Farfetch launches 'positively conscious' private label There Was One

Farfetch on Wednesday unveiled its first private label, a brand called There Was One. The womenswear line consists of 69 styles which are now available on its e-commerce platform.

The collection was developed with New Guards Group, the Milan-based contemporary luxury production and distribution holding company group that operates Off-White, Ambush and Palm Angels. Farfetch acquired the group in 2019 for 675 million dollars. Prices for the collection ranges from 985 euros for a double-breasted wool coat to 70 euros for a sleeveless cotton vest and 275 euros for an oversized poplin shirt.

The brand will not have its own website

There Was One will not have its own website, instead the launch was announced on Farfetch’s social media channels where it introduced the brand as a new line of elevated essentials available only on its platform.

Farfetch’s chief brand officer Holli Rogers told BoF the line was informed by consumer shopping data that showed that since the start of the pandemic, customers have been “investing in pieces that would last them possibly a lifetime” and preferring items made with some kind of sustainable element.

Three stylists introduced the new wardrobe on Instagram, which aims to answer the question “what do we really need?” The answer appears to be only the necessary, which stylists Ellie Grace Cumming, Karen Binns and Emilie Kareh show in the campaign by dressing three women of their choice.

‘Positively Conscious’

The collection is highlighted as ‘Planet Conscious’ with each style labelled under the moniker ‘Positively Conscious’. Sustainable qualities include items made from a percentage of organic materials, fabrics and trims certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or upcycling / recycling yarns. While products are not fully broken down by yarn, production method and origins, the manufacturing is done in Italy.

Farfetch has not revealed sales projections of its venture into private label selling, but without wholesaling the margins will be considerable higher than the percentage the platform takes from third party retailers and brands. In August the company said it had more brands in development with New Guards Group, of which There Was One is the first to launch.