Chloé launched its first online boutique today to showcase fall 2016 offerings, announcing the e-commerce venture via email this afternoon.
Chloé is now among a number of heritage brands breaking from brick-and-mortar tradition in order to establish an enhanced digital presence. While Chloé and peers like Oscar de la Renta and Valentino have been wary about selling garments online, opting instead for a personalized in-store experience, the online boutique demonstrates Chloé’s increased focus on digital.
While this is the first time consumers can make purchases directly from the Chloé site, the company first waded into e-commerce with a partnership with Net-A-Porter, which currently sells more than 170 Chloé items. Chloé’s robust online boutique includes “Ready-To-Wear” offerings, bags, shoes, accessories, childrenswear and fragrances directly from the fall 2016 line. Featured items include the “Drew” shoulder bag that retails for $1,990 and the “Aviator” jacket which sells for $3,795.
The site also tells the story behind the aesthetic influence of the line, largely inspired by dancewear.
“Imagining a dancer’s regime – the languid rhythms of a studio warm-up, the ritual of the dressing room, and the graceful performance of the stage – the new Fall 2016 collection sees elements of dancewear elevated and reworked alongside sporty separates and opulent cocktail-wear,” the site states.
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Luca Solca, managing director of global luxury goods at Exane BNP Paribas, told Glossy in April that while digital and e-commerce only comprises 13 percent of luxury purchases, it remains a major opportunity for growth.
“The existing luxury formula isn’t working any more and needs to be addressed,” Solca said. “The biggest value is connecting the physical and the digital — digital should serve as a traffic feed into stores, and increase conversions in store. This creates an entirely new challenge for brands that have excelled only in making the physical store impeccable.”
