12 ALEXANDRA HARPER MILLINERY T: +44 (0)20 3633 2281 www.alexandraharpermillinery.com @alexandraharpermillinery Have any styles taken you by surprise with their popularity? I’m always surprised at how popular our huge, flamboyant and crazy pieces are – it seems there’s a real appetite for the unusual and unique and a good body of clients looking for the extraordinary! How do you keep your designs fresh and current? Do you follow trends? I like to think my designs have an element of timelessness – hats are absolutely an investment item so it’s important to offer our clients pieces that can be worn for many years, or even passed down the generations. We do like to keep things fresh and relevant though, so our styles pair classic and elegant silhouettes with more modern elements, trims and colours. What sets you apart from your competitors? Our aesthetic and our craftsmanship. Even our simplest designs are produced with the very best materials, unique details and handfinished techniques – and their overall style and quality are easily identifiable as Alexandra Harper Millinery originals. How are you finding the current climate in the UK? Is it affecting business? Yes absolutely. Despite being out of recession, both local and international political instability has had a grave impact on my, and most other, independent businesses. Election years are notoriously subdued, and there’s certainly an element of consumers ‘hanging tight’ until some sense of stability returns. How do you view the future of independent retail? I think it’s generally good. As consumer awareness of the dangers of fast fashion and big retail grows, so does the awareness of the importance of independent brands and smallscale slow fashion. In the millinery world, there will always be the desire for a unique design, but increasingly, consumers are less willing to spend their money on mass-produced products of inferior quality and perhaps a questionable supply chain. Are you active on social media? How is this important for the business? Of course! In fact, we’re currently working on a huge push for our social media profiles. An ever increasing proportion of our customers and sales are originating from our social channels and they are our number one source of new business. Do you have any advice for new businesses starting out in the world of gifts? Find your niche and point of difference. If your product stands out from the crowd and offers a tangible difference to those of your competitors, you’ll be on the path to success. What can we expect in the future from the company? Just more exceptional designs! And a growing focus on our ready-to-wear, more ‘every day’ offerings – think fedoras, caps and hair accessories.
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