In this inaugural series, we'll dive into one of our favorite topics—shopping!
Shopping has transformed significantly in recent years. From the rise and fall of e-commerce to the current AI-driven retail innovation wave, the landscape keeps evolving. We'll cover AI's impact later in this series.
But first, let's dedicate this issue to MATCHES. As Vogue Business reports:
MATCHES' collapse—following closely on Farfetch's fire sale to South Korean firm Coupang—marks an industry tipping point: the end of luxury e-commerce's boom era.
(Ah, who doesn't miss Barneys?)
MATCHES, or more widely known as MatchesFashion, was once the premier destination for a curated selection of both established and emerging designers. The company initially flourished, leveraging its luxury fashion curation to become a major e-commerce player.
However, following its £52 million ($66 million) acquisition, Frasers Group deemed this business model unsustainable: “too much change would be required to restructure it, and the continued funding requirements would be far in excess of amounts [. . . considered] viable.” By that point, the company's valuation had nosedived by over 50% from its pre-COVID peak.
Like Nordstrom and Saks, MATCHES had an in-house brand called Raey that once garnered significant attention and acclaim. Raey offered chic, season-less pieces focusing on essential wardrobe staples, including luxurious cashmere, tailored coats, and stylish denim. The brand positioned itself within the "quiet luxury" trend, filling the gap between affordable retailers like Uniqlo and high-end luxury brands such as Loro Piana or The Row.
Despite Raey's appeal, it highlighted a broader issue: "more affordable luxury" wardrobe staple brands in this price range often struggle to gain the recognition they deserve and ultimately, it couldn't save Matches from its demise.
At its peak, Matches was an expansive retailer, showcasing over 650 designer brands. Its Innovators Programme introduced us to many emerging designers, including Ahluwalia, Wales Bonner, and Nensi Dojaka. With Matches now gone, where can we find new and unique fashion?
With Matches now gone, where can we find new and unique fashion? We pulled together a list of places that we personally love to browse (and buy from).
An online luxury fashion retailer known for offering high-end designer clothing, accessories, and beauty products.
A Munich-based luxury online retailer featuring a curated selection of high-end women's fashion, shoes, bags, and accessories.
An online luxury fashion retailer offering designer clothing, accessories, and home decor. Moda Operandi stands out with its "trunkshow" model, allowing customers to pre-order items straight from designers’ runway shows.
A Montreal-based online retailer known for its edgy, diverse selection and its strong focus on emerging designers and unique, high-fashion pieces.
A multi-brand fashion retailer with locations in London, New York, Tokyo, and more. It offers a blend of high fashion, streetwear, and experimental design in a concept store environment, featuring both established and emerging designers.
A London-based fashion retailer known for its curated selection of high-end and contemporary fashion. Browns has a reputation for discovering and nurturing new talent in the fashion industry.
Another London-based retailer with a focus on contemporary and luxury fashion, known for its avant-garde, cutting-edge approach. LN-CC combines fashion with art and music in a unique, immersive retail experience.
A luxury online retailer featuring a curated selection of designer clothing, shoes, and accessories. Modes is known for its sophisticated offerings and focus on high-quality, stylish pieces.
An Italian retailer known for its edgy, boundary-pushing fashion selections and its strong connections to the global streetwear community
Italian luxury fashion retailer with physical stores and an online presence, known for curating high-end designer brands.
American multi-brand fashion retailer offering a mix of established and emerging designer labels for women.
Online fashion retailer based in the US, focusing on trendy clothing, shoes, and accessories for a millennial audience.
Los Angeles-based boutique known for avant-garde and cutting-edge fashion from international designers.
Luxury fashion retailer based in Italy, offering a range of high-end designer brands.
Australian-based online luxury fashion retailer, offering a wide range of international designer brands.
Italian luxury fashion retailer with a strong online presence, known for its curated selection of designer brands and exclusive collaborations.
Global luxury fashion platform connecting customers with a network of boutiques and brands worldwide.
Italian luxury fashion retailer with both physical and online stores, offering a selection of high-end designer brands.
Parisian luxury fashion retailer specializing in designer clothing, accessories, and footwear.
Luxury fashion retailer, though I don't have specific information about this company.
LVMH-owned luxury e-commerce platform, offering a curated selection of designer brands with a focus on Parisian style.
Online luxury fashion retailer under Revolve Group, focusing on high-end designer clothing and accessories.
Lyst is a global fashion search platform that allows users to discover and shop for clothing, shoes, and accessories from a wide range of retailers and brands. Key features include price drop alerts and sale notifications as well as fashion trend reports and insights.
ShopStyle is a shopping search engine and lifestyle platform that focuses on fashion, beauty, and home decor. It offers a popular cash back loyalty program on purchases as well as an influencer collaboration platform, Collective Voice.
ModeSens enhances the shopping experience through price transparency by allowing users to compare prices and find the best deals on fashion items from individual stores online. ModeSens Protection is a browser extension that serves as authenticity verification for trusted stores.
If you enjoyed this article, please subscribe to our newsletter or follow our Substack for more fashion insights.
In this inaugural series, we'll dive into one of our favorite topics—shopping!
Shopping has transformed significantly in recent years. From the rise and fall of e-commerce to the current AI-driven retail innovation wave, the landscape keeps evolving. We'll cover AI's impact later in this series.
But first, let's dedicate this issue to MATCHES. As Vogue Business reports:
MATCHES' collapse—following closely on Farfetch's fire sale to South Korean firm Coupang—marks an industry tipping point: the end of luxury e-commerce's boom era.
(Ah, who doesn't miss Barneys?)
MATCHES, or more widely known as MatchesFashion, was once the premier destination for a curated selection of both established and emerging designers. The company initially flourished, leveraging its luxury fashion curation to become a major e-commerce player.
However, following its £52 million ($66 million) acquisition, Frasers Group deemed this business model unsustainable: “too much change would be required to restructure it, and the continued funding requirements would be far in excess of amounts [. . . considered] viable.” By that point, the company's valuation had nosedived by over 50% from its pre-COVID peak.
Like Nordstrom and Saks, MATCHES had an in-house brand called Raey that once garnered significant attention and acclaim. Raey offered chic, season-less pieces focusing on essential wardrobe staples, including luxurious cashmere, tailored coats, and stylish denim. The brand positioned itself within the "quiet luxury" trend, filling the gap between affordable retailers like Uniqlo and high-end luxury brands such as Loro Piana or The Row.
Despite Raey's appeal, it highlighted a broader issue: "more affordable luxury" wardrobe staple brands in this price range often struggle to gain the recognition they deserve and ultimately, it couldn't save Matches from its demise.
At its peak, Matches was an expansive retailer, showcasing over 650 designer brands. Its Innovators Programme introduced us to many emerging designers, including Ahluwalia, Wales Bonner, and Nensi Dojaka. With Matches now gone, where can we find new and unique fashion?
With Matches now gone, where can we find new and unique fashion? We pulled together a list of places that we personally love to browse (and buy from).
An online luxury fashion retailer known for offering high-end designer clothing, accessories, and beauty products.
A Munich-based luxury online retailer featuring a curated selection of high-end women's fashion, shoes, bags, and accessories.
An online luxury fashion retailer offering designer clothing, accessories, and home decor. Moda Operandi stands out with its "trunkshow" model, allowing customers to pre-order items straight from designers’ runway shows.
A Montreal-based online retailer known for its edgy, diverse selection and its strong focus on emerging designers and unique, high-fashion pieces.
A multi-brand fashion retailer with locations in London, New York, Tokyo, and more. It offers a blend of high fashion, streetwear, and experimental design in a concept store environment, featuring both established and emerging designers.
A London-based fashion retailer known for its curated selection of high-end and contemporary fashion. Browns has a reputation for discovering and nurturing new talent in the fashion industry.
Another London-based retailer with a focus on contemporary and luxury fashion, known for its avant-garde, cutting-edge approach. LN-CC combines fashion with art and music in a unique, immersive retail experience.
A luxury online retailer featuring a curated selection of designer clothing, shoes, and accessories. Modes is known for its sophisticated offerings and focus on high-quality, stylish pieces.
An Italian retailer known for its edgy, boundary-pushing fashion selections and its strong connections to the global streetwear community
Italian luxury fashion retailer with physical stores and an online presence, known for curating high-end designer brands.
American multi-brand fashion retailer offering a mix of established and emerging designer labels for women.
Online fashion retailer based in the US, focusing on trendy clothing, shoes, and accessories for a millennial audience.
Los Angeles-based boutique known for avant-garde and cutting-edge fashion from international designers.
Luxury fashion retailer based in Italy, offering a range of high-end designer brands.
Australian-based online luxury fashion retailer, offering a wide range of international designer brands.
Italian luxury fashion retailer with a strong online presence, known for its curated selection of designer brands and exclusive collaborations.
Global luxury fashion platform connecting customers with a network of boutiques and brands worldwide.
Italian luxury fashion retailer with both physical and online stores, offering a selection of high-end designer brands.
Parisian luxury fashion retailer specializing in designer clothing, accessories, and footwear.
Luxury fashion retailer, though I don't have specific information about this company.
LVMH-owned luxury e-commerce platform, offering a curated selection of designer brands with a focus on Parisian style.
Online luxury fashion retailer under Revolve Group, focusing on high-end designer clothing and accessories.
Lyst is a global fashion search platform that allows users to discover and shop for clothing, shoes, and accessories from a wide range of retailers and brands. Key features include price drop alerts and sale notifications as well as fashion trend reports and insights.
ShopStyle is a shopping search engine and lifestyle platform that focuses on fashion, beauty, and home decor. It offers a popular cash back loyalty program on purchases as well as an influencer collaboration platform, Collective Voice.
ModeSens enhances the shopping experience through price transparency by allowing users to compare prices and find the best deals on fashion items from individual stores online. ModeSens Protection is a browser extension that serves as authenticity verification for trusted stores.
If you enjoyed this article, please subscribe to our newsletter or follow our Substack for more fashion insights.
