3 questions for . . . Olivier Dall'arche, co-founder of the fashion brand UNX
Olivier Dall’arche, former innovation director with L’Oréal and co-director of a communications agency, created the UNX brand in September 2016 with his wife Marie, a plastic arts professor and former art gallery employee. The women’s brand will
present its second collection as part of the official Paris Fashion Week
calendar. Artistic director Hédi El Chikh (ex-Alaïa) assures the project’s concept: freedom of movement inspired by martial arts and self-defence disciplines.
What are the brand’s foundations?
Our DNA is tied to a desire to combine the worlds of sport and fashion. We wanted to create a fashion brand inspired by combat sports by integrating that culture’s practices into the everyday world. Our primary objective was to liberate movement through quality ready-to-wear inspired by both tailoring and sportswear. The idea came from the day my wife was the victim of an attack by three people while we were talking on the phone. I felt helpless, but thanks to her krav maga training, she was fortunately able to defend herself. That sparked the idea. We became aware of how important freedom of movement is, but too often clothing constrains us. Then we met Hédi El Chikh, who had worked as a designer for Azzedine Alaïa for several years. He understood exactly what we wanted. We sought to break away from the body builder image associated with krav maga to create a new brand with original pieces that were sophisticated and especially feminine.
What have been the main difficulties and the main support systems since you started?
The difficulties are essentially financial. Finances are the backbone, but we immediately got good support. We met the right people at the right time, especially Persephone Kessanidis, cofounder of the M&K consulting agency and showroom, and she believed in our project right away. She’s our sales representative and got us into the Galeries Lafayette. Caroline Charles helps us develop our brand. She manages our press relations and is a key member of our team.
Additionally, our project’s set up has been nurtured by the conversations we had with Pierre-François Le Louët, president of the Fédération Française du Prêt à Porter Féminin, with the NellyRodi consulting agency’s teams; and with Pascal Monfort, who consults on a variety of subjects.This project has brought many people together and there’s a real team spirit.
This much said, in the beginning I didn’t really know what I was getting involved in. I believed in the brand and we were lucky. We’re a member of the Fédération Française du Prêt à Porter Féminin, which helps us regularly, especially with business management, how-to questions, human resources, and creating strategy. The Fédération has helped us avoid a maximum of errors.
What role does digital technology play in your business strategy?
It’s been central since the beginning. Our entire history was built around digital technology. It was the centre of our development. I admit it looks good on paper, since numerous studies indicate that the future of business will be primarily through e-commerce. That might be true for the big businesses that use these new e-consumer models, but they can use their huge client databases. It’s also true for business that built their business model on customer relationships, like Sézane. But overall, success in e-commerce remains an exception, since there are so many hindrances to buying ready-to-wear online. So for brands that are starting out with limited resources, it’s difficult to perform online. But digital tools are still an excellent way to communicate and become quickly known.
Of course, you have to be present on social networks, but to create a community you have to focus on the quality and not quantity of followers.
For our first season, fall-winter 2016-2017, the collection was sold at Galeries Lafayette and via internet, which will also be the case for spring-summer 2017. We’ve also become part
of the official Paris Fashion Week calendar, and we’ll present the next season’s
collection live on social media. At the same time, we’ve worked on the possibility of letting our clients try on clothes in their homes through a new function on our website. The clothes are delivered the same day, at a time that suits the client, who then decides to keep them or not. Buying clothes online can still put off some consumers, especially when they’re not familiar with the brand. That’s why we’ll offer this service beginning 1 March.