Attire Accessories - May/Jun 2018 (Issue 70)

ATTIRE 89 PROFILE Vixen Millinery +44 (0)1725 512 983 vixenhats.co.uk We have refined our collections year-on- year. At the end of each season we analyse the feedback from our shops about what have been the most popular shapes and styles for that season. We are therefore able to react to the market forces and cater for their demands, and come back with ever more popular collections each year.There are around four sub-categories within our collections, ranging from small headpieces to large showpieces, so every type of event is catered for. How often do you launch new lines and what are your best-selling designs? Tell me about your recent campaigns. We create a summer occasionwear line and a winter daywear line each year.The brand is probably best known for the summer occasion pieces; one of the best sellers would have to be our Zelkora disc shape. The latest reincarnation of this design featured silk sinamay bows and handmade orchid flowers.The winter line is quite new and consists of casual soft hats, such as wool felt trilbies, caps and berets.The winter line started off smaller but has now really grown in popularity. What trade shows do you attend and which ones work best for you? We visit Moda to show our summer collection and hire a private showroom in London for winter. Moda has been really good, as we can see the lion-share of our accounts in one place. However, there’s always the inevitable road trips after the show, to see the shops that missed us! What have been the key milestones in the business? I think getting to 100 active accounts for Vixen has been a milestone.This really reflects the popularity of the brand, and highlights the potential for further growth. Seeing so many Vixen hats at Ascot is also satisfying, and affirms that we’re doing something right. What are your future plans for the business? We plan to open more international accounts in the US and Australia, and also keep on developing our A/W daywear collection.There is a large market for soft pull-on hats, and we have seen this steady demand increase. It’s a tricky market, as it’s quite saturated, but we feel we have come up with designs that are distinctive enough to stand out, yet also really commercial in price. A