Lauren Wilson has long been fascinated by the life the garments carry: where they come from, the distances they travel, the occasions they witness, the moments in history they witness, and the other people whose bodies they honor. of shoes, he believes, carries a life of stories and reports that not only validate their value, but also raise it.
It was while working at christie’s market that Wilson first saw this in action, in terms of all sorts of luxury pieces that came up for auction. “What has become a very important learning experience for me at that time was this concept of provenance, “She remembers. “When buying a room from this prominent auction house, it was very important to provide the visitor with the provenance of the room, a record of where their life had been. Not having this album, one might wonder if the piece was original or what its real price was. Wilson discovered that this same concept of provenance was, however, utterly absent from the secondary market of luxury fashion.
Shortly after her time at Christie’s, she switched to Moda Operandi, one of the first pioneers of the changing luxury fashion e-commerce landscape, and learned the need for a platform in the resale area that could tell the story of each and every garment. . ” I saw with my own eyes how the founder of Moda Operandi, the influence of Lauren Santo Domingo encouraged the purchasing decisions of her consumers, and one of the most successful editions was called “Lauren’s Closet”, where consumers could glimpse their favorite pieces from the top collection of the recent season”, explains Wilson. Given my passion for art and fashion and my recent master’s degree in apparel studies, I knew I was looking to free up a position where millions of women could buy the pieces in those trend designers’ closets. “
A few months later, Wilson left her fashion job to devote all her time and attention to creating a position that would encourage consumers and focus on discovery and storytelling. “Naturally, I’m nervous about starting my own business, especially since I started from scratch. “, remember. ” However, I knew I had to create something new, especially since there was a lot of expansion in the market. It’s a time now or never. And in 2019, Wilson’s efforts paid off when she introduced Dora Maar, an online second-hand luxury fashion destination that organizes pieces in the muses’ closets.
Read on to stay more informed about Dora Maar’s mission, her position in the world of luxury fashion and sustainability, and why her founder believes personalization and storytelling are the keys to success.
Gabby Shacknai: How did Dora Maar come to you and what does it mean?
Lauren Wilson: Henriette Theodora Markovitch, known as Dora Maar, was a prominent French surrealist artist to whom I gave the call of my platform. I studied art history abroad in Paris during my university studies and have admired its photography, fine arts and poetry. While many other people knew Dora Maar as Pablo Picasso’s muse, she was really my point of inspiration for her pioneering ways. Surrealism defies criteria and looks at things from a different angle, similar to our logo philosophy in Dora Maar.
Shacknai: One of the things that sets Dora Maar apart from her competition is the emphasis she puts on storytelling. Why is this such a vital component of the puzzle?
Wilson: Luxury is necessarily a narrative. When you lose the narrative aspect, you lose all the know-how and quality of luxury fashion and basically take away its unique identity, clothing is like art. The brands, designers, women and men who wear clothes, the Muses, include the transformative functions of luxury fashion. I looked for consumers to have the opportunity to know precisely what they are buying. Let us think twice before we get rid of fashion season after season.
Shacknai: Very often, fashionable, even high-end, resale puts distance between the former owner and the prospective buyer, while luxury auction houses tend to do the opposite. ?
Wilson: Fashion has been treated as a commodity in the second-hand market. It was crazy for me to see how a McQueen dressed up in a demo at the Met’s Costume Institute and then see it randomly indexed on a discount website. How would this type of style replace the mindset of consumers if it looks and acts as a disposable and replaceable product?What auction houses do incredibly well is to delve so deeply into the history and provenance of a piece through their skilled specialists that it necessarily becomes invaluable You would never throw it away. But how do you do this on a giant scale and for e-commerce?For us, it’s the Muse concept and its know-how.
There is also this wonderful sense of collaboration between our Muses. One of our favorite activities is what we call “Muse Mashups,” which is an Instagram Live series where our Muses test their wardrobe with pieces from other Muse closets. I love this concept of building your wardrobe with pieces that form a pattern of other people and experiences.
Shacknai: Who can be a muse? How do you do them?
Wilson: Our muses motivate designers of flavors of all shapes, sizes and voices, who have a deep love for fashion. We are looking for other people who care about craftsmanship and the quality of clothing and need to see the longevity of the pieces they have. All the content we collaborate on with our Muses is meant to help them express their story. It’s based on behind-the-scenes interviews blatantly called “Behind the Dor” and UGC content about the trends they’d like to be able to (skinny jeans, from our new Muse, Alyssa Campanella) to photo shoots at our Brooklyn headquarters.
Last fall, we provided a Muse consistent with the month. Regularly, this has grown to several Muses consistent with the week. We also have repeating Muses, like Natalie Steen from @thenatnote, who presented her wardrobe for the third time with us. In fact, more than 50% of the Muses give up on themselves in a few months.
Something that is special about Muse Dora Maar and anything we plan to incorporate further into our platform is the opportunity for the Muses to sell their wardrobe for a smart cause. budget for organizations that are vital in their lives. For example, Lauren Levison recently donated one hundred percent of her earnings to the Present/Levison Advanced Research Fellowship in Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Mount Sinai Hospital. -Brands Our consumers are looking for muse’s new drops in the same way they would expect a collectible delivery, so much so that we recently presented personal previews for unwavering consumers to buy Muse drops first.
Shacknai: Who is Dora Maar’s client?
Wilson: Interestingly, many of our consumers are new to resale shopping, which I love to hear!When consumers tell me that this is their first used luxury piece, I know we are going in the right direction. The visitor base, which I have gotten to know well this year, virtually. The main explanation for why our consumers keep coming back is that they find it exciting to notice the new Muse and the treasures on their closet door. Urgency is what advances our concept. Customers are starting to feel hooked on the Muses. They will begin to follow the lockers of the Muses and are waiting for the falls of the Muses’ wardrobe in the same way that one would expect a fall in the shoes.
Shacknai: How do you see the resale boom we’re experiencing?
Wilson: There are a lot at stake in the recent resale boom. First, consumers prioritize sustainability, and buying second-hand is much more wonderful than buying on the number one market. I also think the pandemic has really highlighted this concept. of intentionality and transparency. People need to know where their pieces come from. This facet of accepting as true is very important in resale given the widespread nature of the counterfeiting industry. Authenticity is one of the main barriers to resale growth, and that’s something my team and I need to address. we position an excellent acceptance offer as true in our consumers when they buy. We bring all stocks in-house before they are indexed on the site so our team can review each item very well, however, we are also looking for emerging technologies. it can help increase and turn those practices of authenticity into a truth according to our Muses.
Shacknai: What do you think is the long term of luxury fashion reselling and what role will Dora Maar play in it?
Wilson: The resale market is evolving forever and I anticipate continued growth. I believe that resale will be much more available to each and every customer, anywhere in the world. For example, we’re even seeing major customer brands start to grow. integrate resale into their business models.
I believe that as we expand our Muse network, whether macro or micro influencers, we can play a role in educating their friends and fans about the importance of buying with intent and ensuring a lasting replacement in customer behavior. that we have this great opportunity for Dora Maar to provide a platform for influencers to become curators of their own “showcases” and pave the way for a new way to shop. Looking to the future, our project is to continue creating a personalized party for the visitor in luxury, resale and beyond. We need to be the link between our customers and our Muses and create a platform based on authenticity, accepting as true and the magic of fashion, of course.
I’m a New York-based journalist covering beauty and wellness, food and travel and lifestyle. My paintings have been published in Fortune, ELLE, Departures, Air Mail, Travel
I am a New York-based journalist covering beauty and wellness, food and array and lifestyle. My paintings have been published in Fortune, ELLE, Departures, Air Mail, Travel Leisure and Women’s Health, among others, and I have a master’s degree. in journalism from Columbia University and a master’s degree in English from the University of Edinburgh. I have had the opportunity to travel around the world, meet change makers and rule breakers from various industries, and glimpse the trends that describe our times. I need to share this wisdom with my readers. In the face of a growing flow of data and content, I know how difficult it can be to locate reliable voices in this age. I think it’s more vital than ever to produce reliable stories that appeal to my own delight and experience from my sources, and whether it’s writing about a new good-looking movement or describing a disruptor of the fitness world, I try to do it.