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Want to know about the newest, latest haute club? Let us introduce you to Club 21, our new favourite online shopping destination. Couturing speak to marketing & communications manager, Lynda Moo and online editor, Patricia Lee about the history of the brand, what’s trending, and how you can be a member of the newest club in town.
Club 21 is a new online shopping destination to Australia, but the company itself has a long and illustrious history – what prompted the move into the Australian market?
Club 21, as a bricks-and-mortar retailer, has been operating in Australia (mainly Sydney and Melbourne) for more than 14 years with retail outlets such as A/X Armani Exchange, Calvin Klein platinum and most recently, Mulberry. Our extensive retail experience in the region and the local market coupled with the extensive market research we conducted on the Australian consumer market made it a natural choice for expansion and growth of our e-commerce business, Club 21 Online. Over these 2 years that our online business has been in operation, our experience and skill-sets with e-commerce have grown and with better merchandising, marketing and understanding of the online consumer, we felt this is the right time to enter a major market like Australia as one of the highest internet and smartphone penetration markets and mature e-commerce purchasing behaviours.
The designers you offer all exude a definite cool factor, how do you go about selecting designers for Club 21?
As the brands we represent have their own DNA, so does Club 21 and the brands we take on become part of our Club 21 family and have to harmonize with our existing brands in a complementary manner. New brands need to fulfill high quality standards in terms of craftsmanship, materials and design authenticity. Our merchandising team work hard to ensure that our range of labels and products appeal to a wide spectrum of psychographical consumers who are ecommerce-savvy and open to fashion-confidence.
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What sets Club 21 apart is the membership programme; how did this come about?
The vision of the Founder has always been to build a lifestyle company that attracted customers who shared the same belief in and desire for feeling good, looking good and living well. This is summed up in our corporate DNA values of Creativity, Passion and Style.
In 1992 the company had grown its community to such a size that, the idea of a membership program seemed the natural next step to formally create a sense of belonging and make the concept of a “Club” a reality. The company felt that such loyalty should and would be recognised and rewarded.
The membership programme also allows the company to engage with its customers on a more personal and privileged basis and provide the members with One-of a Kind experiences, opportunities and special treats.
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Club 21 also has an editorial factor; what trends are you currently loving?
The trends we singled out in this month’s emailers include:
(1) Black and white accessories
This Fall, there have been so many standout monochromes pieces which really add a dramatic edge to an outfit. A few of our favourites on Club 21 online include Stella McCartney’s platform skate shoes and Alexander Wang’s fierce perforated Natalya sling backs for women and Miharayasuhiro’s Nishjin high-tops and McQ Alexander McQueen’s graffiti print Chris lace-up shoes for men
(2) Arty prints
This season, the relationship between fashion and art has been closer than ever. Two of the collaborations we are especially excited to be carrying are Stella McCartney’s pieces featuring Gary Hume’s illustrations (this is the first time she has teamed up with him since her graduation show, so every look is highly collectible) and Mother of Pearl’s latest collection which they worked on with New York artist Richard Saja.
For the new season’s collection, what are your picks for our readers?
Our Editor Patricia Lee’s picks:
Dolce & Gabbana is one of the new labels we introduced online this season, and its Fall collection was so strong that every piece feels like a must-have from the floral and key print dresses for women, to the key and tower print baseball caps and backpacks for men. I would also recommend the sneakers from Common Projects for men, and Maria Black Jewellery and Sacai Luck for women.
Images courtesy of Club 21
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