Celeb Katie Piper collection a hit for fashion label WantThatTrend.com
Last month’s launch of a debut celebrity clothing collection by author, TV presenter and charity campaigner Katie Piper has proven to be a big hit for online fashion label WantThatTrend.com.
The debut spring/summer clothing collection with Piper, who has been making a name for herself in recent years as a style icon, was more than nine months in the making, according to the fashion firm’s founder Victoria Molyneux.
She told TheBusinenssDesk: “Katie fits our demographic perfectly and yes, she really does design all of the outfits herself – in fact some of her initial early designs were a bit revealing! She was really involved in the whole thing and really enjoyed it.”
More Katie Piper collections are in the pipeline too – with a ‘back to work’ collection expected land after the summer, as well as a glitzy Christmas collection.
Victoria, 29, will be speaking to an audience of around 100 business women this Friday May 19 at Mr Coopers restaurant in the Midland Hotel.
In a Q&A session with editor Joanne Birtwistle, she will talk about why she started the business, which has turned over around £15m since it launched two years ago, how she handled its rapid growth and overnight success, and some of the lessons learned along the way.
She’ll also give an insight into how her business relationship with Katy Piper has grown into a true friendship, their plans for future collections together and what the future holds for the company, which has become a social media sensation with more than 1.4 million followers on Facebook.
The debut Spring / Summer ‘17 Katie Piper Collection with Want That Trend.Com consists of 36 pieces in mainly navy and blush tones. Items within the collection include skater, bodycon and maxi dresses with lace & floral details and most of the collection is available in sizes 6-24.
Katie and Victoria’s favourite pieces in the collection include the Oriental Floral Jumpsuit (£39.95), White Crochet Belted Skater (£42.00) and Pink Diamond Bodycon (£44.95).
In keeping with Katie’s philanthropic work, £1 from the sale of each dress is donated to The Katie Piper Foundation, to support work with burns survivors.
The collection’s price point is higher than other outfits on WantThatTrend.com. but Victoria says this is down to the quality of the material used and the fact the collection offers “something different”.
Victoria said: “As a company, we’ve grown quickly in the past 12-months, particularly with the help of our 1.4million social media followers.
“When we were looking at a possible celebrity partnership, Katie was the only and obvious choice for us – our customers love her and so do we! As a busy mother like myself, Katie and I wanted to work together to provide a collection that would hopefully inspire and give confidence to women of all shapes & sizes.”
Victoria set up WantThatTrend.com from her bedroom in April 2015 with an initial investment of just £1,000.
She had the idea for the business when, as a new mum, she noticed that there weren’t many clothes available that hid the body changes and insecurities that come after pregnancy. Realising that other women would also be in a similar position, she decided to take a new direction and combine her love of fashion with her knowledge of social media advertising, to create an online fashion business. Victoria harnessed the potential of using social media as a marketing platform, and combined it with the rise of the ‘selfie’ to photograph her garments.
As the Stockport company celebrates two years in business, it has grown from being a one-woman operation to a team of 33 staff.
Despite the rapid growth, Victoria still finds time to model the company’s clothes, posting selfies of what the dresses look like in ‘real life’ on social media – a strategy that has proven to be a point of difference and a major driver of sales.
