The Fashion Alliance of Independent Designers (FAID) store supports Australian designers and connects them with customers and other independent designers.
After conducting a successful pop-up strategy in 2018, FAID has found a permanent location in The Rocks.
To strenghthen the connection the designers have with their customers, the store is often manned by the designers, allowing them the opportunity to share their story.
Interested to know how this impacts business, Ragtrader spoke to Jess Speers about the strategy.
Why was it important to have designers working on the shop floor?
Having the people that created the product we are selling on the floor makes for a unique and very special experience. It means our customers are not just walking into another retail store, they are walking into an experience; we get to connect designer to consumer. It’s really exciting, because we’re eliminating the middleman.
And whilst it’s not possible to have every designer on the floor at all times, we all understand what it means to have a small business, we understand where each of us is coming from, and we have relationships, friendships with each other; we are able to portray this to the customer.
What difference does it make to customers having designers on the floor?
Our philosophy has always been that no one can sell a product better than the creator of that product. When you create something it’s personal.
Having designers on the floor means that they are connecting with their audience directly, they are telling a story about themselves. In every instance we have found that this is what people respond to the most when they visit Faid: the relationship they form with us; their awareness of the people who created their new purchase and why it was created.
When our customers use or wear the item they’ve purchased, they have a story to go with it.
What impact does it have on the designers interacting with customers?
It’s hard to say where the impact ends – it’s helped in so many ways, long and short term.
It’s everything from seeing different body shapes try your clothing on, or asking what materials you’ve used and why. Sometimes you hear questions or suggestions you’ve never thought of.
It’s seeing who is buying your product, what other products from other designers they are buying with it, how they style it. All of this has an impact on how you approach the creation of your next piece or collection, your marketing, everything.
My favourite part of working on the floor is getting the chance to tell my story (Cedar & Onyx). Being there when someone makes a purchase is so empowering; it fuels you to keep pursing your passion.
I used to have anxiety at the thought of talking to customers, but it’s taught me so much about my business and made me a stronger businesswoman. There’s nothing better than seeing how much someone loves a product that you’ve created.
Have you seen sales increase because of this? Please detail how/why.
This is the way we’ve always run our pop-ups and it’s the way we now run Faid, so from that perspective it’s hard to say.
In comparison to other ventures we’ve chosen to take part in, yes.
When you’re relying on someone, somewhere to sell your product, it’s not always easy for them to tell your story. You haven’t met the person selling your product (or buying it!) and they can’t always relate to your story, your struggles, your design process.
Creating these products is so personal, you think about every detail, hoping that it will be appreciated and loved in the end.
Being able to tell this in person or though someone you know personally, and who has similar experiences, makes such a difference. It makes the customer appreciate how special their purchase is and how much effort has gone into creating it.
Please detail your strategy for Instagram and how this impacts the business.
When we talked about our Instagram there where a few elements that we wanted to ensure we always included.
We wanted to be real (sometimes even a little cheesy!), positive and raise awareness for small business. We’ve made an effort not to be too chic or too modern.
Our destination is in The Rocks and we designed the store with Tim Levenson Designs to ensure we celebrated the heritage of the building, so we don’t want people to see one thing on Instagram and another thing when they arrive!
We are still building our Instagram following and our approach. We just try to keep it relatable, maybe even thrown-in a few inspirations (like sneaky suggestions for your festive attire!).
As we grow, we are looking at featuring more on our designers: telling their journeys, providing Q&As, explaining how they would style their products, etc…there’s so much more to come!
We also create original content for some of our posts. This gives content for our designers to share on their socials as well – always key, as creating new content is time consuming and costly for small business!
Other comments?
The heart of Faid is connection. We founded Faid because small business can be lonely – it’s usually just you at your business Christmas party!
Creating Faid was about creating a community for creatives who wouldn’t otherwise be able to collaborate with like-minded people who are also trying to rise to the challenge of growing their label.
It was also about standing out and showing people the importance of slow fashion, of shopping local and supporting small. It’s the biggest advantage that we have over big business and fast fashion so we’re going to make the most of it.