Reinventing The Fashion Industry Business Model
Before we joined forces to create Lions of Paris, an email thread was shared between each of the team members, asking to contribute what our individual objectives would be for this new fashion brand. Among all the silly suggestions - like world domination and a pair of leggings on every pair of legs - there were clear goals and ambitions we could all agree on.
In its purest form, fashion is a spark for human potential
As fashion industry veterans, we’d seen the beautiful highs and the devastating lows of fashion. Everyone knows that fashion has the power to inspire individuals, like when you wear a garment and feel confident and energetic and go out and take on the world. In its purest form, fashion is a spark for human potential. What everyone doesn’t know is that fashion extracts a terrible cost on the planet, in human and resource and environmental terms. From sweatshops in foreign countries to mass consumption of water and farmland to toxic production chemicals to unrecycled retail inventory, in its darkest form, fashion is a burden on the planet.
We agreed as a team that our mission was to focus on the most beautiful aspects of fashion and eliminate all the lows. Our garments would focus on original artwork - actual paintings by Lions with gallery shows - and original graphic designs, as we wanted our clothing to be radically unique and completely exclusive and as inspirational as art itself. We would use the latest technology to produce our clothing - never carrying any inventory so there would be no waste - and offer only custom-made on-demand items for every single customer. We would only use fabrics and inks that were recyclable, non-toxic and completely biodegradable so that we had zero impact on the planet and the climate. We would only work with suppliers who met all of the above conditions and who also paid all their staff good wages and offered fulfilling work environments, which we found in both the United States and Europe.
The world keeps changing and the fashion industry must change with it. The future of fashion is low-volume, on-demand, custom-made clothing for each individual using new technology and sustainable production methods. Lions of Paris is on the leading-edge of this future, which may mean our costs are a bit higher and our prices a bit higher and our profits a bit lower, but we believe this is all worth it. Not only can we offer our customers unique, exclusive, one-of-a-kind designs, but we also do our part in being a climate neutral, zero impact, zero waste company that is environmentally and ethically responsible. Which means you’re also doing your part by being a Lions customer while looking fabulous at the same time. Thanks!