Talking Fashion: Velvet discovers a recipe for success

Toni Spencer

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At Velvet we have been pleasantly surprised that even in the current economic climate in which retail sales figures are down, the brand has continued to perform strongly and maintain a high sell-through.

We have found that there are still many women out there who are prepared to pay £50 for a basic T-shirt, and there are also loyal customers who will return time after time to buy basics in seasonal colours.

From a retailer's point of view we have found that UK buyers also particularly like the fact that we deliver five distinct collections a year.

This means that if they always want something fresh in-store, they only have to order three months in advance  and can always buy on-trend pieces and colourways. This
is also key to our success in the UK.

We set up Velvet eight years ago with a specific vision of who the customer was and what she was missing.

We aimed, even in the beginning, for longevity, and focused on quality, style and fit as a means of getting there. We concentrated on speciality stores because we felt they were great, loyal customers that we identified with.

It is a lot of fun to design for the Velvet customer, and we have evolved from the our debut range, which was mostly T-shirts, into other categories such as dresses, novelty tops and jackets, or whatever is right for the moment and for the customer.

We never want to compromise quality for trend, in fact we want our pieces to have a timeless quality so we can wear them season after season. Our customer is the stylish woman who does not need to chase a trend.

Toni Spencer is the founder of LA-based premium casualwear brand Velvet