French Connection has this week launched a brand new marketing campaign that celebrates the uncooked, unpolished moments of life, showcasing its newest assortment because the model works to reestablish itself as a key participant in excessive road vogue.
Guided by a contemporary imaginative and prescient for the model, Helen Gallagher, Head of Design at French Connection, is enjoying a pivotal position in serving to to redefine its identification below her artistic experience.
On this unique interview, Gallagher speaks about her position, the model’s new imaginative and prescient, how she incorporates buyer suggestions into the design course of, and what excites her most about the way forward for French Connection.
French Connection was based by Stephen Marks in 1972 with the goal to create design-led, trendy clothes. It gained vital consideration within the Nineteen Nineties when its daring, cheeky advertising campaigns and iconic FCUK slogan caught the general public’s eye.
All through the Nineteen Nineties and early 2000s, the style model expanded quickly, opening shops in key cities and diversifying its product vary to incorporate equipment, footwear, and homeware. It shortly turned synonymous with excessive road vogue and in addition skilled international progress with its wholesale enterprise.
Nonetheless, the enterprise quickly encountered monetary difficulties, which have been additional exacerbated by the pandemic. In 2020, after a prolonged search, French Connection was unable to safe a purchaser and reported an underlying lack of £2.9 million for the yr ending 31 January 2020. In response, the model shifted its focus to a turnaround technique to make sure it was working as effectively and cost-effectively as attainable.
As a part of its ongoing efforts to turnaround the enterprise, French Connection welcomed Helen Gallagher as Head of Design in August 2023. Bringing expertise from fellow vogue model Mint Velvet, the place she served in the identical position from 2018-2023, Gallagher was tasked with driving the model’s artistic route.
“French Connection has all the time been celebrated for its design-led items that supply distinctive high quality at an accessible worth level. Now we have taken that dedication even additional by creating collections that really feel really distinctive on the excessive road, standing other than the mainstream,” Gallagher tells TheIndustry.vogue.
As Head of Design, Gallagher is liable for main the creation of 4 collections annually, presenting them on the catwalk to have interaction consumers and firm administrators. She additionally works alongside her workforce to satisfy goal margins, collaborating with suppliers on pricing, and guaranteeing every bit is completely tailor-made.
“Probably the most rewarding a part of my position has been watching my workforce develop and evolve. Their dedication to pushing boundaries and repeatedly bettering has been inspiring. I consider I am solely as sturdy as my workforce, and so they’re really distinctive,” she displays.
Now ushering in a daring new period, Gallagher helps French Connection to redefine its identification with a contemporary imaginative and prescient, making an attempt to reconnect with its loyal prospects whereas attracting new ones, weaving a story that faucets into each nostalgia and innovation.
“French Connection has all the time had boldness and irreverence constructed into its DNA, and we’re bringing that spirit again to the forefront. Our objective is to remain true to the model’s roots whereas taking dangers and exploring contemporary concepts, guaranteeing that the model feels each timeless and related in at present’s world,” explains Gallagher.
“By respiratory new life into the model, we’re creating a way of pleasure and interesting with the best viewers. We consider within the energy of uniqueness and embrace the concept of standing out, not shying away from being totally different. Our imaginative and prescient is obvious: to ship one thing that feels each contemporary and forward-thinking, whereas staying grounded in what makes French Connection particular.”
This imaginative and prescient is mirrored within the vogue model’s newest assortment. Boasting placing designs, sudden silhouettes, and vibrant color palettes that push boundaries whereas remaining wearable and sensible, Gallagher has targeted on creating items that stand out however can be seamlessly built-in into on a regular basis wardrobes, providing versatility and confidence to the wearer.
“The brand new assortment is a direct reflection of the daring, irreverent spirit that defines French Connection. Now we have infused it with a way of modernity whereas staying grounded within the model’s roots. It’s a assortment that dares to be totally different – unafraid of taking dangers, experimenting with new supplies, and revisiting iconic kinds with a contemporary twist,” highlights Gallagher.
The gathering has been dropped at life by a brand new marketing campaign, which celebrates the “uncooked, unpolished moments of life”. It goals to supply a refreshing departure from the normal bounds of what luxurious means, which regularly focuses on opulence and extra, as an alternative championing relatability, simplicity, and authenticity.
Consistent with this, the marketing campaign options real-life moments – assume taking off your heels and roaming town barefoot after an evening out, that feeling of getting the drinks in, or getting misplaced with out GPS and stumbling throughout an idyllic previous city.
“Our campaigns have been bringing again the irreverent spirit the model is so well-known for. Now we have all the time had one thing to say, and you may really feel it in the newest campaigns,” says Gallagher.
On the coronary heart of French Connection’s imaginative and prescient is the shopper, with inspiration drawn from its international group. “Our prospects are a various group with discerning style, related by their love of design-led, lasting vogue. They’ve a powerful sense of private model and know what fits them. They aren’t afraid to precise their character by means of their clothes and so they stroll the high quality line between modern and ageless completely,” notes Gallagher.
“I work carefully with our purchasing and merchandising groups to realize a deep understanding of our prospects’ buying behaviours. As a wholesale enterprise, we sometimes design many of the season earlier than we have now gross sales information from the earlier one. This implies we’re consistently reviewing and refining our collections, adapting the place needed, and by no means absolutely contemplating something ‘last’.
“It’s an ongoing evolution proper up till we current the gathering. There’s a stability in remaining assured that introducing contemporary, new designs is essential, whereas staying true to our identification. Our position is to showcase what our buyer hasn’t found but, main them in direction of one thing they didn’t even know they wanted.”
To realize this, Gallagher emphasises the importanace of assembly and listening to from the model’s prospects each time attainable, working with its advertising groups to construct a two-way relationship with customers – be it by means of surveys or assembly them at occasions.
Talking extra concerning the design course of and inspiration, Gallagher stated: “We start by specializing in newness, consistently striving to create one thing totally different to previous collections. Classic references play a key position in our preliminary inspiration, guaranteeing we develop really distinctive items from the outset. If one thing excites me, it offers me confidence that it is contemporary and revolutionary.”
Gallagher provides that material and materials selections are additionally basic, utilizing revolutionary textiles that align with the gathering’s imaginative and prescient whereas prioritising performance and wearability.
“I encourage designers to be disruptors, having the time every day to discover new concepts and push boundaries. We’re consistently discussing end-use and flexibility. Designing with the fashionable, multitasking buyer in thoughts, we give attention to creating items that aren’t solely thrilling but additionally sensible, permitting for a number of styling choices. This ensures the gathering just isn’t solely contemporary and revolutionary but additionally purposeful and long-lasting for the shopper. We aren’t quick vogue and intend our items to be in our prospects’ wardrobes for greater than a season,” she provides.
One other key aspect of the design course of is staying attuned to tendencies. Whereas not the only focus of French Connection, Gallagher believes it is vital to concentrate on broader tendencies and the life-style of its prospects. “I’ve seen and mentioned for a while now the decline in ladies sporting clothes, notably within the workplace and at social occasions. Whereas clothes will all the time have a spot, particularly in a model like French Connection, separates and matching co-ords are more and more changing into the go-to for on a regular basis put on in addition to occasion dressing,” she notes.
“I wish to mirror this shift in our collections. The enchantment of shopping for a flexible set, one thing that may be styled in a number of methods, appears to resonate extra with at present’s client than a single gown. Once we do design clothes at French Connection, we ensure that they stand out, providing one thing particular and distinctive that makes them extra compelling and worthy of funding.”
With its newest assortment launching this week, Gallagher emphasises that French Connection is at an thrilling stage, opening new shops, exploring new advertising channels and creating a powerful model proposition.
“As Head of Design, my ambition is to maintain evolving French Connection right into a model that stands out for its originality, high quality, and daring spirit. I wish to lead a workforce that repeatedly pushes artistic limits whereas guaranteeing we ship collections that resonate with our prospects on a deeper degree. My objective is to assist form the model’s future by embracing innovation and authenticity, all whereas sustaining the timelessness and relevance that has all the time been on the coronary heart of French Connection,” Gallagher finishes.
