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Although Fashion Nova began as a small shop in Los Angeles, the brand’s remarkable growth has been largely attributed to their celebrity endorsements. Fashion Nova has over 15 million followers across each of their Instagram accounts and reaches out to millions more through their network of over 3,000 influencers. Their influencer marketing and celebrity endorsement strategies are an essential component of their business model, and they have worked wonders to keep the brand on-top of their fast fashion competitors.
The Influence of Influencer Marketing
Who created fashion nova
Richard Saghian, Fashion Nova’s founder and CEO, started the company in 2006. The brand began with a single retail store at the Panorama Mall in Panorama City, California. Seven years later, Saghian started FashionNova.com and shifted his brand towards online commerce.
When brainstorming ways to promote the store’s new website, Saghian noticed that his customers were already posting pictures of themselves wearing Fashion Nova clothes and tagging the store’s Instagram account. With the infrastructure for influencer marketing already established, Saghian saw this as an advertising opportunity. Saghian offered customers free products in exchange for promoting the launch of FashionNova.com.
Having the infrastructure for influencer marketing proved widely effective in launching FashionNova.com. All products launched on the website during their opening weekend sold out in a matter of days.. Today, we see that building digital outreach into the brand’s marketing ensures Fashion Nova’s advertisement longevity. Fashion Nova consistently tops every year-end list as one of the most searched Women’s fashion brands, topping luxury competitors such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci.
Fashion Nova remains a top choice for women’s fast-fashion through their influencer marketing. Since FashionNova.com’s launch in 2013, Saghian has expanded his network of influencers to great lengths. A network of between 3,000 and 5,000 influencers ensures that Fashion Nova will always be exposed to new consumers via social media. In addition to their influencers, Fashion Nova also demonstrates a uniquely high level of engagement with their customers.
For example, the brand’s office posts on each Fashion Nova Instagram account every 30 minutes. While some of these posts are reshares from their influencer network, much of their content is created in-house from models trying on newly released styles. Fashion Nova also prioritizes commenting on every post they are tagged in with hashtags such as #NovaBabes and #NovaStars. This positive reinforcement encourages brand loyalty and customer satisfaction.
Fashion Nova x Cardi B
Perhaps the most popular example of the power Instagram advertising is Cardi B. Cardi B broke records in 2017 with her chart-topping “Bodak Yellow” and became a force to be reckoned with. Cardi, who previously appeared on VH1’s Love and Hip Hop: New York, is unapologetically unfiltered. She became a household name not just through her music, but through her ability to speak her mind with a blunt, yet relatable sense of humor.
Having Cardi B as a major brand partner gives Fashion Nova an authentic edge. Her Fashion Nova endorsements come off spirited and without force. For example, Cardi recently shared an Instagram post to her 68.3 million followers of her in a bathing suit, sporting a pair of Fashion Nova 4.5-inch stiletto heel sandals, next to a Louis Vuitton bag. She captioned the post “mix that Louis wit Fashionnova [sic].”
She gives this promotion in a voice that is clearly her own. Plus, the post doesn’t differ too much in structure from the personal photos she shares on her own time. Cardi’s followers receive the impression that Fashion Nova is more than just a brand partnership for her, it is a preferred brand to sport luxury for less.
Though he does not share the total amount of revenue generated, Richard Saghian has said that Fashion Nova grew their revenue by 600% in 2017. Cardi, who once claimed she was offered $20,000 a month to wear and post about the label, continues to make a profound impact on Fashion Nova’s bottom line with two collections introduced in November 2018 and May 2019. Both Cardi B x Fashion Nova collections were introduced at star-studded launch parties with attendees such as Lil Nas X, Khloe Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Christina Millian, Iggy Azalea, and Amber Rose. This has allowed each Cardi B collection in their own entity to generate Instagram buzz, which in turn benefits the brand as a whole.
Fashion Nova x Megan thee Stallion
Fashion Nova takes a similar approach from their partnership with Cardi B to their collaboration with Megan thee Stallion. The Houston rapper recently announced a denim collaboration with Fashion Nova for her fellow “stallions” – tall women with curves and long legs. She announced the line with an Instagram post, captioned “when the world goes back to normal, I’m working with them to make longer jeans for us tall girls.”
Fashion Nova is especially well-known for their denim. Their affordable jeans retail for around $35 and are marketed to fit women of all shapes and sizes. The denim hugs and hips the waist in a stretch that Cardi B has praised as the only type of denim pant that can appropriately fit her body. This turns former endorsers into competitors; Khloe Kardashian and LaLa Anthony, for example, both created their own stretch denim marketed towards women with curves. This speaks to Fashion Nova as an industry leader in providing affordable clothing for women of all shapes and shapes, which in return promotes body diversity in fashion.
There was immediate buzz in the post’s comments. Megan, who is 5’10, replied to an inquiry about her denim size saying that she’s a size 11 in jeans, but “it’s a real gamble with the length.” Her fans showed love and praise with comments like “us tall girls appreciate you” and “finally someone gets the struggle. Another fan wrote “Please make a line for y’all girls. 5’10 and up. Nobody ever thinks about us,” one woman wrote, while another wrote, “THANK YOU GOD!!! Finding long jeans is so hard.” It’s safe to say that not only will Fashion Nova benefit from having an influencer partner that is as relatable as Megan, but from their continued commitment to accommodating their customer’s body diversity.