ModCloth‘s brand DNA is so urban that what everyone else calls the HOME section it calls APARTMENT. It’s all part of ModCloths’ rethinking of how fashion works on the ground level. The founders, wife and husband team Susan and Eric Koger, want to “fundamentally change and democratize the fashion industry.” How? By opening it up, creating a community of users to support innovative independent designers. It’s a little like a mediated Etsy, where designers get a chance to find an audience–and members get a chance to wear what they love. ModCloth claims to feature over 700 designers, but that number might be larger by the time you’re done reading this. They’re always on the lookout for fresh talent. In fact, if you’re a budding designer, send your story and a few samples of your work to sourcing@modcloth. It’s that easy.
Of course, taking care of a community of members means vetting the talent–curating so that the designer cream rises to the top. Susan Koger’s history of thrift shop haunting and unrelenting curiosity about what’s next really drives the ModCloth brand. If the community of ModShoppers are in a very stylish ship, she’s its captain. They do all the things the marketing gurus encourage too, firing on all Internet cylinders: working with bloggers to help spread the word, making the customer the numero uno priority, staying in touch, getting personal (hey, they know your size!). And they give the ModShoppers a starring role in their Style Gallery, where the models are the people who buy the clothes!
ModCloth Bloggers
