THE LAUNCH - On demand fashion
One year ago the concept ‘The Launch’ had been created. It resembles the newest, eco-friendliest way to shop. Why? Because The Launch is an on-demand online fashion brand/concept. The Launch produces on demand. Nothing more, nothing less! Furthermore, it launches a new drop every month. The brand is going sky high and the owner, Victorine, is blown away by the first results. We asked her all about this cool concept.
How it all started
When Victorine started her creation she already owned two other businesses in the fashion branch. One of them was the online shop “Unwritten Stories”. Sustainability was the most important subject for her in the fashion branch so she decided to focus on that. She already had a lot of experience in the fashion industry starting with her study at The Amsterdam Fashion Institute (AMFI) and later interning at Suit Supply and working for Hunkemöller.
During her work at the above-mentioned organizations she noticed a lot of overproduction of goods. This seems to be a huge problem in the fashion industry so she wanted to come up with a solution for this problem. From that moment on her goal was to change the industry by focusing on sustainability and no more overproduction.
That’s when her idea of ‘on demand’ fashion was born. Being confident about this new concept, Victorine resigned from her job and went fully for 100% to create a new innovative brand.
What is The Launch?
It’s an on-demand fashion brand. Every month there is a new launch. Customers can preorder the style. After someone ordered a piece, it will be produced.
“The launch is sustainable, fun and affordable!”
The first drop
The first drop needed to have affection with the brand, so for this reason it has been called “The launch party”. The collection is very feminine, casual with statement pieces. You can mix and match everything to create looks for day and night, holiday and party!
‘Every drop from The Launch is colorful, fun, bolt and something different.’
Something different is important, because customers need to wait for three weeks before receiving their product. “We create the trigger, that if you see the collection, you want it now and cannot find it somewhere else. If you don’t order directly, you are too late to buy it anyway”.
‘The first launch was a big success. The first drop was sold out in two days! I was totally blown away, because my biggest dream to be sold out came through.’
Victorine's own style
“My look for sure is an extension of the brand in a way. The only difference is that I am mostly wearing a blazer with a touch of popping color! Very casual but still feminine. Clothing from The Launch always has also a pop of color in it and focuses on statement pieces. Nobody wants to wait three weeks for a black blazer.”
The inspiration for The Launch
“The brand Feners in Spain is already offering shoe fashion on demand. I really got inspired by their cool way of offering shoes.
Together with a freelance designer I searched for inspiration everywhere (fashion fairs, social media, Pinterest and at street fashion in various cities)”.
The design process
First of all, you need to be aware of the delivery month. We look at different processes in that period. Next, we decide the trends and colors. Than we start with the collection build up in an overview. After that, we will look for fabrics and produce the samples. We use the samples for the shoot. This is the moment people can preorder the clothes.
Important is to always be flexible, because everything can often change in the design process.
“I want The Launch to be revolutionary for the fashion industry”
Biggest challenges
The first challenge was to search for sustainable fabrics. Normally you need to buy a minimum quantity. To avoid this minimum, we work a lot with ‘leftovers’ from for example high end brands as Hermès.
Also, in the beginning it was very challenging to find a suitable atelier who could produce a drop within three week since normally a production takes a more or less a half year.
The launch works in a totally different way and the question is if the industry is ready to change?
Therefore, I really want to motivate other fashion brands to launch small drops, guarantee exclusivity and create high demand.
Sustainability
The collection has been produced with the help of refugees who were looking for a job. The production takes place in an atelier in the Netherlands under the supervision of Victorine. She is close by through the whole manufacturing process which makes her also flexible to respond to different situations. Upfront many meters of fabric were bought from the leftovers of different brands. From these leftovers new pieces will be made.
During COVID, a lot of brands were dealing with overproduction, because everyone was wearing comfy clothes (like joggers etc). With their production being on demand they are very flexible and The Launch wants to inspire more fashion brands to do this.
Ultimate dream for The Launch
The dream is that The launch will be the new example for other brands because of these different logistic ways to produce clothing.
‘I really believe in the concept and at the same time I am working on the future.’
Favorite cheesy quote: “if you can dream it you can do it!”
