👋 Hi. Having now spent seven months working alone in my apartment, I’m finding myself increasingly drawn to the stories behind things that are otherwise banal and ubiquitous — from the word “okay” to air conditioning. It mostly means that I’m gorging myself on 99% Invisible and sending a lot of “did you know” texts to friends and family. As always, reply with questions, comments, or thoughts about anything you read here.
This issue features 26 brands. Fifty-eight percent are white-led, 23% are Black-led, and 15% are led by non-Black people of color. You can find the complete Chips + Dips inclusion index here.
The Chips 🎀
Open Spaces is now distributing through Food52.
King Curls is a haircare company for Black men.
Clinical skincare company Topicals launched a Mean Girls-inspired Burn Book featuring customer skincare stories.
An internet-famous chihuahua has its own clothing company (for humans).
Keep an eye on Ami Colé, a forthcoming makeup company for Black women from a former Glossier and L’Oreal employee.
Menstrual underwear company Period launched with adult, teen, and adaptive styles.
Seed is running circles around every other supplement company, having now gained FDA authorization to study the effects of its probiotic on native intestinal microbial communities.
Leaves With You sells products for eco-friendly end-of-life rituals.
Saint Ivory is a streetwear brand currently operating as a nonprofit.
Dispo is an app that "develops" iPhone photos the following day. (Related: Manual sells disposable cameras direct to consumer.)
Skincare company Circumference is now incorporating agricultural byproducts into its formulas.
Russet makes tongue-and-groove plywood furniture.
The Dip 📎
When pandemic panic first set in, articles were written about department stores canceling orders and failing to pay vendors. This, of course, had ripple effects, one of which being that smaller brands found themselves with a surplus of goods suddenly relegated to owned distribution channels. In response to both this and other cultural and environmental factors, a handful of brands are changing the way they do business — and in a way that I believe is for the better.
Made to order
My first (and only) experience with made-to-order clothing came through Elizabeth Suzann, a Nashville-based label that ceased operations earlier this year (see also: DIP 011). It had a few dozen silhouettes and a handful of fabric options, and everything was cut and sewn to order.
A four- to six-week wait for clothing is, in many ways, anachronistic. As consumers, we’ve been conditioned to expect a delivery within a week of placing an order. Businesses are told that speed supports loyalty. But there was an intentionality to Elizabeth Suzann’s slowness. The company accepted a limited number of orders each week. If it hit its limit, you’d have to wait until the following week to place an order. The restrictions protected the integrity of the product while reducing risk for the Elizabeth Suzann team. It also signaled to customers that the product was worth the wait.
I see similarities in how Paynter is evolving. The UK-based outerwear company issues drops a few times each year and makes each coat to order (you can watch a recent launch unfold here). To better plan for its next launch, Paynter introduced fabric deposits, allowing customers to reserve a coat. The coats are still made to order — a strategy that reduces waste throughout their supply chain — and accepting deposits allows Paynter to better anticipate demand and ease the financial burden of purchasing fabric upfront.
Control what you can
The Arrivals recently introduced a preorder model. Activewear company Ceres launched with a mix of preorder and in-stock items. Telfar introduced a bag security program to ensure that people, not bots, are buying bags. Business of Fashion looked at the growing number of brands adopting preorder models, especially in the shadow of the COVID–19 pandemic.
Then there’s Kickstarter. Fly By Jing, Diaspora, and Misen have all crowdfunded launches. In the same way that Paynter’s fabric deposits could be used to offset the upfront cost of materials and production, launching a product on Kickstarter allows a bootstrapped brand to offset production costs and nurture customer relationships. Misen’s dutch oven campaign, for example, has more information about product quality and brand integrity than any standard product page does.
We’re conditioned to purchase impulsively, lured by the rush of fast, free shipping. Preorders break the dopamine cycle and demand that consumers be more thoughtful about their purchases. Nine times out of 10, if I add something to a cart and wait 24 hours, I realize that I don’t actually want it.
Purchasing something with the knowledge that it will be weeks, if not months, before it arrives leaves room to nurture a relationship. The brand can offer status updates, as Paynter is doing, and educate the consumer on why the product is worth the wait.
The new flash
Preorders, while a great future-thinking solution, don’t help brands that are currently stuck with hordes of unsold merchandise. In the same way that the 2008 recession contributed to the popularity of flash sale sites, our current situation is fueling the growth of curated overstock and resale sites.
Where flash sale sites lacked personality — their sole purpose was to move as much product as quickly as possible — contemporary solutions are finding ways to make bargain hunting feel special.
To date, no digital solution has been able to replicate the panning-for-gold feeling of browsing TJ Maxx, but Cara Cara comes close. It’s a curated off-price marketplace that sells brands like RAINS, Samantha Pleet, and Dusen Dusen. Truthfully, I hesitated to mention it here because it feels like a very well-kept secret. But it’s really good. And browsing Cara Cara often feels more special than browsing a brand’s own sale section; it’s overstock, but it’s curated such that it doesn’t feel like it.
For brands looking to own the distribution of their overstock, Depop is emerging as a Gen Z-friendly solution, with Studs hosting its “archive” on the marketplace app. On the luxury end of the spectrum, The RealReal has begun partnering with labels like Gucci and Stella McCartney to both encourage and better manage resale.
On the surface, these new overstock solutions seem like a win for everyone involved — Cara Cara, Depop, and The RealReal build credibility, brands are able to alleviate the burden of excess product without cheapening their owned ecomm experience, and customers reap the benefits.
It’s no secret that constraints are often beneficial to businesses. Those adopting preorder models to better manage inventory may find greater loyalty among customers, while those listing products on overstock or resale platforms may gain exposure to, and in build affinity within, new demographic and psychographic cohorts.
Real Dip 📦
Fennel-anchovy oil.
Heat a half-cup of good olive oil in a small pan. Add two spoonfuls of fennel seeds, four-ish anchovies, and a scoop of chili flakes. Swirl everything around, let it sizzle for about 30 seconds, then cut the heat.
Plays well with crispy rice, roasted squash, and radicchio.
Thanks for snacking,
— Emily 🔭
