Even though summer 2021 is just officially kicking off in the United States, London-based online luxury retailer Net-A-Porter aka NAP shared their view of the upcoming fall season with press. Led by Fashion Director, Kay Barron, Content Director Alice Casely-Hayford and Senior Fashion Market Editor Libby Page, the dynamic online webinar was also a chance to introduce Lea Cranfield, the designer e-comm’s new Chief Buying and Merchandising Officer. The brand is eager to embrace post Covid-19 dressing commenting that they hoped it was the last time to present their vision in this manner.
Cranfield, who formally helped launched the men’s counterpart site, Mr. Porter, kicked off the webinar defining her overarching approach from a buying and merchandising standpoint, “Discover, Disrupt and Diversity” which promises brand newness, innovative sustainability and different voices to amplify. “Our customer is returning to normality or whatever the new normal is and is seeking a 360-degree experience to combine the commerce and content.” She noted fall, the first post-pandemic season will be an uplifting one.
She promises to bring an expanded newness, noting the growing the offerings from stellar designer collections such as Bottega Veneta, Saint Laurent, and Khaite among others. The e-comm sites Vanguard program which nurtures up and coming brands by buying and mentoring these new businesses has added 22 new labels (60 percent are BIPOC-owned) to include Renaissance, Renaissance; Conner Ives, Interior, Sindiso Khumalo, KHIRY Fine and Lukhanyo Mdingi, the latter three being BIPOC-owned
NAP under Cranfield direction will also expand the range of sizing options both larger and smaller. She also plans to address responsible fashion concerns by expanding the Net Sustain eco-minded options; Ives for example only adds seven pieces to his upcycled collection.
In the home arena new labels include Kelly Wearstler, Bernadette and The Ritual while fashion brands such as JW Anderson and Alanui are adding to home offerings. A new feature, Non-Stop gifts is aimed as gift-giving year-round for any person or occasion.
From a trend standpoint, the e-comm has edged out five key focus areas that will define the season as well as the content aimed at customer engagement. These two aspects of messaging are key to the e-tailer as content replaces window and floor displays to convey key concepts that traditional brick and mortar offers. Expect Fall 2021 NAP offerings to revolve around the following ideas:
1. Onwards with Optimism: Energized collections designed to make wearers fall back in love with fashion and embrace the joy of dressing up. These bold flamboyant and desirable pieces embrace eclectic colorful energy. For example, the modern whimsical looks from Loewe; Look-at-Me dresses from Renaissance, Renaissance and Saint Laurent’s bright colors for tailored jackets (NAP bought seven styles) and miniskirts which scream optimism; Dries Van Noten’s effortless cool with playful fashion sensibility sequin and feathers. The team noticed in February a huge shift from tonal knitwear and loungewear to bright and colorful styles citing a dress sale uptick. Notably a $10,000 Oscar de la Renta dress sold multiples when it hit the site. The color themes spilled over to watches and fine jewelry with options also arriving from Hermes and Cartier. This theme would serve content driven by Casely-Hayford such as the “What would you rather wear” challenge that allowed purchases directly from the social media app. This feature was also enhanced by localized live chats that allow for responses to all regional inquiries instantly. She also cited YouTube programming fashion challenge featuring episodes with Alexa Chung and Jorja Smith.
2. Artisanal Eclecticism: This theme speaks to the idea of homespun and handcrafted knitwear with a bold personality and charm. (Think lots of patchwork and applique treatments. A special shout out was given to The Elder Stateman label for which the store tripled their buy and newcomers Alicia Robinson of AGR and Henry Zankov of Zankov among others. Another label Ioannes created a collection out of old Celine dead stock fabrics. This trend also flowed into homeware. The retailer secured several exclusives from Gabriela Hearst debut collection for Chloe and noted a strong commitment to the collection, especially as part of the Net Sustain collections. Knits from Alaïa—which welcomes its first creative director Pieter Mulier since the founder’s passing—are also on the horizon. The mood will also signal the return of clogs with styles from Khaite and Toteme’s debut collection.
3. Now & Forever: This trend speaks to the brand’s commitment to offering timeless, seasonless pieces to buy-now and wear-forever to include everyday basics in a range of colors. Standouts here include Saint Laurent coats, Valentino wide-collar shirts and outerwear by brands such as Canada Goose. This messaging reinforces the brands watch offerings in collaboration with Watches and Wonders led by new watch editor Charlie Boyd who has increased content output on the Porter site by 200 percent.
4. Over the Top: The team at NAP recommends if buying just one thing this fall, it should be a statement coat. NAP puts their faith behind 70 styles in this category such as Chloe’s new groundbreaking “puffcho” which is puffer and poncho in one, a Loewe coat reminiscent of the shapes made by Colorforms, a JW Anderson trench and Valentino diamond print coat. The puffer is also a strong buy choice to include over 118 styles, a favorite from Khaite managed to make down-filled jackets sexy and Marfa Stance founder Georgia Dent created color-crazy cozy puffers made to work across climates. An important note is the retailers’ intent to continue to sell winter outerwear at full price through February 2022.
5. Everyday Athleisure: This concept is aimed at blending the sweatpants mentality with the idea of actually dressing again, blending both in an elevated style. But also expand the performance wear which did incredibly well in the past year. Call outs were the Marissa tennis line timed for Wimbledon, looks from Matthew Williams at Givenchy, Isabel Marant and a Stella McCartney jacket bought into the hundreds along with Varsity jackets from new Italian brand Half Boy poised to replace the bomber. Collaborations are big within this group such as a Wales Bonner Adidas collaboration and Wardrobe NYC X Carhartt.
