Emily Oberg on Sporty & Rich's success, super clients (and fans) of fashion and the $$$ they spend
The maker of TikTok's most talked-about fragrance, and some fun things to shop
If you’re new here, this is The Edit — my pick of what to read/shop/listen to which originated on Instagram and was the beginning of my newsletter, Screenshot This.
I also do a special series called Style Strategy about how to evolve and hone your personal style. I so believe that personal style is about the expression of self and is NOT necessarily about buying stuff (though I do love shopping…), so it is more a guide and framework on how to think about your personal style and taste.
Additionally, I also have Screen Tests where I interview interesting people. Hopefully I can introduce you to some new names, not just the usual suspects, and I do Brand Deep-Dives once a month which leverages my skills and experience in content marketing and branding. Which, does influence a lot of what I do and write about for my newsletter overall, actually!
READ: Emily Oberg on how she started Sporty & Rich, How I turned an Instagram page into a $30 Million Dollar Business
Emily Oberg has a lot of… how do I put it, internet discourse about her and her business. Some of it is likely misogynistic and riddled with tall poppy syndrome — she is a hot girl who has founded an even hotter brand — but some of it has pointed out some mismanagement with her business and brand and personal opinions. Credit to her then that she’s addressed some of these mishaps in this article. (Not all, but some!)
Now that I’ve got that out of the way (sort of), Emily Oberg herself started a Substack and wrote about how she started her brand. Because if there’s one thing you have to give it to her, she knows how to brand build. Sporty & Rich, whether it’s your thing or not, has undoubtedly been a brand that is oft imitated with branding and distribution approach.
She candidly reveals her mistakes (some big customer care mishaps) and very boot-strapping first steps with her brand. She notes her youthful innocence and arrogance, but girl has chutzpah to go out and do what so many people talk about doing — and then, see it through. An early job at Complex saw her build a social media following which she was savvy enough to parlay into a very viable business. Not an easy feat. How many people out there do you know with a sizeable social media following but can’t put out a product let alone a whole brand world?
I remember putting two photos up beside my desk when I worked at Complex. One was of Michael Jordan and one was of a Celine (Phoebe era) campaign. To me, the combination of the two photos was the perfect juxtaposition and had the feeling of exactly what I wanted to create— a merger of sport and luxury. I guess this was the birth of Sporty & Rich and the very first unofficial “mood board” for the brand.
READ: The Pampered Life of a Fashion VIC. When you’re a “very important client,” luxury brands will do anything to keep you happy (and spending), by Chantal Fernandez for The Cut
I LOVE stories like this: behind-the-scenes of the fashion industry in a world where not many people usually see, but written with wit and interrogation. And, this is about the super clients of fashion. It’s everything I ever wanted.
Clienteling is a big part of the luxury fashion industry. The top percentage of customers often make up the majority of a brand’s sales: “Today, the top 2 percent of customers generate more than 40 percent of sales for brands like Chanel, Hermès, and Louis Vuitton,” claims this article.
When I worked in fashion media, you’d sometimes come across these VIC (very important clients) at events and the like — more often than not though, they were so much superior than media and influencers (as they deserve to be since they were actually shelling out $$$ for the brand) that they would have their own events. So in the rare occasion you’d see them at an exotic locale for a resort show or a cocktail, I’d just love observing them. They’re genuine super fans of fashion, and it’s really exciting to see someone who loves fashion that much and are willing to put their mouth is.
I remember coming across one who was from Queensland who was such a big client, she actually did the majority of her shopping of this particular French house in New York — she’d pop over in her private jet, stay in her apartment, and shop up a storm. She was invited to the brand’s resort show and her IG posts were of her and her daughter giddily taking photos of the fashion show and their helicopter trips.
I heard of another big Australian client of a jewellery brand who was flown to the international location where the new high jewellery collection was being unveiled. Often they are offered flights and accommodation by the brand — but other times, they would eschew that because they had their own private jets and apartments in the destination (as you do). In this case, the client had brought her best friend as her plus one, who then proceeded to talk her friend (the client) out of all her potential purchases!
This article also covers the growth of the luxury fashion market, and how the prices are just going up, up, up — this is so much more than just about rich women buying stuff, and well worth the read.
READ: The French perfumer behind the internet’s favourite fragrance, by Rachel Syme for the New Yorker
I love New Yorker’s fashion issues! This is an in-depth profile with Francis Kurkdjian (I will always remember how to spell and pronounce his name but will still double check, having worked at MECCA for four years, Australia and New Zealand’s exclusive stockist of the brand). Reading about the origin story of how his Baccarat Rouge 540 scent was invented and how it skyrocketed will never get old — it’s one of the top selling scents at MECCA still even now, I’m sure. It had always done solid business but I remember how suddenly in 2021 it got BIG thanks to TikTok.
The fragrance, nicknamed BR540, is divisive. Some reviewers consider it too pungent, or too pricey, or too ubiquitous at the gym. Others complain that it reminds them of Band-Aids, or the dentist’s office. The scent is both revered and reviled for its powerful sillage—the trail a perfume leaves behind. A few people have claimed to be anosmic, or “noseblind,” to Baccarat’s synthetic components, and thus unable to smell it at all. But many have found its strange, sugar-simulacrum quality to be irresistible. N.B.A. and N.F.L. players wear it, along with Olivia Rodrigo and Kacey Musgraves. It has been referred to in rap songs (Meek Mill: “Smell the venom like Baccarat”); it inspired a plotline in the recent season of “Emily in Paris.” Last year, when a Vogue reporter wore the perfume to a fashion show for Rihanna’s Fenty line, the pop star, a noted scent connoisseur, allegedly paused to tell her, “You smell good.”
The world of scent-making is very romantic, and this article helps in the mystique whilst also spelling out the purely commercial world of scents.
Perfumery is a business as much as it is an art form, Kurkdjian added: “I’m a merchant—a merchant of emotions, but a merchant all the same.”
In it too, it explores the practical tensions of Kurkdjian running his own fragrance house whilst also working for Dior.
The perfumers — which Kurkdjian is one of them — are a rarefied species that are sought out to create concoctions. Often they work with multiple brands, such as Lyn Harris who has her own fragrance house but has also made scents for Trudon and Vyrao, Dominique Ropion who has made scents for Frédéric Malle (some of my favourites like Carnal Flower) as well as Dior, Burberry, Calvin Klein and basically everyone else, or Kurkdjian himself who has made scents like Narciso Rodriguez for Her, Burberry Her, and Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male — as well as Lynx (the deodorant, by Axe).
This is a masterfully written story and very enjoyable to read.
READ: Puck news on Olivia Nuzzi’s rumoured relationship with Robert F Kennedy Jr
I like Puck’s gossipy recount of what’s happened about this weird relationship so far.
SHOP
I had a preview of Faithfull’s new collection at a PR showroom a few months ago and it was SO good. I’ve bought a few pieces from there already which have since sold out but more has dropped. I love this dress, above, but I’ve bought another long fringe dress for summer (so bought the Faithfull fringe top version instead, sized up to fit pregnancy bump). I also bought this top which is made of a stiff material — there’s only two units left!
For my northern hemisphere readers who need to update their knitwear, this & Other Stories split-sleeve knit is so chic and is 100% wool. It reminds me a bit of Maria McManus in the split-sleeve style and I also love how it’s style here.
I’ve noticed this dress around the internet and thought this would be a great pregnancy bump option. I’ve put up the image of the blue one so you can see the detail — it’s also SO stupidly reduced on The Iconic (AU$65?!) — but I probably prefer the black one (reduced, but not as much). For international readers, it’s available at Shopbop. It’s heavily inspired by this Khaite dress.
Still onto pleats and pregnancy-friendly dresses; love this Raquel Diniz dress.
I was asked recently recommend more work-appropriate blouses that aren’t just shirts. I like this one from Toteme a lot (on sale from Camargue, a boutique in Brisbane).
This is the barn coat I bought, from Mango. Fits true to size. I love it!
I’ve been wanting a suede jacket for ages so I’m THRILLED with this one from Hansen & Gretel. Everyone on the internet has been going on about the Massimo Dutti ones but it’s so hard to get that in Australia and this is just as good, if not better. Size down, it fits large.
Wow Mango have duped the Margaux?!
Looking forward to wearing mini dresses post-pregnancy, like this Mango one that’s a take on Prada.
And this fake leather one, also from Mango.
Catalogue styling has gotten to me and I’m intrigued by the J.Crew lace-trimmed slip skirt. PS can tell me how to get my hands on the J.Crew catalogue as someone who doesn’t live in the US?