San Francisco Online Store Highlights Responsible Young Fashion Designers
Sisters Deirdre Holbrook and Heidi Pettit offer their clients a range of services, from public relations to an e-commerce site.
For the first five years in business, the San Francisco–based siblings operated Vie Public Relations & Showroom, specializing in public relations, marketing, celebrity outreach and sales representation for responsible and sustainable lifestyle brands.
This February, they added retail sales to their service repertoire with the launch of the e-tail store Oak & Co. (www.oakandco.com).
The e-commerce site was born to help Vie PR clients get a foot in store doors.
“It’s kind of like a Catch-22 for some of these designers when they go to boutiques, especially major retailers. There has to be something out there that gives them a third-party validation—either they’ve been picked up by fashion publications or celebrities are wearing them, which can be hard for new designers,” Holbrook said.
Vie and Oak & Co. specialize in promoting brands that have a unique point of view when it comes to style, sustainable materials and responsible business practices.
For example, one of their clients, San Francisco–based Mr. Larkin clothing, uses organic and eco-conscious raw materials and all-natural dyes and manufactures locally. Another client, Royal Blush leather handbags, has products treated with vegetable dyes. Amber Marie Bently Jewelry and Blank Verse jewelry are made in Northern California with recycled materials.
“People really connect with the stories behind these designers,” Holbrook said. “It adds to the value of the piece.”
Not all of Holbrook’s fashionable discoveries are large enough to afford their sales and public-relations services. In those cases, Oak & Co. is the perfect retail channel for designers to build their businesses to that level.
“There are some designers whom I love out there, and I would include them on the site just because of their style. But I know they are carried at hundreds of boutiques nationwide, so I don’t see a need to carry them on the website. But for some new designers that might have a harder time getting into those boutiques and retailers, this is a perfect outlet for them,” Holbrook said.—Rhea Cortado
