Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Sole Society Has Experience, Backing To Disrupt Women's Fashion, Shoes
A new, Los Angeles startup is looking to disrupt the women's fashion market and women's shoes--and it's not who you think. Sole Society, a startup offering a personalized, high fashion shoes, has quietly been building a brand looking to disrupt the entire model of how women's fashions reach the market--and is one worth watching. The startup has some very impressive credentials, and is headed by Brett Markinson, one of the co-founders of HauteLook, and is backed by Vince Camuto, founder of fashion brand Nine West, Insight Venture Partners, and Nordstrom. According to Markinson, Sole Society spun out of a skunkworks project at HauteLook, which the company had started before its $270M acquisition by Nordstrom. Sole Society announced a line of footwear which will be available at Nordstrom retail locations in September. The site launched in June, and said in September that it was already seeing a $1M per month run rate on revenues. Sole Society is creating a hybrid model which combines a direct-to-consumer brand with links to retailers like Nordstrom, and also has the expertise and experience in both the fashion and Internet industry--and a big success in Hautelook--to make it a formidable competitor in the industry. Financial details of the venture backing of Sole Society have not been announced.