Buzzy online fashion brands know how to win over young shoppers in what often feels like the blink of an eye, but their relevance can sometimes be just as fleeting. Alexandra Spencer and Teale Talbot are determined for that not to be the case with Réalisation Par — the popular womenswear label they co-founded in the US in 2015 — with the opening of its first physical store.
The new store, which opens April 25, is on Mount Street, in London’s Mayfair, surrounded by high-end neighbours such as Goyard, The Row and Toteme. It marks the next chapter for the direct-to-consumer brand, which to date has been sold largely online (some products were sold through limited-edition partnerships with Selfridges, Harrods and Galeries Lafayette and via a pop-up in Sydney).
The store is a real feat, not only because Réalisation Par, which brings in annual revenues of $25mn, remains wholly independent, but also because of the covetable location it has nabbed. West End property developer Grosvenor, which leases out retail units in Mayfair as well as Belgravia, is known to be selective with its tenants (a high-end fragrance company keen to open a shop on the same street was recently unsuccessful).
“I was told by a realtor that it would be difficult but they would help us set up a meeting and I would just have to go and present our brand, and that they would let us know if [an available space] came up,” recalls Talbot. “I was not expecting it to be a hot seat but there was a board of people firing lots of questions at me. I was not prepared.” Spencer has a different recollection of the events: “You were ready,” she laughs.
Part of Réalisation Par’s appeal is a hybrid aesthetic that blends Los Angeles cool with effortless Parisian style. It’s not as quirky and eclectic as contemporary fashion labels Ganni or Lisa Says Gah, but presents itself as a bit more artsy than British brands such as Rixo, Kitri and Olivia Rubin. Its closest counterpart is probably Reformation, with which it shares a similar insouciant attitude for its figure-hugging and flirty styles, all priced under $300.
Réalisation Par also counts It-girl celebrity fans including Margot Robbie, Olivia Rodrigo and Lila Moss, who have been photographed wearing its pieces — an instrumental factor in the brand’s success, says Thomaï Serdari, clinical associate professor of marketing and director of fashion and luxury MBA at the NYU Stern School of Business.
“When an It-girl authentically favours a specific brand, the uptick in sales is guaranteed,” says Serdari. However, she warns that most It-girl brands have an inherent expiration date because of their very nature (how long before the next person or brand with that cool factor comes along?). “The cycle used to be longer,” she says, “but has substantially accelerated because of social media” — which she notes now dictates trends rather than fashion magazines.
The wheels for Réalisation Par were put in motion when the founders, both Australian natives, were living in the US (Spencer was in New York while Talbot was in LA). They both desired a French word and decided on the current name, which translates to “made by, styled by” — a term that Spencer had noticed in several magazine editorials. Both agreed that the phrase was a good fit, as they sought to create seasonless pieces that could easily be added to any wardrobe.
Spencer and Talbot each invested A$37,000 (about £19,000) and began with 50 dresses for each of their six SKUs. It was the scrappiest of starts, according to Talbot. “We used a template that was available to create our online store. Alex shot photos of the designs, in her backyard, on friends. We started small and said ‘Look, let’s test the market and see if there’s appetite for our dresses.’”
At a time when new brands were easily discoverable on Instagram, Réalisation Par rode that wave and broke even in three days. While customers were already buying into some of its styles, the turning point came when Alexa Chung wore one of its dresses — and that was long before Spencer and Talbot (and the rest of the industry) wised up to sponsored content. “She bought it herself and that catapulted our business,” says Talbot.
Other happy customers have helped to drive brand awareness, says Spencer. “These dresses really resonated and I think one of the reasons was their versatility. Also the fact that they were recognisable seemed to be the formula for social media. People were happy to promote it because they loved the dresses and wanted to be part of the brand. We didn’t pay for any of that.”
Today, Instagram is not as effective a marketing channel, says Talbot. “Once social media platforms tried to monetise, the algorithms changed. There are also a lot more brands in the space and a lot more noise, so general visibility is reduced.” Spencer adds that Réalisation Par’s customers have grown with the brand and remain engaged through direct communications such as its newsletters. Its biggest market is the US, followed by China and the UK. The goal for the new store is to account for 8 to 9 per cent of total revenues.
Digitally savvy brands benefit from the higher profit margins that come with selling directly to consumers; however, many eventually expand to wholesale in a bid to reach new customers amid rising customer acquisition costs online. Réalisation Par is nowhere close to hitting that ceiling, says Talbot, who sees more benefits with remaining direct to consumer. “Everything is under our control. With wholesale, the brand doesn’t get presented the way that we want it to. And the margins are not as good.”
Still, competition is growing — and fast — as influencers with highly engaged audiences come to market with their own fashion brands: Matilda Djerf has Djerf Avenue, while Xenia Adonts has Attire — both of which are positioned as non-seasonal; Jess Hunt and Jenna Meek’s viral beauty label Refy has since expanded into fashion and lifestyle; and this month, Aimee Song introduced her new premium fashion brand Amiya.
Not all are guaranteed to last long term. Chung shut down her five-year-old namesake fashion brand in 2022, citing a “challenging” time for independent businesses. So, what makes an It-girl brand able to stand the test of time? NYU Stern’s Serdari observes that LA peer Reformation heavily pushes its sustainability pillar, which has contributed to consumer loyalty. “Perhaps the future of It-girl fashion brands is shifting from brands that capitalised exclusively on It-girl style to brands that revolve around It-girl values.”
Can Réalisation Par prove itself to be more than cool-girl marketing? For Talbot, the brand already has. “When we meet our customers, they all seem to have an incredible story or memory connected [to our garments], whether it’s their first date, their engagement party or the first time they went out after having a baby — and they remember how they felt,” she says. “We want to make women feel good and I think that’s always going to be relevant.”
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