May 29, 2020

X NIHILO Embraces Slow Fashion and a Seasonless Business Model

Let’s Scrap the Fashion Calendar.

Hi world, it’s about time!

X NIHILO embraces slow fashion and a seasonless business model.

I’ve always had a clear vision of the business model from day one – let's scrap the fashion calendar because I don’t get it. I founded the label in September 2016 with this in mind, boldly quitting my full-time job to pursue X NIHILO.

After gaining intensive qualifications (diploma, bachelor, master's degree) and working in the industry for several years across several different product categories, I came into a period of reviewing the reason and purpose in my line of work. Here I was also reflecting on the decline of the retail environment worldwide. It made me realise that we’ve been forcing ourselves into more traditional approaches and as such, are struggling to flip things around.

Growing up with technology and successful entrepreneurs for parents, I was encouraged to identify problems and speak out when things don't look right. As I gradually developed the ability to make things happen, these parts of my personality definitely complemented one another and I am not afraid to change things if something needs to be done.

Prior to working on X NIHILO, when I had just turned 30 years old, I felt I began to lose passion for fashion. I started to question the purpose of pursuing my dream/ passion if it meant I was contributing to landfill at the expense of society and the environment.

X NIHILO was created from a simple and pure idea to embrace slow fashion and scrap the fashion calendar as it no longer makes sense. We are launching summer clothing when it is still cold. Newly launched summer merchandise is being discounted a month after where the weather is still cold – this just doesn’t make sense and we need to rethink it. We did in 2016 and it has done more good than bad for the business 4 years down the track.

As a designer, I embrace slow fashion by creating timeless pieces with a quality that will last and at a price that is accessible. Based in Australia, we go through complete opposite seasons from most parts of the world and often wonder - so… are we getting the new season earlier than the rest of the world, or are we being sold past season merchandise?

The fashion industry has been hit hard this time with the COVID-19 situation. I think it is time for the industry to realise that we went way too far and the world is suffering from our actions both environmentally and financially.

Being a start-up and e-commerce base business, X NIHILO had the opportunity to embrace and explore a new model – the way we believe, the way we like it, and how it makes sense to us. X NIHILO is leading its own rhythm and take ownership of its calendar. We work on collections that are not bound by seasons, only launching new styles where we are 100% happy with the product and are constantly making improvements.

Working heavily on our brand, which is all about the DNA, the hero products that provided us with the opportunity to refine what we do. Taking time to develop and a lot of love to produce them. Maybe you will wonder – what about the reward? The reward of pursuing this model and brand message has organically created a platform for me to fulfil my passion in design, presenting them, seeing them get sold, and arrived at doors of happy customers around the world who share the same values. Not to mention the opportunities for market beyond home turf. On how things are looking, we are expecting to see more brands, regardless of the business sizes, having the same path to be relevant and make sense of what we do for post-COVID.

Bags of Love,

Jenny