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APONE between reasoned consumption and creativity

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APONE was born in February 2019 under the impetus of two Bordeaux women passionate about ready-to-wear.

The COVID-19 crisis has impacted the entire textile industry. Indeed, the two successive lockdowns have involved the closure of non-essential shops and businesses. Ready-to-wear is one of the so-called “non-essential” businesses. Thus, consumers did not buy clothes in stores. Beyond putting the economy in difficulty, the crisis has highlighted a phenomenon. In particular, consumers wondered if it was not high time to consume better and more sustainably.

In this unstable period they are looking for meaning. They don’t really trust society anymore. The phenomenon does not date from today but if before it was an idea today it is confirmed. For example, they leaned towards the second hand and the Vintedapplication. For the latter, it is a way to give meaning to their purchases while saving money. Fashion is taking the turn of sustainability and ethics. In this sense, the concept of Pauline Buffet and Charlotte Desclaux is part of this idea of better fashion on the sidelines of the concept of current ready-to-wear stores.

Pauline Buffet and Charlotte Desclaux met in this same professional world. In their entrepreneurial adventure they have a common will. In particular, they want to found a company on a human scale against the direction of large ready-to-wear shops. In addition, she wanted to develop the concept of the brand as well as its management. Pauline & Charlotte chose Bordeaux. The metropolis shows itself to be the ideal city. Indeed, it is a city that lives to the rhythm of innovative projects. The creation of new places is important. This is a positive point to embark on the entrepreneurial adventure with APONE

Pauline and Charlotte found that she found herself more in the market offer. From then on, they decided to create their vision of the fashion boutique. It must be user-friendly, unique, sustainable. The ephemeral sales project was born, it responds in particular to new marketing trends.

APONE, a concept with high added value

The concept is mainly intended for a target of 25-50 years. The two entrepreneurs decided to bet on an innovative vision. It’s about exclusivity. From the garment to the means of distribution, the two Bordeaux women have thought of every detail. Regarding the confection, each collection is produced in limited edition. The clothes are made by hand, in a workshop in India that respects the working conditions of Pankaj, the workshop manager and his team. Pauline and Charlotte regularly go there to choose the fabrics, in this country with multiple and timeless inspirations.

The two friends, draw themselves the new models. The collection consists of only about twenty pieces. This limited collection offers flexibility to readjust and retouch if necessary on a part. In order to create a “community” effect, customers register on the APONE website. Following, Pauline & Charlotte contact them by sms to send them the Bordeaux place of sale, which until then remained secret. The collection is then sold in preview one week a month in ephemeral places in Bordeaux. For each event the address is only revealed the day before the sale. The objective of this approach is to maintain a close relationship with customers through exchanges and meetings.

With Pauline and Charlotte we are far from the concept of ready-to-wear shops that maximize the slightest m2. Clothes are no longer on top of one another. Charlotte and Pauline favour an approach that is more selective and qualitative than quantitative. They therefore chose to limit the number of parts manufactured. From this perspective, they describe their business model as “reasoned consumption” since the collections, which nevertheless respond to the well-trodden marketing principle of limited editions in order to create a craze for the brand, are thought to be the opposite of overconsumption and fast-shopping. If APONE does not make custom-made, each piece must give a form of singularity and exclusivity to the clientele who, on the occasion of previews in secret places, can exchange with Pauline and Charlotte, the two makers of the pieces.

The success is on the agenda since in February, APONE attracted 600 people to the capital of Girona. Once, the collection of the month presented at the premiere, the models are then sold on the brand’s website.

apone clothing entrepreneurs
Around APONE clothing, there is a concept

Restructuring ready-to-wear trends

Pauline and Charlotte’s project illustrates changes at work for those who wish to start their ready-to-wear business. The store concepts respond to this inflection of customer needs. Physical stores, to face the competition of e-commerce, must now transform the shopping experience: limited editions, themed collaborations and unique collections allow you to stay at the forefront.

Only based in Bordeaux, APONE wants to become a local repository in the field of “retail experience”. Whether the customer leaves with a purchase or not, the most important thing does not lie there. He must be able to be surprised. His curiosity is aroused when he is told the place and the collection that awaits him. In this sense, the concept develops the desire to return to a new place. At a time of dematerialization, it is necessary to be able to give customers reasons to move in a physical space. Thus, by creating shared experiences, the shops are better able to satisfy the desires of the customers. This is the case of APONE during previews during which Pauline and Charlotte can survey their clients who have come to meet them.

Charlotte and Pauline, two Bordeaux women in their thirties, have chosen local entrepreneurship by combining their mutual passions for fashion. A company on a human scale that is fully in line with the bustle of the Bordeaux metropolis, setting up collaborations between different places and uniting a community of customers. Their job as entrepreneurs reinvents the profession of business leader. Far from management, their job is to create, meet, exchange…

Justine ANGIBAUD

Sources:

APONE press kit

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