Fashion Startup Moda Operandi: Now Opening to the World
Moda Operandi, the closely watched online retail operation from ex-Gilt exec Aslaug Magnusdottir and
Vogue contributing editor Lauren Santo Domingo, is in transition.
Once accessible only via application, the year-old site is opening its doors and bolstering its content offerings in an attempt to draw new shoppers in and keep them there.
Moda Operandi sells clothing “straight off the runway” through a series of three-day online trunk shows. Instead of waiting for items to appear in stores half a year later, shoppers are able to place pre-orders with a 50% deposit.
Designers then produce those orders and ship them to Moda Operandi as soon as they are available — about six weeks for jewelry, and four to five months for ready-to-wear — which Moda packages and sends to customers.
For many, the site’s appeal lies in the access it gives them to the more artistic or extravagant items in a designer’s collection — the ones that might not make it to their local Neiman Marcus because they lack mainstream commercial appeal. Ordering through Moda Operandi ensures shoppers will get their hands on items they saw in the shows.
The company made a series of high-profile hires at the end of 2011, funded by the
$10 million Series B round it raised in June. Among them is Roopal Patel, former women’s accessories editor at Neiman Marcus; Taylor Tomasi Hill, the much-photographed former style and accessories director of
Marie Claire; and Ashley Bryan, previous head of U.S. marketing for Net-a-Porter.
mashable.com