Attire Accessories - Seo/Oct 2019 (Issue 78)

PROFILE 91 multicultural influences and feel this attitude is especially important today. Someone once said that the world is like a book and that if you don’t travel, you read only one page. We believe this to be true. How has the product offering changed since you started, and how would you describe your current collection? The model with which we launched was the Mini Quadratino, which we released in five colours. This remains our signature style and one that is available for customisation and personalisation too. However, each season, we introduce a few new styles and now have seven models with many variations, so there’s a continuity of handwriting but a variety in design. For SS20, we’re launching 16 new styles alongside commissioned capsule collections and, of course, the personalisation options across the range. How often do you launch new lines? We launch two main collections a year, although it’s the bespoke pieces and capsule collections that really highlight Lobos’ distinctive selling point. It’s magic. The hand- painting element opens myriad opportunities for us, using the two principal collections as a canvas for any number of unique designs. What trade shows do you attend and why? Since this is our first year, we’re still assessing the market and identifying our positioning. Recently, we’ve been focusing on our Milan showroom and our agents in an effort to work with the right buyers. Our target retail sector is high-end boutiques, as well as department stores, and our preferred method at this stage is to engage with them directly so that we can fully explain the story behind the brand and discuss exclusive arrangements with a retailer. As far as trade shows are concerned, we’ve heard some great things about some of the small, niche shows such as Scoop, so these may be something we explore going forwards. What are your current bestselling designs? Our bestselling design remains the Mini Quadratino bag – our signature design. This season, we’ve had such a positive response to the pastel colours Cielo (mint), Waterfall (baby blue) and Cipria (lilac), which are so uplifting. Our small colourful bags not only look cute, but they’re also surprisingly capacious, which is helpful given the ever- growing size of smartphones today, besides all the other daily essentials women carry. As such, they can be practical for the day and perfect for the night. Next season, we’ll be adding more colours and styles that share the same vision – being simultaneously functional and artistic. When was the website launched, and how does it support the business? We launched the website in August 2018, though it saw a complete overhaul in May 2019. At present, most of our sales come from stores, but we’re seeing the online traffic increase each month, so we envisage this becoming a strong route to market. Of course, the website is the largest shop window we have and is often the first encounter people have of our brand. Having our story and ethos told online enables us to communicate directly with our customers and reach a wider audience. The personalisation facility on there is a new development. We hope it answers most