Australian accessories label Valet Studios has picked up a number of international stockists since it first launched last year.
The sister label to Reliquia Jewellery has added Net-A-Porter to its impressive list of stockists which includes Galeries Lafayette, Free People, Barney's Japan, Harvey Nichols and Myer.
Valet's creative director Ana Piteira spoke to Ragtrader about how she used both aesthetic differentiation and a strong influencer strategy to build the brand's presence on a global scale.
“From the beginning, we were focused on having an aesthetic point of difference and clear message with the brand.
“Unlike our sister brand Reliquia that focuses on more neutral and classic pieces, we wanted our styles to be immediately identifiable within the marketplace.
“Another factor of importance to us was aligning ourselves with stores and influencers that genuinely appreciate the brand to allow for as much organic brand awareness as possible.
“For us, brand visibility is always at the forefront of our strategy.”
While the brand began with statement earrings, Piteira said its more recent addition of hair accessories has given it greater spotlight, particularly with international buyers.
“Statement earrings like the Toucan and Noemi styles perform well for us.
“I believe our customers are willing to be adventurous and these styles can be worn in a variety of ways.
“Lately however, our hair accessories have been drawing the most attention.
“It is a new category that is receiving a lot of interest and has been instrumental in securing some of the great retailers that we are currently working with.”
She noted that the international buyers opted for more colour than Australian buyers and that they were the first to pick up the brand's hair accessories.
“International buyers tend to be very quick to pick up a trend – they were certainly the first get excited about the hair accessories.
“Aside from this, we have found that our international stores are generally more open to colour than a lot of our local retailers who prefer the tortoise and neutral tones.”