“The world doesn’t need another fashion brand.”
We have heard this many times. Fashion is such a wasteful industry, there is so much overproduction, overconsumption and excess – why add to it? This is also what we said to each other one afternoon in early 2023 while exploring the start of a potential project in fashion, an industry we both have a decade of experience in.
The world doesn’t need another fashion brand.
Unless.
We could solve an excess inventory problem.
This is the premise of our beginnings of starting Banana. The truth is, despite all the environmental and social atrocities in the fashion industry, there is the wonderful side of it – the side that those of us who collected Vogue magazines, burned the midnight oil designing a collection, or squeezed our way into working in the industry know well: Fashion is a unique form of creative expression and a medium of self-actualisation. We would never say – the world doesn’t need another painter or the world doesn’t need another poet. Fashion, like painting or poetry, is just another form of artistic medium. Fashion is not the problem, the industry is. And how can we create something that won’t add to the problem, or could make the it better? Can we?
The other premise of starting Banana is our extensive and complementary experience working in the industry – Luke in fundraising, market disruption strategies, supply chain logistics, finance management, and Gloria in fashion design, sustainability strategy and product management – and we have two key insights: 1) Fashion has an inventory forecast and management problem and 2) Starting and running a fashion brand… just shouldn’t be this hard.
Coming up with a great brand and design concept and having cut-through marketing is hard – this is something that brands of all sizes and stages struggle with. But what stumps a lot of creative entrepreneurs from even getting started or continuing is the need to invest in high-quantity orders, manage production, figure out shipping, duties and logistics, manage cash flow and more. The high financial and skill barrier entry to starting a fashion brand prevents many from starting or continuing, creating a fashion landscape that perhaps is more homogenous than could be. What if we can lower the financial and skill barrier to starting a fashion brand, handle all the “boring” admin and logistics stuff, and let creatives focus on what they are best at doing – creating and marketing?
The idea for Banana gradually formed: A platform that allows individual creatives to easily design and sell fashion by connecting with top-tier producers and selling products via limited-duration pre-order campaigns. Customers will then place their preorders and at the end of a product’s campaign period, if the number of orders has reached the product’s minimum order quantity goal set by the producer behind the product, then the product will go into production. After production, the products will get shipped directly to the end customer from the factory, or via our warehouse. Yes, like Kickstarter, but for fashion products.
This means creators only need to invest in product development and initial sample costs, without the need to order inventory in bulk without even knowing how many they would sell. They also don’t need to manage logistics, set up their website, rent a warehouse space (or take up half their living room), or figure out international shipping rules.
Executing this project means figuring out a lot of moving parts and executing well on the details, but we really can’t think of a better use of our industry experience and knowledge. Combining our complementary skillsets – we are super excited to tackle this challenge.
Ultimately, we wish to make the industry a better place for creators, producers and customers, while always keeping the planet in mind. We are just getting started, our product is in its infant stages, and there is a lot to work on. If you want to work with us, send us a message. If you want to follow us on our journey, you can follow us on Instagram and TikTok. Stay tuned and can’t wait to share Banana with you soon!
Oh and why are we calling Banana Banana?
Throughout time, the Banana has been the star of many historic and conversation-evoking artworks – Andy Warhol’s Velvet Underground album cover, and Maurizio Catalan’s Comedian. For us, the Banana symbolises the transformation of something common and mundane, such as a banana, or an ordinary piece of fabric, into something extraordinary.
Best,
Gloria & Luke
