Megan and Michelle, cofounders of Monrow, Photo Credit: Gina Clyne Photography
Known for its ultra-soft fabrics and quality designs, celebrity favorite luxe leisure brand Monrow already had a tried and true reputation in the fashion industry, before work from home attire became the new normal this past March.
Launched in 2007 and based in Los Angeles, Monrow captures the essence of elevated loungewear with quality, easy pieces that fit into anyones wardrobe.The brand has also successfully captured and captivated the attention of celebrity fans, such as Oprah, MichelleObama, Reese Witherspoon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Beyonce, Kate Moss, and Kris and Kylie Jenner. Today, Monrow can be found in over 500 boutiques and department stores, including Shopbop, Revolve, Saks, and Bloomingdales, in addition to its robust direct-to-consumer site.
Founded by two former students of Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, who later forged a friendship and became cofounders, Michelle Wenke and Megan George identified the opportunity in the market for neutral toned luxe leisure wear. At the time circa mid-2000s this was the era known for the flashy-hued, bedazzled sweatsuits essentially, the direct opposite of what later became Monrow.
As Wenke explains, We saw a void in the market for a low-key, sophisticated sweatsuit. Everything at the time was very loud and bubble gummy.
Celebrating close to 15 years of effortless style, Monrow has remained a relevant and adaptable lifestyle brand. Monrow is inspired by the finest fabrics, including its trademark Supersoft fabric, to create stylish staples that complement every womans wardrobe. Part of its ethos is that Monrow creates the clothes that end up being worn all day and every day.
And what does every day look like in a pandemic? Cozy stay-at-home threads.
Everyone was staying home and all eyes and spending shifted to comfy, nice, loungewear and thats what we do, Wenke shares. Our understanding of manufacturing is so deep, Megan and I were able topivot fast and keep up with the demand.
This meant that instead of adding categories and chasing dollars, they streamlined their product line, invested heavily in core fabrics, narrowed down their options, and got rid of some bells and whistles so they could focus on their essentials.
Monrow loungewear set, Photo Credit: Dan Busta 2018
This past year has seen consumers searching for fashion-forward comfort, while the world continues to flow in and out of lockdowns amid a new wave of coronavirus cases. Thats where Monrows product offering comes in, as its known for going beyond regular athleisure: comfortable hoodies nice enough for work-related Zoom meetings and FaceTime gatherings, as well as sweatpants and stylish coordinated sets that serve as the perfect look for at-home Instagram mirror selfies and TikTok videos.
Our core basics and fabric essentials are the essence of our brand, George shares. Theyve been with us since the beginning and they're still going strong today. Its comfort, its casual, its timeless, and its quality. Now that we are able to boil everything down to our essential nature, our product is better than ever. We are limited to offering only the best of what we have. Its really refreshing and as a designer, it's inspiring. Before COVID it was grueling trying to keep up and appeal to everyone. Now we can just focus on the stuff we really love, and are proud of.
Another important note is that George and Wenke self-funded the brand, which has already successfully withstood the ensuing economic crisis of the 2008 Recession.
Monrow has proven its longevity in the fashion industry by leaning into and doubling down on quality and fit something that comes as a result of the cofounders classic fashion design training.
I think it comes down to quality and fit. So much of fashion is about now, new, more, cheaper, faster, George asserts. That can work for the short-term, but for the long-term you need ingredients that are authentic and hold up. Not only when it comes to style, but literally hold up with time, washing and wearing. Fit is a major factor with Monrow. It always has been. When we started, we would fit a T-shirt neckline 10 times until we were satisfied. These Ts are still in the line today.
Wenke adds: It really ensures our fit, quality and fabric are always up to our standards. Something might be off about a garment and we can figure out why right away, thanks to our level of knowledge about design. You have to understand something very well in order to create and manufacture a product very well. When we embark on issues, which you always do in business, we know how to solve it relatively quickly and well.
Amazingly, George and Wenke started the brand in Wenkes kitchen, where they put their technical, hands-on training to use. After graduating, the former classmates had gone their separate ways in the fashion world and their separate backgrounds have served them as entrepreneurs today.
Wenke worked as a wardrobe stylist for the NBC show Three Wishes, the reality phenomenon American Idol, and assisted celebrity stylist Jessica Paster. George had her own label, called George, which she sold to Fred Segal (a.k.a. Ron Herman) on Melrose.
When they came up with the idea for Monrow in 2006, they proceeded by cutting their first sample collection by hand in Wenkes kitchen of her Santa Monica apartment, on her grandmothers old dining room table.
We had one lady we worked with to develop patterns or we did them ourselves, as we are formally trained to do patterns, cut, sew, and drape. Then we found a dye house in L.A. and dyed our samples, George shares.
Once they had their first sample line together, they drove to Ron Herman to present it. They thought it would be an easy sell since the store carried Georges first line. He passed. They were devastated. This was 2007 so if you were in Fred Segal which was known as Ron Herman at the time you could pretty much sell to anyone, George explains.
So they drove to Malibu to try their luck at the retailer, Planet Blue. George continues: We had no appointment, but Michelle knew who the buyer was so we decided to stop by and see if she would take a look. She let us hang up our collection and she bought! Her order was for $1200.
With that pivotal yes, the cofounders decided to bank on the momentum and found a showroom to launch Monrow for them.
Once we had representation, the orders started to trickle in. Eventually Ron Herman bought us by the way, and we became one of its best lines! It was a good first lesson for us. There is no easy way into fashion and certainly no guarantees. Persistence is the only formula for success, George continues.
More than a decade and several new product categories later Monrow is proof that believing in your product and doubling down on your expertise can help when it comes to the long game.
Business and fashion are very alive and fast-paced so keep going, and push through, Wenke asserts. Flexibility is essential because you always have to pivot when you might not expect it. I always tell my team which is now 30-people strong that our job is to solve problems. If we didnt have problems with the business on a day to day, we wouldnt have jobs.
Monrow recently decided to expand its kids category by launching its first ever full collection for kids (in previous years, they only had a couple of childrens pieces here and there). Monrow Mini consists of new sweatshirts and sweatpants in a variety of hues and prints, and are made from the brands famousSupersoftfabric.
It was such an easy and natural transition. Especially now with the Mommy and me culture on social media, it seemed like the perfect time, George explains.
As for finding success as a self-funded brand?
To make a lasting brand you need to be willing to be poor. Money cant be your motivation in starting a company, George shares. Creating your brand needs to be the only thing that matters for the first few years. In our first year of business we gave ourselves nothing. The second year, we paid ourselves $1000 per month. We made decisions that were best for Monrows survival, not our own. Also, being flexible and taking risks is super important for any company. If you try to play it safe all the time you wont grow.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Monrow
Wenke adds: No shortcuts you have to be involved in all aspects of your business and understand it. If you dont, learn it. You can always hire people that are stronger than you, but you must understand what they are doing enough to identify when something is not working.Dont be afraid to ask for anything even if it seems out of the realm of the rules its always free to ask.
And now that fashion forward comfort has emerged as the uniform of choice for the housebound as well as the rise of versatile clothing that can be worn both inside and outside the pivot for Wenke and George meant honing in on their brands ethos.
We really made sure that whatever we are putting out there had to feel 150% Monrow, Wenke explains. We dropped anything that felt off or didnt feel like it was Monrow to the core. We were reminded, once again, we need to make sure we embrace and really own what the Monrow brand is, and what people keep coming back to us for.
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How Celebrity-Favorite Loungewear Brand Monrow Survived The 2008 Recession And Continues To Thrive, More Than A Decade In Business - Forbes