Style & Beauty Good Luxe
Style & Beauty Good Luxe The Frontlines of Digital Fashion Alison Loehnis, president of Net-a-Porter and Mr Porter, shares her perspective on online shopping, key trends and the latest from her platforms How has Covid changed shopping habits at your sites? At the start of the first lockdown, we saw clear shopping patterns, with certain categories like loungewear, beauty, grooming and lifestyle proving increasingly popular. As the Zoom effect took hold we saw customers shopping initially from the shoulders, and then from the waist up, with sweaters, tops and jewellery for women selling really well. The through-line for the men’s and womenswear businesses, however, has been the customer’s interest in investment pieces, enhancing the already popular buy-now wear-forever pieces our buyers invest in each season. How do you stay fresh in an increasingly crowded marketplace? We place an enormous focus on the customer and listen closely to our community, who are very engaged and vocal. Whilst expanding our offering is important, it must be balanced with curation and personalisation. We know that the customer increasingly wants to be shown suggestions to suit his or her specific style and needs. The wealth of data we have access to plays a big part in tailoring the experience to the individual, but we also take great care in balancing digital and analogue experiences for our customers, primarily via our incredible personal shopping team. And I’d also say our content is important here; it’s so closely interwoven with our buy – we don’t just want to show him or her products alone, we want to inspire and delight via our content. Exclusive products are without doubt a reason our customers return to Net-a-Porter and Mr Porter, in the knowledge that they will find pieces PHOTO TAKAY 44 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM
The real joy of the Extremely Important People service is that the relationship with a personal shopper is entirely on the client’s terms they won’t have seen elsewhere, and along the way discover new brands. How did the concept for EIP come about? EIP stands for “Extremely Important People” and refers to our most loyal customers who are part of a bespoke, invitation-only programme. The service has been part of the business since the early days, but has expanded a lot, particularly in the last two years with the growth of our talented team of personal shoppers. We are able to offer incredible privileges, from priority access to the most coveted pieces, style consultations, a calendar of intimate events with some of the biggest names in fashion, beauty, fine jewellery and watches through to one-to-ones with designers. The real joy of the service is that the relationship with a personal shopper is entirely on the client’s terms. Some prefer a seasonal touch-base, whilst many are on WhatsApp daily. We take a very localised approach, with personal shopping teams positioned in offices from Hong Kong to Dubai to California, who really understand regional etiquette and culture whilst having access to our global infrastructure, network and brand partners. How have you incorporated sustainability into your offerings? Net Sustain is a platform we launched on Neta-Porter in 2019 to highlight and celebrate our brand partners who meet our criteria for sustainability. In order to qualify, designers have to meet at least one of the five attributes that we’ve identified, which include materials used, processes in place, waste production and more. This season, there are around 140 brands in total that will feature as part of the platform, with the likes of Nanushka, Octavia Elizabeth, Johanna Ortiz and very excitingly, Burberry, joining the ranks. This includes around 52 beauty brands and around another 16 being vetted. It’s important to us that we’re super-thorough with this so that our customers can make informed decisions. Sustainability is equally important to our menswear customers – the latest sustainable headliner at Mr Porter this season is Gallery Dept. founded by contemporary artist Josué Thomas who repurposes and reimagines vintage garments. How have you stayed sane this past year? I was incredibly lucky to have spent a large part of the year in the countryside. Having a dog meant we did a lot of walking and I learned to look up more, to pause and take in my surroundings in a way that you rarely do in a busy city. This definitely gave me a sense of grounding amid the upheaval. I have to say I’m really looking forward to getting back into the office and spending time with our incredible teams – I’ve missed the personal interactions so much – but I will always treasure the perspective it gave me. In terms of products, I did add a few lockdown additions to my dayto-day routine. I kitted myself out with some new activewear; I’m loving Ernest Leoty’s sets. And I bought the obligatory (but totally irresistible) track pants and hoodie from my sustainable favourite, Ninety Percent. I now treat my hair to the Weekly Remedy Treatment by Rita Hazan and at the end of the day, it’s all about a hot bath with a few drops of Pure Calm Wellness Bath Oil by Uma and the Crystal Goddess Face Mask by Angela Caglia. – As told to Elisa Vallata Multiple Choice Loehnis shortlists her must-haves for the season 1 MissoniHome Yaren cushion in multicoloured jacquard fabric with a knit effect PHOTOS © YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP 1 2 3 2 Roman & Williams Guild + Magnolia Ceramics vase, handmade in California 3 Pieces Sedge hourglass-shaped vase in lavender ceramic CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM 45
