the

Style Files

Brand Restyle: A Brand New Feel

Are you curious to know what inspired my brand restyle?

About nine months ago, I read a fantastic book, "How to Style your Brand", by the super talented Fiona Humberstone. Her book inspired me to dig deep and take a good look at my brand and ask myself some important questions about what I felt the Alexandra de Curtis brand stood for, and what I wanted it to stand for in the long term.

I founded my first fashion business in 2006: leather diaper bags for stylish mums. Come 2010 and a recession later, I pivoted the business into my namesake brand and expanded into leather handbags for all women. From a design point of view I was still finding myself and my personal style. In 2014 I felt like I had tapped into my creative genius and was really pleased with my products. So, after renaming the brand, designing a new collection, all the marketing materials, logo, and website, I felt like I needed a way to bring all of these elements together.

And so 2016 became a year of reflection, I started thinking about what I really wanted for my business and my brand, and whether I was being successful in presenting it to the outside world the way I wanted. When you are so deeply set into your work and the business it can be difficult to see it objectively. This period of reflection spilled into my personal life, as I realised that keeping my business and personal life separate was going to be near impossible if I wanted to inject a dose of my personality into the brand. 

I felt like my brand values and personality weren't being communicated effectively. And as most marketers know, a brand without a distinct personality ends up being a bit blah and getting lost in the noise. The biggest irony in all of this is that I'm using my name for the brand, injecting it with my design ideas and my style aesthetic, but as I'm a very private person, I don't like the idea of sharing too much about myself, so in turn, my brand voice and what I wanted it to stand for weren't aligned - yet.

 
 
 
 
Sold Out

This is by far my biggest challenge for 2017; expressing my vision and ideas through my brand without holding back. My goal for 2017 is to open up to people, ideas, partnerships, and lots of adventures.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the new design. Please feel free to drop me a line!

Ciao for now,

Featured Posts