“It’s been a wild year for us,” Solid & Striped’s chief government officer Sarah Landman stated over the telephone.
Indeed it has. Despite the pandemic, the model was capable of strategically develop during the last yr by way of collaborations (starting from a swimwear capsule with Emily Oberg’s Sporty & Rich to footwear with Freedom Moses and equipment with Lele Sadoughi), a pop-up store opening, wholesale distribution growth and the launch of the Solid & Striped Sport activewear class. Now the model is taking one other stride ahead with the introduction of ready-to-wear for resort 2022.
“I feel very fortunate we’ve been able to experience growth despite the pandemic. I think we’ve been really strategic in our growth initiatives throughout the pandemic. When we’ve released certain things, we try to stay as flexible as possible and I think like many of our peers in the beginning — the first month of the pandemic we were sort of just crossing our fingers and hoping for the best. But we were honestly very fortunate in that our business is known for a swim and we were approaching summer, so we lucked out in that way. We are not an occasion brand, we were in a category people were still looking for and our price point is so accessible. We had a campaign last summer that was the ‘backyard summer,’ and I think that really resonated with our customers,” Landman defined.
A glance from Solid & Striped resort 2022.
Courtesy photograph
When COVID-19 hit, the model adjusted launch dates, however continued to push ahead with each collaboration they’d deliberate. Although a couple of wholesale companions needed to cancel orders early final yr, they have been nonetheless capable of develop distribution; the model is now in near 400 distribution factors. In addition, its Palm Beach, Fla. pop-up retail opening was a direct results of their New York clients’ altering life.
“When we realized with our customers were moving — our biggest market, historically and still is, New York — there were so many New Yorkers relocating to southern Florida, we thought it was still important to stay in front of the customer,” Landman stated, including that the model is planning a couple of smaller-scale retail pop-ups within the Hamptons this summer season.
A glance from Solid & Striped resort 2022.
Courtesy photograph
As a small enterprise — an 18-person group — Landman cited flexibility as one of many greatest, and most necessary, qualities the model realized to place on the forefront, with a view to regularly transfer ahead during the last yr.
“It’s a trait that I’ve had to use pre-pandemic, but through the whole thing, I made sure the team also went with the flow and remained flexible. Deliveries were never certain, so you had to be throughout the whole pandemic,” she stated, including, “That and being able to pivot quickly. For example, rtw. That was always a category we had planned to launch, but we ended up launching active a bit earlier. We swapped the two. Being able to pivot and react quickly.”
A glance from Solid & Striped resort 2022.
Courtesy photograph
Although the rtw capsule was initially slated for spring 2021, the model knew timing-wise, pushing sport ahead first was the logical transfer, in order that they held the capsule for resort 2022.
“What we were looking to do was create a capsule that you could layer back to some of the beach, some of the swim, but not only wear on vacation. The end-use is city — go to work, go to dinner — or on vacation — what you’re wearing off the beach,” she defined. “We’ve always had a beachwear category that is cover-ups, and that sort of thing. There’s been an increasingly strong demand for, year-over-year — I think partially due to the pandemic — but we’ve also seen our customer has the appetite for more categories. Especially the beachwear that you can transition and wear to dinner, or off the beach. That was the importance to launch the category.”
A glance from Solid & Striped resort 2022.
Courtesy photograph
The capsule assortment itself is made up of a tightly edited grouping of 30 rtw types priced between $98 and $298, with the common at $185. Historically within the model’s beachwear class, knits have carried out effectively, so resort features a extra advanced program, like color-blocked compact clothes and crop prime skirt units. The model’s signature Anne-Marie maillot, which it launched with, was advanced right into a crepe costume.
Other Solid & Striped signatures — stripes; shade blocking; straightforward, breezy silhouettes with a timeless attraction — may be seen all through. For occasion, new poplin shirting (a little bit flounced shirt with panel particulars), pull-on trousers, and satin-back crepe frocks. Everything has a straightforward, pull-on attraction (influenced by the comfortable costume of the pandemic) whereas nonetheless feeling put collectively. Regarding manufacturing and manufacturing, the road is produced in the identical factories because the model’s different collections — in Morocco, China and India, relying on the merchandise.
A glance from Solid & Striped resort 2022.
Courtesy photograph
As with every part the model does, the plan for rtw is strategic. “Because we’re historically a swim business, not all of our retail partners would make sense to buy into the rtw assortment, so it’s definitely more focused. We want to make sure it’s the right partners that can support the category,” Landman stated. She added the model is engaged on its spring/summer season retail assortment, with plans to debut new capsules 4 instances a yr.
“I hope that it is a permanent fixture, I expect it will be. We’re designing into spring and summer while planning on four collections a year. I think we’re going to continue learning from what’s working now, has in the past. We know that Solid & Striped has this timeless sensibility that will definitely carry through in rtw, and any category that we do.”
