3 questions for . . . Uriel Karsenti, founder and ceo of Maison Standards

Some people always seem to be in the right place at the right time. Uriel Karsenti is one of them.

After trying a career as a business lawyer, he changed directions and got experience in fashion. That experience included being a ready-to-wear ceo (Barbara Bui), and working in children’s fashion (Zannier Group) and in luxury accessories (Pierre Hardy). He became an expert on the industry’s luxury market. He just needed one more experience – creating his own label. And he did that in 2013 with Maison Standards, a unisex brand made up of classic pieces and the house’s permanent signature designs, and only sold on the brand’s Internet site.

Why did you decide to found Maison Standards? What was your goal?

Before starting the brand, I had worked in the fashion industry for around 12 years and learned how the profession works. After being part of senior management at Barbara Bui, I managed a wonderful children’s label before going on to Pierre Hardy. These experiences gave me an in-depth understanding of the fashion industry. I made several observations, especially about the industry’s dysfunctions concerning a product’s right price and ethical questions.

I started Maison Standards in spring 2013. One of my goals was to present a new business model directly tied to the consumer, without intermediaries, seasons, or price mark-downs. This model already existed in furnishings and glasses, but we were the first to go into fashion territory with such a radical concept. Our model, which is above all economic, is vertically integrated; we manage all the posts, from design to sales. Only manufacturing isn’t in-house. Our manufacturing partners are trustworthy and we choose them for their expertise in luxury goods. They’re in Portugal, Bulgaria, France, China, and Tunisia. We’ve established relationships with them based on mutual trust, and we visit them three or four times a year. Their factories respect our ethical standards and guidelines for fair working conditions.

Additionally, we don’t manufacture more than we need. That means we practice an “out-of-stock” rather than an “over-stocked” philosophy. We only commit to small runs that let us test fabrics, colours, and designs. Our collections grow every month and are composed of permanent pieces – our standards – but also include some seasonal products and even capsule lines.

What do you think about the evolution of fashion in France and even in Europe?

Maison Standards has understood the era’s zeitgeist. Our clients, like us, are fashion agnostics who are looking for values, ethics, transparency, and honesty. Little by little, certain brands are responding to this demand. They’re assuming responsibility for their factories and becoming truly concerned about working conditions. As far as style, clothing is becoming simpler, fashion is paring down, and clients are looking for clothes that are primarily for wearing. Consumers need products that reassure them. That’s why the core of our collections is made of permanent designs. The fact is that the fashion economy isn’t changing fast enough but the influence of e-commerce is increasingly evident.

Do you think that the fashion system has reached its limits today, and why? What do you think are the new directions to explore?

Each season brands present very large collections with hundreds of references, but just a few products make up most of the sales. Generally, between 10 and 20 products account for over 60 percent of turnover. That creates a lot of expense and waste. That’s why Maison Standards concentrates on key products and carefully controls costs so that clients pay the right price. To do this, we bypass intermediary boutiques to reduce margins, which are very high. On average, we sell our products between 2.5 and 3 times their factory cost, while the industry generally resells a product between 7 and 10 times its cost.

Maison Standards has taken the risk of setting up and promoting a brand exclusively on Internet, and it’s paying off. Consumers have become agnostic. They don’t believe in logos or brands anymore. They’ve had enough of the traditional fashion system with too much price abuse, a too-rapid collection cycle, and hysterical promotions and discounted prices. Fashion has become the ultimate marketing frenzy. So, as a brand, we have an obligation to understand our responsibilities. We have a profound duty to be honest and transparent.