How Self-Portrait Grew a Global Business Selling Party Dresses

LONDON – Many Central Saint Martins grads observe a well-recognized formulation: launching namesake luxurious labels that are likely to prioritise runway creativity and buzz over sensible considerations or broad shopper enchantment. Most wrestle to scale.

Not Han Chong. The Malaysia-born entrepreneur’s close to 10-year-old model, Self-Portrait, doesn’t present at vogue week, and he by no means wished to call the model after himself. As an alternative he wished a reputation that will replicate what the model was about: his clients.

Slightly than a monument to his personal creativity, Self-Portrait is concentrated on outfitting a broad spectrum of ladies with elevated social gathering garments priced inside attain. Clients who first see his designs worn by stars starting from Paris Hilton to Kate Middleton could also be shocked to see these A-listers’ clothes retailing for round £350: a step up from most mall and high-street choices, however a fraction of what prime luxurious names would cost.

Whereas eschewing the high-fashion path well-trodden by alumni of the trade’s most prestigious design programme, Chong has constructed one of the crucial commercially profitable ready-to-wear companies born out of London lately with out taking over exterior buyers.

For the reason that pandemic, Self-Portrait gross sales have surged because of a profitable China enlargement adopted by booming demand for occasionwear within the West as lockdowns lifted: firm revenues have doubled every year since 2020, Chong stated. A 2020 three way partnership with a Chinese language companion noticed the model open greater than 40 shops in the important thing vogue market, and, in November, it opened a brand new flagship in London’s Chelsea neighbourhood, its second retailer within the metropolis. The model declined to reveal its total financials, but public filings present the British enterprise alone hit £28.5 million ($34.2 million) in 2021.

By rigorously balancing creativity with industrial savvy and enterprise rigor, Self-Portrait has change into the primary port of name for myriad girls that wish to look good and really feel good once they costume up — whether or not that be for a marriage, a birthday or a enterprise assembly. The key, Chong says, lies in designing garments he is aware of his buyer desires.

“It’s not in regards to the ego of what I believe my clients [should] put on. It’s extra like, what’s my buyer drawn to? What are their habits? What’s their life-style?” the 44 year-old entrepreneur stated. “It’s not saying, ‘Okay, my clients want to decorate like a Self-Portrait woman.’”

With one success story beneath his belt, Chong has ambitions to show Self-Portrait right into a vogue group, with a long-term intention to slowly convey different synergistic labels into his fold. In December 2021, he established SP Group, buying British label Roland Mouret out of administration. He and his staff at the moment are working to revive the model.

Chong had a modest upbringing in Penang, an island off Malaysia’s northwestern coast, later transferring to London in his early 20s to review vogue. He labored part-time jobs to place himself via faculty earlier than scoring a place at then-hot excessive road retailer Topshop after commencement.

After an preliminary vogue enterprise ended over inventive variations along with his enterprise companion, Chong based Self-Portrait in 2013 utilizing £160,000 of his personal financial savings — eschewing buyers so he would have the ability to name the photographs.

Chong noticed a niche available in the market for a brand new form of model within the up to date area: whereas labels like Idea and Rag & Bone had been mixing vogue cool-factor with extra accessible value factors, most of these manufacturers have been centered on informal daywear. Chong took intention on the occasionwear area, discovering success with an aesthetic that was inventive and elevated sufficient to draw the likes of luxurious e-tailers and prime department shops like Selfridges, whereas nonetheless being relatable and inexpensive, thus interesting to a broad viewers.

Self-Portrait introduced collectively his experiences in school and within the office. At Central Saint Martins, Chong discovered about detailing, match, materials and craftsmanship — in addition to the ability of image-making. At Topshop he discovered the significance of economic savvy and designing with the client in thoughts, utilizing knowledge to higher perceive their wishes and leveraging world provide chains to attain the best model for a aggressive value (the model’s principal manufacturing hub is China).

“Han has carried out a superb job at growing one of many go-to manufacturers for most ladies for a lot of events in her calendar,” stated Liane Wiggins, head of womenswear at Matchesfashion, which started stocking the label in 2015. She says she was drawn to the model’s elevated, detail-oriented aesthetic, and “excessive integrity by way of high quality and match.”

“I vividly bear in mind assembly Han in our places of work in London and being so impressed with how developed the small assortment was on the time: the laces, fabrications and workmanship for the value level was like one thing I had not seen in my profession,” Wiggins stated. Since launching the model, Matchesfashion has multiplied its purchase by an element of at the very least 15, she stated.

With no exterior funding to fall again on, Chong was centered on profitability from the beginning. This solely spurred on his customer-centric focus.

“I didn’t have the luxurious of [creating] one thing too experimental or too avant garde; I wanted to verify I used to be in a position to fund the model,” he stated. “As an alternative of what I wished to design, we consider what makes her really feel good, what she desires.”

After establishing the label with key wholesale stockists like Selfridges and Internet-a-Porter, Chong pivoted to bolstering his direct-to-consumer gross sales, opening a retailer in London’s Mayfair neighbourhood in 2018 and investing in e-commerce. The technique, Chong stated, has been to make use of the model’s direct channels to launch new classes like knitwear and outerwear, after which leverage gross sales knowledge to propel wholesale companions to broaden their buys past the model’s signature social gathering clothes. In the present day, direct channels drive 65 % of gross sales.

“Direct-to-consumer permits you to open up extra classes, and you’ve got extra energy with the wholesale companion,” he stated. “Now a variety of my wholesale companions purchase into all various kinds of classes, as a result of we’ve got the info to assist [the success].”

In 2020, Self-Portrait expanded into China by way of a three way partnership with native companion Ellassay, and has since opened 40 shops throughout the mainland, with plans to open an extra 80 places over the following two years. China is now the model’s largest market, accounting for 37 % of gross sales final 12 months. Self-Portrait additionally has shops in Taiwan, Bangkok and Hong Kong.

Throughout Self-Portrait’s worldwide enlargement, Chong’s life experiences have knowledgeable his method. His Asian upbringing — worlds away from the cosmopolitan streets of London the place he’s now primarily based — meant he was aware of the cultural nuances between totally different markets, he stated, and made certain to broaden his assortment to incorporate culturally related designs for patrons in different areas: the model integrated extra modest types to cater to Center Jap clients, and smaller suits to cater to the Asian market.

Self-Portrait’s broad enchantment is manifest in its broad vary of shoppers, with superstar devotees starting from mannequin Emily Ratajkowski to former First Girl Michelle Obama. Go to a metropolis or countryside wedding ceremony, and chances are high somebody will probably be nonetheless be carrying the model’s guipure Azalea costume, which has been a hero merchandise since its debut when the model first launched.

The flexibility of the model is fairly distinctive, stated superstar stylist Emma Lane, who has recurrently turned to Self-Portrait all through her profession.

“It’s such a sublime model I put it on numerous totally different shoppers for many totally different conditions,” she stated. “The silhouettes that they create work rather well on numerous totally different physique shapes.”

Chong’s method has pushed earnings in addition to reputation. He says the corporate reached profitability inside six months of launch, and in the present day maintains an EBITDA margin between 25 and 32 %.

As Self-Portrait grows up, Chong is trying to the longer term — with ambitions to finally construct a portfolio of manufacturers beneath the identify SP Assortment. The concept is to make use of the expertise and infrastructure he and his staff have constructed over time to construct different manufacturers he believes in, Chong says.

Since buying top-end London label Roland Mouret out of administration for an undisclosed sum in 2021, he has been working intently with the model’s founder to relaunch the corporate, debuting a refreshed visible id, together with a brand new brand, final October.

Roland Mouret felt like a great complement to Self-Portrait, Chong stated, as an occasionwear model which, at its peak, had broad ranging enchantment and whose famend “Galaxy Gown” was recognized for making girls really feel assured. It additionally gives a chance to focus on a barely older buyer section, Chong stated.

“I wished to focus on that viewers, as a result of a variety of vogue manufacturers are very centered on Gen-Z, and nobody designs for that [more mature] girl,” he stated. “I really feel like there’s a variety of potential for that model to change into a really important share of the enterprise.”

SP Group plans to revive Roland Mouret by constructing on its signature aesthetic whereas overhauling its enterprise mannequin, leverging Self-Portrait’s infrastructure and manufacturing community. The imaginative and prescient is for a direct-to-consumer pushed enterprise complemented by strategic wholesale partnerships, providing basic Mouret silhouettes at a barely increased value level than Self Portrait’s providing.

Chong hopes the following era of British designers will problem the notion that staging boundary-breaking catwalk reveals or angling for jobs at prime couture homes is the one path to success. In 2018, he based a scholarship programme at Central Saint Martins that funds one scholar per 12 months via their MA diploma, whereas offering them with mentorship and assist from Self-Portrait.

“There are a variety of alternative ways to generate [a] enterprise, not only one singular route,” he stated.

Editor’s Notice: This text was up to date on Feb. 8, 2023, to make clear the Self-Portrait Central Saint Martins scholarship programme funds one scholar per 12 months via their MA diploma.