These 2 Fashion Startups Are Going To Change The Way You Shop

Just when you thought that the fashion industry had reached its technological epitome with the recent success of user-friendly online shopping sites–household names like Rent the Runway or Etsy, just to name a few–here are two more fashion startups who are pushing the limits of fashion and technology even further than before.

Chloe + Isabel and Tradesy, each founded and run by women, are turning the fashion industry upside down with their technology and new streamlining processes.

Both companies, in their own ways, are working to overturn the established notion that participating in fashion means being simply an old-fashioned consumer.

Shopping is going to be completely blown of the water soon with these game-changing startups. GoGirl was lucky enough to sit down with each of their founders to get the inside scoop.

Chloe + Isabel: Direct Sales for the Digital Age

Chloe + Isabel is behind tens of thousands of cult jewelry parties hosted by young fashionistas and hipsters across the country.

More than 2,000 “merchandisers” leverage their social media prowess to host exclusive Chloe + Isabel parties. In addition to these live private events, women are able to build their own customized online boutiques which allows them to then share their jewelry styling tips on Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest.

We talked with Founder Chantel Waterbury about her reinvention of how we shop for jewelry.

What is the goal of your company?

Chloe + Isabel is a jewelry brand that uses social retail to empower the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Chloe + Isabel uses an innovative technology platform to create an omni-channel approach to direct selling–letting merchandisers curate their own online shops and track their own analytics as they grow their sales networks.

What is the problem you were trying to solve and how is this company changing the fashion industry?

Aside from offering women affordable and thoughtfully-designed jewelry, Chloe + Isabel is also providing opportunities to an often very educated but underemployed workforce.

Our merchandisers join Chloe + Isabel for a variety of reasons, from a way to make supplemental income to building a more competitive skill-set to gain full-time employment in the fashion industry. Our new approach to direct selling harnesses online social influence in addition to a merchandiser’s in-person presence.

How has the fashion industry evolved in even the last three years?

Online shopping is definitely one of the biggest areas wherein fashion has evolved in the last three years.

As technology becomes smarter, brands are learning more about their consumers and finding better ways to reach their key markets.

Collaboration, especially crowd-sourcing, has also become even more important in fashion.

We’re not only just looking at the glossy pages of fashion magazines to get inspired, we’re also turning to individuals like Man Repeller who have created personal blogs about style. Brands are also turning to their consumers to help them create their brands’ images, pulling photos from Instagram and Facebook to better connect with their consumers.

Where do you see your company in five years?

In the next five years we want to expand our network of superstar merchandisers internationally and continue to empower women to create their personal brand through Chloe + Isabel. The direct selling model, especially in its social iteration, has endless possibilities and we’re excited about expanding the Chloe + Isabel lifestyle brand into other categories.

Tradesy: Changing the Way Women View Ownership of Fashion

Tracy DiNunzio, the Founder and CEO of Tradesy–the top online and mobile fashion resale site and app–has shifted how millions of women view ownership of fashion.

There is a new movement happening, and it is perfect if you have minimal closet space. Consumers are looking past the idea of fashion as “possessions” and are instead seeing the untapped value in sharing and reselling their wares.

This emerging lifestyle of “lightweight living” is perfectly in line with Tradesy in which anybody’s closet can become a personal boutique. Tradesy manages nearly a quarter billion dollars in inventory and has more than 600,000 members. Here is what DiNunzio had to say:

Tradesy’s goal is to turn every woman’s closet into a boutique, enabling all of us to easily sell the items we no longer want and earn cash to finance new fashion purchases.

It’s a way to make the fashion we love affordable for anybody.

What is the problem you were trying to solve and how is your company changing the fashion industry?

The problem is very clear–the velocity of fashion is increasing, and it’s too expensive for most of us to keep up.

Trends change more frequently than ever, our favorite outfits feel “old” faster because they’re in photos all over our social networks, and the result is that women are purchasing more fashion items more frequently than ever.

The average woman owns more than 350 pieces of apparel and has worn only 20% in the last year. We’re changing the fashion industry by enabling women to monetize those assets in order to finance the next purchase, empowering consumers with more value and variety for their dollar.

How has the fashion industry evolved in even the last three years?

There are some really fascinating things happening in the fashion industry.

In the early 2000s, globalization brought us a boom in fast fashion, making cheap and trendy clothes available on nearly every corner.

Ever since that trend began, we’ve seen a race to the bottom on quality and pricing that I don’t think is beneficial to consumers. We end up spending the same amount or more than before, for a closet full of clothes that fall apart after three washes.

And the prevalence of affordable apparel has also impacted designer contemporary and luxury brands, whose prices have increased as they’ve been forced to spend more on marketing to compete with cheap, abundant fast fashion.

But I think those trends are starting to turn around. H&M recently announced that they may increase prices in order to pay their workers a fair wage.

Most other fast fashion outlets are unable to further reduce their costs, which will force them to innovate in other ways. And women are tired of poorly-made clothing, so they’re using sites like Tradesy to acquire high-quality clothing and accessories without overspending. I’m optimistic about what lies ahead!

Where do you want to see your company in five years?

Our goal is to make Tradesy a household name in the next five years.

The story of great online marketplaces will be eBay-Etsy-Tradesy.

When every woman understands how easy and safe it is to turn her closet into cash, we’ll feel like we’ve succeeded.