Transcript by Descript:

Hello, everyone. Welcome to our fantastic webinar today. We’ll be having Cotton Incorporated on as well as we have two amazing guests that I’m so thrilled and excited to have on our webinar today. One is Rebecca Hessel Cohen. She’s the founder of Love Shack Fancy, which everyone knows, and everyone is very excited about.

And Danielle Bernstein, who’s the founder of WeWoreWhat. So hosting with me is Marissa Barland. She’s the director of brand partnerships from Cotton Incorporated. And our big topic today is an important topic. It’s how are we reaching today’s consumer? It is so busy out there. There’s a lot going on in the media.

How can you grab attention and actually reach consumers? Reach the ultimate consumer. So, what I want to do though, before we get started in the content, which is just fantastic today, I would love to, like, get, let the audience know each of you a little bit. So, here’s what I want you to do. And, Marissa, if you don’t mind, I’m going to start with you.

Okay. But, tell us a little bit about where you are from, how you would describe your brand or company, and why you love what you do. Okay.  Okay, so I’m, um, a Floridian. I live in Miami, Florida, but I did live in New York City for 10 years. I was pursuing my MBA, um, and then I ended up staying many years later, unexpectedly.

Um, but I’m back home in Miami, and so, um, my office is in New York City, so I fly back and forth quite a bit.  And I think what I love about Cotton is  just as a fiber in a brand, I can really get behind it because it’s a natural fiber. It’s grown from the earth. There’s so many amazing inherent benefits about cotton.

I can really stand behind it. And I’m in my former life that there’s some things I worked on that I couldn’t necessarily stand behind. So it’s really easy to help be a marketer on the brand.  And as far as my job, what I love about it, it’s always changing. I never get bored. I feel like I’m a dinosaur at this point at Cotton.

Um, but it’s always changing year over year. I get to work with so many great people, so it kind of keeps me on my toes.  Awesome. Rebecca, let’s hear from you.  So, um, I am Rebecca Hessel Cohen. Um, I kept my maiden name, Hessel, because this is sort of like my second, it’s not my second career, but sort of. I was a fashion editor at Cosmopolitan for about eight years.

So started as associate fashion editor, worked up to senior fashion and beauty editor and then interned at about like every magazine you could imagine throughout my high school and college years. So I was like a full magazine girl. And so that’s how everyone knew me. So obviously I just kept Hessel Cohen.

So we never, I never lost it. And I’m from New York city, born and raised. Um, my husband and I both, which is sort of rare to see these days. So we live, we still live here. We grew up on the Upper East Side, live in the West Village. Um, and you know, so I, I love what I do because it’s, it’s just, I mean, it’s my life.

It’s like my, Everything I write. I always say that like I the brand that Love Shock Fancy is and that I created when Love Shock Fancy started, the word brand didn’t even really exist. Like, there were just companies and it was like all Theory and Diane von Furstenberg and just huge businesses and As an editor, I was always loving shooting these like small little designers that were maybe like an independent Australian designer or, you know, something else that I would find in the market and I would want to put them there and then I had to balance, you know, the, the world of advertising and then the world of editorial with the photo shoots I would do.

I always, I mean, as much as I love the advertisers. I always felt, like, really connected to these, like, independent designers. Um,  so I started, I couldn’t find the right bridesmaid’s dresses for my wedding. I decided to make my own. I went to the Garment District, went to Mood Fabrics, you know, didn’t love the colors, hand dyed them, worked with a local pattern maker, seamstress, made these dresses, and then everyone wanted these dresses.

So then, while I was still at Cosmopolitan for two years, I was making these dresses just on the side, selling them at trunk shows out in the Amptons, making them for friends. They would sell out, make more. It was just a fun hobby, and I loved doing it. And then, um, when I, you know, the worlds of magazines were really changing at that point, and I just was like, felt a little bit, just not challenged anymore.

I was, I saw the changing landscape and I went to my editor in chief, Kate White, and I was like, what should I do? Should I like try to do this as a business? She’s like, Rebecca, if you don’t do it now, you’re never going to do it. I talked to Lisa Marie Fernandez, who is a, was a stylist, is a stylist and a, also a fashion designer.

And she’s like, just go for it. And so I went for it and I learned like everything from the beginning. It took a long time. Learning production showroom. I didn’t know what a showroom was sales like all these things And so it really started from such an organic like authentic place. So I think that there was no calculated plan So for me, I always say like that’s still I’m in like my la la land and luckily I have amazing people on my team who are really really smart and not that I’m not we’re smart in different ways, right?

So we complement each other. I’m very creative And so, you know, I’m really lucky to have grown an incredible team as we’ve expanded over the last 11 years.  Into with real experts who know the merchandising to retail to production to everything else marketing that comes along with it So danielle tell us a little bit about we wore what and don’t forget to tell us about your background Yes, so i’m danielle bernstein Founder of we were what which started about 13 years ago now And funny enough we were what actually started as a street style blog.

I was behind the camera photographing street style around You My campus here in New York at the Fashion Institute of Technology sort of as a way to provide this daily source of outfit inspiration for getting dressed in the morning and then many years into my career, sort of pioneering and being one of the OGs of the influencer industry and the creator economy, uh, turn the camera around and was starting to photograph my personal style and then do design collaborations with different brands.

Sort of put the proof in the pudding that I was the best selling power out there as opposed to traditional advertising and then ended up doing a design collaboration with a swimsuit company where we sold 2 million worth of swim in the first hour. So it was a major moment to sort of realize that I should have my own brand.

And I loved designing. It wasn’t something that I was taught or that I studied in school. I was an advertising and marketing communications major. So I was always more business and marketing focused, but I definitely have a creative side of me. Uh, and so combining those two things and creating my own brand just seemed like the best next step.

And. Started slowly but surely introducing one category at a time. So I didn’t just jump into a full ready to wear line. I started with swim sort of mastered that market and then moved into ready to wear and then accessories. And we just introduced perfume where we have everything. Now we were what is truly a head to toe brand.

And Funny enough. You know, I’ve known Rebecca for over a decade and we go so far back as someone who I’ve looked up to all the time. We’ve worked together with Love Shock Fancy, um, over the years. And it’s, it’s really cool to be in this room and to be with everyone because Cotton has been such a meaningful partnership for the WeWoreWhat brand, really allowing us to bring a sustainable fabric and a sustainability to the brand overall.

And to introduce these collections that we’ve done together at a really affordable price point for our customers and just seeing How well they’ve responded to that and doing the very creative, fun marketing initiatives that Marissa and I have created together, whether it was doing a pop up or doing our first ever fashion week presentation.

It’s been really fun to see. We wore what grow. Especially with cotton as well. So we’ve we’ve had great partnerships. Okay, so let’s get on with our topic here So first topic is consumer trends and behavior and I know cotton incorporated who I’ve known. I don’t know probably over a decade You do a lot of research and you also do a lot about consumer trends and behaviors So I’d like to start with you and maybe you can share with us a little bit about what you’re doing with love shack Fancy and we wore what and any  Any information particularly around the younger generations, whether it’s Gen Z, Gen Alpha?

Okay, so one of the many great things about Cotton is when we’re working with our retail partners or brands, our partners are able to actually tailor our messaging that’s best suited for their audiences. So very flexible in what we do.  Significant insights in what we’re seeing among Gen Z is really the multitude of shopping channels that are available to them now, especially through social media.

And the generation has grown up on obviously on smart technology, especially with their phones and their tablets. So they have that on the go access at any given time. And now with all the apps there that they are on and so many easy ways to tap and add to cart. In addition, the shift to fashion influencers has really impacted the way we invest our marketing dollars with our partners.

There’s not one partnership that we have on tap that does not incorporate a significant influencer strategy because we do see the impact that influencers have on Gen Z and the access Gen Z has to them through their favorite social platforms.  Great. And so Rebecca, I’m going to ask you, cause you really have a great handle on Gen Z and it’s kind of your core market, I believe, but tell us a little bit about what, what’s the expectation there.

Are they expecting, you know, brands to be authentic? What’s your approach to marketing? Like, how are you doing that? I mean, I think that same, like for me, Love Shock Fancy now has become so much of a full lifestyle brand. So, you know, everything from home to. Clothing. We always say like ages, babies to eighties.

So and then into perfume and body mist. We were working really closely with Sephora. So really understanding like the mix of all worlds where fashion needs beauty meets technology meets influencer meets like authenticity. And I think the changing, you know, really what I’ve noticed. I pay so much attention to everything and just because I’ve been in this industry in terms of from the editorial side also to now from the design and brand side is that, you know, the customers really want to connect.

They want to connect with the founder. They want to connect. They want things to feel authentic and not like someone’s getting paid to do something. They don’t really love like models standing around who look just like skinny and boring and  Not that they’re all soulless. I love models, some of them, but you know what I mean?

They really want to feel like someone’s, a friend is really talking to them. So Love Shock fans, you know, we really pride ourselves on being, we’re, we’re aspirational, but we’re also like your best friend. And so that’s how we like to treat our customers and just partners from so many different collaborations that we do and work with.

We get to. You know, we’re really exposed to so much, a huge range. Um, and it really does span all ages. And then the, the core, like that key customer who loves Love Shack Fancy and is engaged on all the social media platforms, like specifically TikTok, is like that Gen Z. And then soon to be the Gen Alpha girls, who I know because my daughters are the Gen Alpha.

Five. Nine and almost 12. So.  You know, we really see that we tap into understanding what like all the college girls want what all the 20 something year olds. I’m like, I feel like a dinosaur now, too, but I feel but really in my heart. I’m still 27 8, even though I’m 43. So, you know, and it’s just about, I think, like connecting and and what when you love something, it really translates.

So I think and Danielle and I both, you know, like, we’re really passionate. We love what we do. We love our part. Like, I would never lie. And  and say, I love something if I really didn’t believe in it, you know, so yeah, finding the right partners, whether it’s a brand, you know, a collaboration or a partner like a cotton and love shark fans, whatever it may be, it needs to feel really authentic and true.

And I think that’s very apparent because now that’s what social media has really changed and paved the way for is being true, you know, like, the fantasy of it all is great to have sometimes, but they want to connect in that in the real way. Definitely. And Danielle, what are you doing in terms of communication with your customers and are you getting any, any feedback back?

Like, is it helping you? Does it help inform your brand? Absolutely. Yeah. I always like to say I, as an influencer first have such a direct access and a direct line of communication with my followers, which inherently are my customers.

So. I am constantly from a marketing side to a design standpoint, pulling my customers, talking to them, bringing them through the design process, the behind the scenes of the creation of designs to photo shoots to the setups for events.

And really, you know, something we did with cotton, actually. For our previous fashion week presentation was a real time vlog style, authentic, like documentary almost that we posted on Instagram and our reels of these four or five minute videos that were the five days leading up to the show. And so that was part of our marketing, but also a way to give our customers a real inside look as to what it takes to launch this collection and to put on this presentation.

And so something that I’ve done my entire career is sort of. Teeter this line between the perfect mix of relatable and aspirational. And I’ve remained authentic throughout the entire lifespan of my career and, uh, as a brand. And so walking the followers through the process and keeping them very highly involved, and then talking to them constantly.

What do you guys like this colorway, this colorway? What did you think of the shoes we just released? What do you want to see differently for next fall? And so we are constantly talking to our customers, and we’re listening to them and we’re implementing that feedback in our designs.  That’s awesome. It’s like crowdsourcing in a major way, but with a very, uh, targeted customer or consumer giving you that feedback.

So it’s great. Uh, Marissa, let’s move over to you. So I, you know, we mentioned it earlier. There’s so much content out there. It’s like a sea of content. How are you standing out in that sea of content?  Well, I think the first thing is the fact that cotton is a natural fiber. It just inherently has incredible benefits that lends itself to a lot of what consumers are crazy craving, especially at this time of year.

Um, 1, of course, is comfort. So depending where you live, cotton is that go to fiber for cozy apparel. If you want to keep warm and you’re in a cold climate, but it also doubles down as the comfortable fiber, even if you’re in a warm climate and you just want to wear jeans or loungewear and it allows you to muscle through sort of the holiday shopping frenzy or when you’re stuck in your car with intensified traffic

It’s just an easy choice. Um, and it’s soft against the skin. It breathes. It moves with you. So I also think from a marketing standpoint, cotton. It just is that feel good fabric, not just literally, but from what our research shows, eight out of ten consumers are aware of our logo, the Seal of Cotton trademark.

So it’s a familiar identifier in the fiber world where there aren’t really a lot of logos to identify fibers. Um, consumers also associate the Seal of Cotton trademark with comfort, safety, naturalness, and trust. So I think our efforts, especially in our messaging, is just about keeping it simple and being true to who we are, a trusted fiber in your favorite apparel items.

And I actually want to read you something stemming from our latest advertising platform that was introduced this year, and I think it really just sums up how Cotton Best reaches our consumers during this wild media season. So every second, over 4, 000 text messages are sent. Every day, 10 million new TikToks are uploaded.

You check emails when you wake up in the morning, Instagram during commercials. We’re on to the next thing before you’re done with the last. We need to go back to the basics, make intentional choices with our time, with our activities, with our clothes, with right now. So cotton is the fabric of now, the fabric of our lives

I love that, Marissa, and excellent, and  let’s not forget when we’re born, our day one, even day zero, actually, we’re wrapped in what?  You never hear a new mom saying, I want to reach for that polyester blanket, um, you know, for bringing new baby in the world. That’s so true. Yeah. So Rebecca, I want to ask you something.

So this summer, I believe you launched a capsule collection, American capsule collection with Cotton Incorporated. Tell us a little bit about that, please. So that was, um, really exciting because we did really our first true, you know, Americana Inspired by July for I mean, we are an American brand, even though I think I’m French half the time, but we are very truly American and we love our American girls and, you know, cotton was the part like it’s our it’s our day to day uniform is there really wouldn’t be a better partner than cotton.

It’s something that like, like I had said, even from the beginning. The first time we started selling the first pieces that I sold to Barney’s and Net A Porter before we had were the cotton like Victorian dresses with some beautiful laces and really simple, chic and black and white. So cotton has just been like the basis of our everyday uniform.

And it’s like your best friend. It’s the. DNA of Love Shack Fancy. It is the uniform. Talk about Gen Z. Like, there is not a girl, hopefully, who doesn’t have the cotton Love Shack Fancy miniskirt. Or now, at this point, it’s like, There are a lot of other copies of it, but we’re it’s still still great to have a love shack fancy one.

But, you know, so there’s really key like icons like a ruffle mini skirt, which the, you know, the biggest, um, fabric is cotton that we’re using for it. So we did this great capsule. We really wanted to find me. We went back and forth. Who is the right fit to be the face of this campaign together? We wanted something that felt really timely that different audience again.

Also like cotton for us, like because we’re so babies to eighties, like we, you know, make girls babies clothes starting at three months. I think it’s three months and we dress yeah. I mean, I know grandmothers who are in their nineties who are wearing our cotton dresses. So really being able to speak to so many different audiences and customers coming into our stores, going to other stores.

So we worked, we decided it was, it was perfect. It was the Olympics. We worked with Sunni Lee, who was in it, who is an amazing, um, Olympic gold medalist. I adore her. We worked closely. We designed some custom pieces with her.  And then we also styled her in some of like the key pieces and that sold. I mean, it sold, it performed so well.

Um, there was such amazing excitement and feedback and it was like all the red, white, and blues, all the cotton, the stars. Um, so it felt really patriotic. It felt very timely. It felt like what a, every age could, you know, Could associate with somebody like Sunni. She’s a, you know, icon and an incredible female athlete.

So I think for things like that, and we really wanted to see like, what is Sunni wearing off the, you know, when she’s off the mat. And she’s wearing, she loves like our halter dresses that are all in cotton, our Deannas, our love dresses. She could do, I mean, she was so amazing on the shoot. She was literally doing.

Lips on top of the cake stands, and and she was just like living her best life and you could see the confidence and You know the strength and like power that she felt in these pieces So that’s obviously the most important again goes back to the authenticity and just finding like the right place You know, the right partner and the right, um, the right person to represent, whether it’s the collaboration or, you know, the brands, I think, so it’s real people.

It’s like real people, right? It’s like, I, you know, we take that really serious. Like we, I mean, the amount of hours when you’re thinking of, of who, and it’s a lot of pressure because, you know, and it depends who you’re asking to, because there’s all these, you know, the younger, um, Like the 18 year olds are not going to say the same, you know, name as a 40 something year old and the 40 something year old probably doesn’t know even know who the 18 year olds is even talking about, you know, so it’s really an interesting thing.

And so, just depending on what age demographic and, or if you want to span all, which. We were really, I felt lucky enough to do now. My girls think I’m so cool because we had Sunni late, you know, whereas before we were really, I was like, promise, promise, like she’s going to be the best. And so now that’s great.

Yeah.  So Danielle, being one of the most well known influencers out there, like seriously, how are you cutting through the noise? And I feel like every year there’s more and more and more out there. So what are you doing?  Yeah, I think that, you know, standing the test of time and and lasting in this industry.

It really authenticity. It’s such a corny word and it’s overused, but remaining transparent and just being real with your audience has been the most important part of my career. You know, learning when to say no, turning down partnerships that didn’t feel like something that I resonated with and, you know, My followers know that when it comes to influencer partnerships.

And so it’s really easy to tell when something is really loved and thought of and feels authentic to the brand. And so. With our cotton partnerships, we’ve always said, like, what can we bring that’s new to the table when it comes to releasing these collections? So, the first ever WeWoreWhat pop up, which was our first time ever doing something in person, retail wise, three months, there was exclusivity to it, there was hype around it.

It was a great location, the right season, and it felt like an extension of my home. So that’s something also that my followers and our customers have come to know and love is that every part of the brand feels like an extension of me, but there’s something for everyone. And so remaining really true to my style.

Creating pieces that I am going to wear on a day to day basis because I am the biggest ambassador for my brand and so my followers love to see that I’m still wearing the brand months after the collection comes out, which is very true. And nine out of 10 times when I get dressed in the morning. One thing on my body at least as we were what, which I think is, you know, a big testament to my love for the brand and our designs.

And then this year, you know, we were what has never done anything during fashion week. We are a brand where mostly everything we create is under 200. So very untraditional to show at that really contemporary price point at fashion week. And I said, you know, if I’m going to do something at fashion week and I’m going to present these collections You know that are actually going to be available to shop that same week that I would also want to include the customers So we did a see now buy now wear now presentation.

Where we displayed our cotton collection at the forefront And then some of the other fall collections and then had our customers be able to come and have access to it So they felt like they were part of something that they maybe didn’t have access to otherwise And that was a really cool moment for the brand.

It was a lot of work for us. Yeah, it was so much work than we could have even expected, but it was so worth it to see that end result. And then we saw the results in the sales as well. So this was one of the pieces from the collection that sold out within like this jacket with the and cotton has been a fabric incorporated into our designs since the very beginning.

Like So many of our pieces are already so naturally in cotton. So doing something with Marissa and with the team was just such a natural progression for the brand and something that allowed us to get a lot more creative with our marketing too. That’s great. And Rebecca, I want to ask you a question. So I know you’re out there on social media a lot.

TikTok, Instagram, like how are you making decisions about whether you’re going to be on TikTok or Instagram or how does all that, uh, what’s the most effective route for your brand? And has that changed over time? Well, I think, yes, it definitely has changed. I mean, I personally had never even been on TikTok until I think it was like March or April of last.

What? Yeah, I swear. I mean, I had seen obviously But I do everything when it comes to Instagram and I read every single comment and every DM And that was really like Instagram when I started love shack fancy The way I got myself out there was really through Instagram and the way I connected with everyone and when you know I would do a party and it wouldn’t get coverage on  I’m like, well, we’re going to do our own coverage.

And, you know, so love Shaq Fancy, like, I love magazines and I love that world of storytelling so much. So I really think of social media. It’s, I mean, ask anyone who works with me on it. Like, I’m so crazy about it in a way because I’m so passionate and it’s important for me to tell that story. So I’ve always looked to Instagram You know, because I’m a little bit older than the tick tock generation.

But now that I saw, but you know, as we’ve seen, like we had this crazy Colts Bama rush situation that happened a few years ago, that OOTD is that I learned, you know, I learned all about Kendra Scott, which then led to a collaboration we did with her, all the girls at Alabama and the college girls during rush are getting dressed in their love shack, fancy miniskirts, dresses, whatever it may be.

Mostly cotton florals all the time, especially in the south, and they’re doing their O. T. D. S. This was the first year that I actually witnessed the entire thing. Myself by watching and I was glued. I was so glued to like these girls that it was a crazy thing. So, I mean, it really, it’s become the new form of, of everything like younger girls, I mean, instead of Google, they look it up on Tik TOK.

So I think really being able to just, again, naturally like understand that. And love shack fancy has had a presence on Tik TOK for the last, like two years. But me personally, like I have my own and then also the brand. So mine is really super like relatable.  I also use TikTok personally to see what people are really responding to.

Again, like Danielle said, like, okay, this is, should we do, which Colors you like best, like, you know, taking them behind the scenes. I love to do all of these like vlog style stories, whether it’s Paris Fashion Week that I go to four times a year. All the trips, all the photo shoots, all the events, like really seeing like the hard work and then also the finished product.

And that’s what I think everyone really likes about it. to connect to as well because it’s not just about as much as I love a beautiful photo. It’s not just about the beautiful photo anymore. It’s really about like the story that goes into it and then the behind the scenes and the hard work that’s there at the office.

And You know, the 12 people in design and, you know, the production team. So I think really giving this like world of in all the different ways. Um, and just really finding like a balance with that. And I mean, for me personally, I’m very glued in. Like I read all the comments, the messages, the I’m looking.

Constantly at all of the feedback that are, you know, our customers are giving us and that really I find is the best way to connect. So whether it’s like about new partnerships about new store locations, like we’ve opened 17 stores in the last few years, and we’re always saying, where should we open next?

What do you guys want to see? Like, so I think really engaging using, you know, the social media platforms and just really having a balance knowing and then also Facebook, which is like,  but then Facebook is really for the more like 40, I think, and up. So, but they actually really shop on Facebook, you know, and TikTok is more Gen Z.

And then Instagram, I mean, is really more a little 30s, 40s, I think. So really just understanding it all, like Marissa, that quote is like going to stick with me for the rest of my life. You just said, because we’re all culprit, you know, of all of it, but it really is true. And then sometimes to just like, Take a deep breath and take a step back because you do get so into it.

But again, like for what we do, you really need to be, and it’s not like something I want to hear from someone else. I need to like read it, see it, engage in it myself to really understand. So, yep.  And I think the other thing that you kind of mentioned, and I know Danielle mentioned as well, is you have these brand collaborations, but, you know, Danielle, you have a huge personal influencer.

How are you balancing kind of being personally authentic with your own, you know, branding, but then also doing brand collaborations?  Yeah, I mean, like I said earlier, I don’t, I’m fortunate where my brand, the WeWoreWhat brand is really the sole focus of my career now and the biggest revenue driver for me.

So the influencer partnerships that I do now, as opposed to, you know, I’ve been doing this for 13 years, they were at one time the main focus of my business. Now they’re like the icing on the cake. So I’m able to be a lot more selective in the influencer partnerships. I do. And my followers and my customers and the people on Instagram and my other platforms know that.

So they’re able to see when I’m promoting something, whether it’s a hair supplement or a new. You know, wine brand that it’s something that I actually really believe in and that I want them to buy because I would buy it for myself. So I, I’m lucky in the sense where I’m just able to be a lot more selective in the partnerships I do so that I can really focus on the brand and only promote things that I really, truly love.q

That’s great. And Marissa, maybe you can talk a little bit about, you know, this whole brand partnership and influencer partnerships. You know, is that part of Con Incorporated’s broader strategy? Are you trying to actually get to a younger demographic?  Yes. So, uh, influencer integration plays a very significant role in what we do.

Um, because we literally see the impact the creators have on cotton sales. Um, this demographic, you know, hangs on every word of their favorite influencers. So during the onboarding process, we do a lot of research into who they are, who their audience is, uh, what their voice is all about, their aesthetic.

And we find that, um, Cotton aligned influencers are able to be very authentic when it comes to talking about cotton. Cotton’s an easy fiber and it plays such a large role in so many of our cotton, our closet favorites, from the best fitting jeans we have to our favorite t shirts. But more than that, influencers can influencers can talk to cotton that is beyond the basics.

Um, so more than just, you know, your favorite jeans and tees, it’s also in those trend driven pieces and unexpected silhouettes and how that makes them feel. So we like to say you don’t have to sacrifice comfort for style or vice versa. And that’s one of the absolutely very best things about cotton, I think.

And our retail and brand collaborations play a large role in representing cotton in their voice in the best possible way to a younger demographic. So our partners are able, like I was saying before, take our creative direction, but then they mold it into their voice that works best with their audience.

So, we have this cotton timeless fabric, you know, what,  how are we staying current? How do we make sure that we are focused on sustainability with this Gen Z and Gen Alpha?  Well, I think Danielle said the term authenticity, so it is a little corny and I think I’ve said it probably 15 times during this webinar, but at the end of the day, I think if we just continue to focus.

on being authentic and who we are. That’s what’s important for cotton. You know, Gen Z is a very environmentally conscious segment of the market, and they do lead the way when it comes to sustainable fashion. We’re seeing that a lot in the trends in thrifting and upcycling, but I would say cotton is able to sort of one up the competition, so to speak, in a messaging capacity, because again, Cotton is a natural fiber grown from the earth.

It’s as simple as that. We see a lot in the industry with synthetic fibers being very creative with their marketing approach, pushing how sustainable their product is the consumer. But of course, the consumer is not aware of some of the really Let’s call it significant processes that these fibers go through to become what they are in apparel form

I think that’s sort of the missing educational piece that the consumers don’t see, um, which can be tricky. But at the end of the day, cotton is a plant. It’s grown from the earth. It’s not grown from an oil plant. No, that’s great. And that would be another whole podcast to go through all those processes, which we won’t do.

But let’s talk about 2025. Rebecca, I want to start with you on this one. So what do you what look in that crystal ball? What do you see for digital experiences, virtual pop ups, augmented reality? What’s going on with these trends, virtual pop ups? And like, that’s really that’s That’s exciting. I mean, so for us, we, for at Love Shack Fancy, we’re very focused on true experiential in terms of whether it’s store openings, events, um, you know, we have, we opened a lot of stores in the last few years, we’re going to be opening Several more in the next year and continuing on.

Um, so I think and really what what we’ve done with that and also in terms of events, whether it’s with collaborations or partnerships, whether it’s fashion week, whether it’s just to celebrate, you know, we just did when we did something in rock center. We had our latest collaboration with Stanley. It was really it was our first.

Open to the public, um, you know, selling experience, which was really interesting. And again, so much more work than I imagined it would be, but so rewarding and so nice to have like that direct, you know, intimacy with all of these customers too. So I really think there’s definitely a place where, again, like the experiential is just.

Continuing on and really being immersed into these worlds where you know You’re walking in and you and you can buy you can experience you are part of the party You are part of the celebration. I love to celebrate everything. I love music dancing people coming together you know, I think that everyone really is craving that joy and that like love and that And I feel that is something that Love Shack Fancy, it’s so important to me.

And so, you know, we, we love our neutral colors, but we love pink and we love things that make you happy. So I think really just continuing on that and, and understanding from.  A lot of different factors, how to incorporate something that is in person experiential. And then  I never really thought of having that type of experience online, but I think that that would also be, um, you know, an incredible thing to,  to do as well.

And I think for our website, for example, like we’re putting a lot as, as we’re consistently opening our own brick and mortar stores and we’re expanding into new wholesale partners in Europe and. Um, all over the world. We’re also putting so much focus on our e commerce because it is so important and is like one of our big, I mean, we’re our own biggest.

Um, store, you know, so to really bring that. And so we have an amazing head of e commerce that just came on and I know she wants to do all of these things that maybe she should come on and talk about, but she, you know, definitely really bringing that, like, Us talking about what we love, how we want to get dressed, do we want to put on these cotton pieces?

Are we wearing them in the winter? Are we layering them with tights? Are we throwing on our favorite knits? How are we styling them in summer? And just coming on to like have this sort of experience on the website too. And just have like, like that kind of direct again, relationship with our customers and back to our favorite word of today, the authenticity.

Um, but you know, so all of that really just speaking directly and, and.  Bringing everyone together. That’s great. And now I’m going to ask you tech fashion, what’s that going to look like? And is there something in social media that we haven’t seen yet? The next tick tock or something like that? Yeah. I mean, I think we’re, we’re continuing to innovate and to, especially in our marketing on social media and diversifying across all the different platforms, new platforms, existing platforms, the type of content we put out there, we were, what is a brand is definitely very focused on community building and incentivizing and offering.

Perks and access to our community, which is our customers. And so really engaging with them even more so than influencers and traditional press is going to be a really big focus for us over the next year and, you know, continuing category expansion, new launches, new products, categories. And then new creative ways and innovative ways to, to, to market those and to really involve our customers in more of the process, you know, creating collections that our customers are super involved in from the beginning.

And so, you know, we’re, I have a full Gen Z team, so they’re always keeping me. Young and, uh, you know, up with the trends. And so whenever there’s a new platform or, uh, you know, something new, we’re, we’re using a lot of AI in our social now. So we just did that with our latest fragrance launch and definitely trying to incorporate that more, more interesting content.

That’s. Still feels very real and very, we were what focused. Um, but you know, we’re, we’re flexible and we’re always innovating with the times and trying to, you know, keep up with the trends, but in a way that still feels like it’s totally part of our brand’s DNA. So yeah, it’s exciting. I mean, you know, who knows even what’s to come this year.

I’m sure there’ll be a new platform tomorrow and then the next day. And yeah, we’ll just continue to adapt and to, you know,  Have this longevity that I’ve been able to have as an influencer and have the brand really have that as well. Yeah, it’s a full time job just keeping up with all the new stuff coming out.

So I commend you for being on top of it. Marissa, tell us 2025. What do you think is going to happen in terms of consumers and brands? And especially with the Gen Z’s evolving media habits, what do you see changing?  I think brands are could continue to be really innovative in their digital and social media efforts.

We know that Gen Z is an informed Omnichannel shopper and that they enjoy all the very many ways there are to shop, but they’ll continue to buy from the most convenient source to them. Um, but I think that the industry is also going to keep in real life experiences alive and explore more of these opportunities as we see more and more young people really wanting, you know, wanting that.

Personal interactions. I mean, there was there’s still a lot of trauma coming out of a post covid world, especially for that generation. So I think they’re still craving that in real life experience. And then we know that Taylor chopper experiences that align with their interests and preferences are important to them.

So this is also why both digital and brick and mortar experiences need to be innovative and talk to this group in a very personal way that they’ll be interested in.  Well, that’s amazing. I want to thank all of you. I feel so privileged to have sat with you guys today and had this conversation. So thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.