands-are-changing-how-we-shop), known for printed graphic T-shirts and hoodies, began posting lo-fi behind-the-scenes videos on the design processes on TikTok in June 2020. “I saw a couple of people were actually [doing the] branding themselves on TikTok and that they were getting traction from it. So, I thought, let me just show some stuff, I don’t really care,” Stitch’s founder, who only goes by Clouder, told *Vogue Business*. The initial video garnered more than 5,000 likes and boosted Stitch’s Instagram following and e-commerce sales. Clouder now cites TikTok as his main marketing tool. Relatability is crucial to young brands today, helping them to align with the next generation of consumers and build loyalty. “Young people have often felt like only those of their own generation truly understand them. I think Gen Z is more inclined to support brands created by other Zs because the products they’re making are ones that authentically speak to the Gen Z experience,” said Julia Peterson, senior insights strategist at youth culture agency Archrival. LA-based streetwear label Brain Dead aligns with subcultures that aren’t traditionally deemed “cool”, like rollerblading or wrestling, creating IRL events or collaborations to target a unique community that feel connected by their interests. This applies to talent too. London-based talent agency [EYC Ltd](https://www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/inside-the-london-agency-bringing-rappers-and-tiktokers-to-luxury-campaigns) focuses on Gen Z creators, most commonly on TikTok, helping brands to place creators that truly resonate with young people today. The agency has worked with brands from Louis Vuitton and Gucci to Depop this year. “Some bigger agencies prefer to sign people only once they’ve blown up,” said founder Cora Delaney. “We just look for cool people. There are a lot of influencers in the world who definitely aren't our style.” New platforms are also coming into play. UK-based athleisure brand [Cole Buxton](https://www.voguebusiness.com/companies/cole-buxton-how-a-young-luxury-sportswear-brand-survived-the-pandemic) has a private Discord channel, where its customers discuss sizing, fit and feedback on the latest drops. Being a closed channel, it creates a sense of exclusivity and belonging among the brand’s young customer base. “Different levels of exclusivity are important for the brand value,” CEO Jonny Wilson explained. [Try Your Best](https://www.voguebusiness.com/technology/try-your-best-swaps-instagram-for-web3-to-connect-brands-and-customers) (TYB) is a tech startup launched by activewear brand Outdoor Voices founder Ty Haney in March this year, to help brands reward loyalty and build community in the Web3 sphere. It’s a blockchain platform that invites fans of a brand to earn NFTs and brand coins in exchange for acts of loyalty, such as sharing product feedback and voting on colourways. The NFTs, or collectibles as the platform calls them, unlock access to the brand’s community hub on the TYB platform, where users can communicate. TYB has 15 brands live, with 120 set to launch on the platform next year. ## **Rethink your retail strategy to work for your business** Wholesale is an important tool for fashion and beauty labels to boost brand discovery. However, emerging brands are learning the value of direct-to-consumer to cope with rising material costs and falling retail margins. Other players are rethinking their selling schedules to leave more time for production. London-based luxury label [Chopova Lowena](https://www.voguebusiness.com/companies/growing-pains-how-chopova-lowena-coped-and-thrived) has switched to selling its collections pre-season, giving the brand a useful three-month time window between selling the collection to staging a show or releasing a campaign video. This helps the design duo source their upcycled textiles from the UK and produce their signature skirts and dresses in good time. In New York, designer [Peter Do](https://www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/how-to-build-a-brand-the-peter-do-way) has also recently switched to this strategy. The designer sold half his Spring/Summer 2023 collection to buyers during pre-season in the summer, selling more basic pieces months before the show so he could start production. Do recognises the importance of production timelines, after five years of developing his label and meeting cashflow issues along the way, the designer told *Vogue Business* in February. “I’m always in survival mode,” he said. “That's the beauty and also the nightmare of building a small business, especially in fashion.” For [Cowboys of Habit](https://www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/meet-fashions-gen-z-meme-lords-using-satire-to-stand-out), DTC allows them to sell products made-to-order, with waitlists to gauge demand. As a team of two, this is crucial to be able to meet demand without being constantly sold out. [#image: /photos/639af7eafbe16444ff61f62f]|||Cowboys of Habit gauges demand from waitlists and sells products DTC made-to-order.||| A new wave of sales agencies are also facilitating emerging designers to grow responsibly and manage retailer relationships and orders. Amsterdam-based [Parrot Agency](https://www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/meet-parrot-the-indie-agency-propelling-conner-ives-and-halpern-to-success) works with emerging brands such as Conner Ives, Wandler and Halpern to help them scale their wholesale networks in unique ways. The agency has showrooms in Paris, London and Antwerp and seeks to find design talent straight out of university, to help them form a business from scratch. Young labels are also developing their pricing architecture, placing it in the more affordable contemporary bracket, to win market share from expensive luxury incumbents. Danish jeweller [Maria Black](https://www.voguebusiness.com/companies/the-young-designers-disrupting-the-dollar368-billion-jewellery-market) also saw an opportunity for a contemporary jewellery brand that was fashion-forward but at a more accessible price point. UK-based handbag brand Neous’s founder also recognised a white space for design-led, luxury-feel accessories that retail below £1,000. “The market was polarised, either luxury or high street,” she said. “I thought, ‘It can't be impossible to create something that has a really unique and interesting design, at a lower price point [than luxury].’” ## **Make a positive impact, socially and environmentally, that chimes with your values** Emerging brands have provided blueprints for fashion and beauty labels to be forces for good this year. Luxury fragrance brand [Sana Jardin](https://www.voguebusiness.com/companies/beyond-sustainability-how-sana-jardins-fragrance-sales-are-powering-its-social-impact), which has received $3.25 million in funding to date, empowers low-income women in Morocco to become microentrepreneurs, using waste flowers from the region’s flower harvests to create luxury products. “My understanding of sustainability is that it leaves a net positive impact on the environment, and the business pays living wages, but I felt very strongly that we could do better than that,” founder Amy Christiansen explained. Sana Jardin also embeds more sustainable suppliers into its business. Instead of plastic caps imported from mainland Europe, Sana Jardin works with Shellworks, who create bioplastic caps using shells and upcycled textile waste; while its boxes are now made from recycled coffee cups. [#image: /photos/639af7ec7e39094fcc947088]|||Sana Jardin empowers low-income women in Morocco to become microentrepreneurs, using waste flowers from the region’s flower harvests to create luxury products.||| In Milan, collective [We Are Made in Italy](https://www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/meet-the-bipoc-collective-we-are-made-in-italy-challenging-and-changing-the-italian-fashion-industry) (WAMI), is aiming to bring multiculturalism to the forefront of Italian fashion, presenting multi-brand Milan Fashion Week shows that spotlight POC talent. Founded by POC designers Stella Jean and Edward Buchanan and talent scout Michelle Ngonmo, inspired by their personal journeys of trying to break into the fashion industry, WAMI wants to “change a broken system so that in the future [BIPOC designers] will not have to battle as we are”, Buchanan said. Elsewhere, French “Caribbean couture” label [Botter](https://www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/botters-sustainability-at-scale-caribbean-couture-made-with-algae-and-ocean-plastic) is experimenting further with natural fibres made from algae or kelp that can be mixed with other natural textiles including wool. The brand also donates a portion of profits to the Botter Coral Nursery; run in collaboration with Curacao’s government and local dive company Curious 2 Dive, the organisation restores portions of the coral reef bleached by ocean pollution and global warming. “Every season it’s becoming less superficial. We are going more in depth,” said co-founder Lisi Herrebrugh. “The research is getting deeper. We are also growing into that and what we have done for this collection is less surface.” Italian-British footwear brand [Piferi](https://www.voguebusiness.com/companies/the-new-brands-disrupting-luxury-footwear) is also exploring biomaterials: the luxury label creates high-quality party shoes from leather made with corn oil. Young Scandinavian designers have stood out this year when it comes to reducing the environmental impact of fashion production. Swedish designer [Jade Cropper](https://www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/which-new-copenhagen-brand-will-be-the-next-ganni) was the first designer to use recycled textile Circulose on the runway in August, from Swedish textile recycling plant Renewcell. “The supply [of waste and recycled materials] is limited and requires a different structure than that of traditional supply chains, but I have been able to build a strong and good relationship with my suppliers,” Cropper told *Vogue Business* earlier this year. Cropper is inspired by the example of Swedish brand [Rave Review](https://www.voguebusiness.com/companies/stockholms-new-fashion-talent-edgy-artsy-and-sustainable), one of the earliest luxury labels to specialise in upcycling. However, as these labels scale, they’re learning how to marry demand with circularity: Rave Review is now in talks with Renewcell, to start using recycled textiles in addition to deadstock. Danish streetwear brand [Division](https://www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/which-new-copenhagen-brand-will-be-the-next-ganni), now represented for sales by Coperni and Martine Rose’s agency Tomorrow, has partnered with recycled fibre supplier Pizzaro to scale up its circular sourcing and meet demand for more SKUs from its 20\+ stockists. *Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at* [*feedback@voguebusiness.com*](mailto:feedback@voguebusiness.com)*.* **More from this author:** [How three TikTok beauty brands are outliving the hype cycle](https://www.voguebusiness.com/beauty/how-three-tiktok-beauty-brands-are-outliving-the-hype-cycle) [Emerging designers bear the brunt of economic crisis](https://www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/emerging-designers-bear-the-brunt-of-economic-crisis) [The young designers disrupting the $368 billion jewellery market](https://www.voguebusiness.com/companies/the-young-designers-disrupting-the-dollar368-billion-jewellery-market)

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