The Blonde Salad. Something Navy. Camila Coelho Collection. Song of Style. Gisou.
Does any of these names ring a bell?
In today’s post-Instagram, heavily “influenced” world, having followers has become a synonym for economic power.
What started out as a – social – network, has actually become a worldwide digital market as influencers have understood that each one of their thousands of followers has a potential value, which can be easily monetized either through advertisements or by transforming those same followers into customers.
Fashion bloggers like Aimee Song are increasingly choosing to adopt a diversification strategy which often leads them to launch their own fashion brands, lifestyle blogs, skincare lines, cooking books, lingerie, haircare products. In other words, “influencer” is just another word to define a digital entrepreneur who exploits the customer base she already has – followers – in order to start selling literally everything.
The problem with this diversification strategy which turns fashion bloggers into designers is that the product ends up becoming marginal, as the success of a collection is not determined anymore by the quality of the fabrics used, or the beauty of the embroideries or the novelty of the idea, but rather, by the influencer’s reputation.
It does not matter whether a bag is made of high-quality leather or not as long as the “designer” behind it has enough followers that are willing to buy it no matter what.
In such a scenario, talking about young designers who are moved just by the love for the product and for creativity, rather than the desire to monetize fame, becomes even more important.
Rebeca Barbulescu is definitely one of these designers.
Back when she was 19 years old, she once realised that as she kept changing bags everyday in order to match them to her different outfits, she would often forget to bring something with her – like keys or cards or other stuff. Therefore, she found herself thinking “How cool would it be to have a bag that adapts to your outfit every day, without the need to change it constantly? One bag for every occasion.”
She decided to try and draw what she had in mind on a white piece of paper – very old school – and that’s how Eve by Rebeca was born.
She went to her parents with just an idea and a piece of paper to help her pitch that idea and managed to convince them to invest in her business, lending her the funds that she needed in order to produce a first sample collection and test whether her product would have a market.
Throughout the following years, Rebeca managed to expand her business, building a solid base of loyal customers, and establishing a strategic partnership with a factory that allowed her to remain in control of production and of the processes behind each and every one of her bags.
Although her mother did remain involved in the development of the brand, her parents are no longer her only investors, as Rebeca has managed to find an angel investor thanks to the network of Soho House.
We from the BS4F team decided to interview Rebeca and asked her to tell us a bit more about her fast-growing company:
“The power of the brand lies in customization. Customers who become part of the EVE squad are able to choose their own accessory with their bag in order to make it their own and distinguish themselves from others. And besides, no more keys, cards and other stuff goes missing, because you can just change the look of the bag to go with another outfit the next day!
Drawing inspiration from my great grandmother, an atelier owner and my mother’s sense of style, I had always wanted to start a brand to honor my family’s love for fashion. My vision for EVE was to share this passion for fashion, high quality, and feeling of empowerment with other women. Starting a brand that would create excitement for bags that could be styled according to outfits became the translation of this passion. After all, bags were the first sign of independence and female empowerment and I was inspired to make a contribution to this industry.”
By Giovanna Roma
