Finally, after two and a half years, a physical edition of Modefabriek is taking place this weekend. There are many new names among the exhibitors. FashionUnited talks to five newcomers: the men’s labels Zuitable and Neycko and the women’s labels Daniele Fiesoli, Ma Ra Mi and Hampton Bays.
Zuitable: “We are convenient, flexible and definitely not just for Generation Z”
The German brand Zuitable entered the market in January 2021 and specializes in jersey suits. Founder Christian Filusch has been producing and developing private label collections for German and Swiss retailers for years. When the market came to a standstill due to the corona pandemic, he decided to revise his business model. “We put all our energy into the Zuitable collection,” Filusch wrote to FashionUnited. “Then we showed it to a few customers through a series of agents in the middle of lockdown in January and February 2021. And with overwhelming Success, because we immediately found 150 new customers.”
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Zuitable focuses on the modern men’s clothing market and specializes in jackets, pants, suits and coats. “Simply fitting, that’s our credo,” said Filusch. “Our collection consists of jersey fabrics. We offer jackets and pants that can be worn as a whole or combined with other pieces to create a new type of suit.
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“We’re convenient, flexible and certainly not just a Gen Z brand.”
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“Our collection is currently sold in boutiques in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Austria. We serve around four hundred customers and have now also started selling the collection to larger retailers.”
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Zuitable is in the middle segment with retail prices ranging from 99 to 119 euros for trousers and 199 to 229 euros for a jacket.
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“Our next goal is to open up the Scandinavian market. We are now looking for the right agency for this. In addition, the collection will be expanded to include shirts, T-shirts and knitwear next season. We also recently launched our first shoe, which was very well received: a leather sneaker in three variants.”
Daniele Fiesoli: ‘knitwear collection with a touch of glamour’
The Italian men’s brand Daniele Fiesoli has been around since 2000 and is the Woolgroup Company’s most exclusive line. Since 2019 there is also a women’s collection that is presented at Modefabriek. “Having received requests for a women’s line from our distribution network for many seasons, I felt the time was right,” Daniele Fiesoli wrote to FashionUnited. “The market needed a good women’s knitwear collection and it did Company was willing to offer them”.
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The women’s collection by Daniele Fiesoli is characterized by simple pieces, elegant details and timeless style. “We design the collection with the intention of glorifying the inner beauty and personality of every woman,” says Fiesoli. “Volume silhouettes, quality and an in-depth knowledge of knitwear are central to this. The collection is never flashy, but has a whiff of glamour”.
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“Our collection is for a sophisticated yet down-to-earth woman who knows how to balance inside and outside.”
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“We are focused on retail and not online sales. We want to improve our distribution through beautiful boutiques around the world and give them all the support they need.”
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Daniele Fiesoli is an upper middle segment brand. “Our goal is to be the entry-level brand in the upper market segment”.
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“Our main goal now is to complete the build-up of European sales. We still have a lot to do; the collection is still young and not very well known. Making long-term plans is therefore difficult at the moment. We need at least two more seasons to plan the next strategic steps.”
Neycko: ‘A comfortable outfit for every man with travel fabric’
Entrepreneur Rick Ros was introduced to a fabric known in the Netherlands as ‘travel fabric’ through his father, who is a tailor and designer. A material that is mainly used for women’s clothing. “For men, I saw the potential to launch a pair of pants that felt like track pants but that you could also wear to a wedding paired with a clean shirt,” he told FashionUnited over the phone. “The response has been So good straight away that I quit my job to make a full collection out of it. Soon I was approached by stores wanting to sell the brand. Neycko is named after my father, whose name is Nico”.
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A comfortable outfit for every man and every occasion. At Neycko, comfort, convenience and style go hand in hand. “The travel fabric has many advantages. The material does not wrinkle and does not discolour. A pair of trousers or a jacket from our collection can be machine washed at thirty degrees, so you don’t have to iron them. All items can be combined with each other and we are constantly trying to add new colors to the collection.”
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“I expect travel clothing will increasingly be part of men’s wardrobes. We serve a broad target group: men with an average age of 30 to well over 80 (our oldest customer is 96 years old!) and in sizes S to 3XL. With our sports pants, we are targeting a slightly younger target group of under-30s.”
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Neycko currently has eight outlets in the Netherlands, including Piet Zoomers. In Belgium, the brand is sold at Jonas in Leuven, among others. “We focus on fashion stores and specialty stores that sell both business and casual wear.”
Neycko acts as a flexible partner for these retailers. “If a particular item isn’t doing well, it can be exchanged for a different color. We also ask for feedback from customers so that we can tailor the collection to market demand.”
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“We are in the upper middle segment with selling prices starting at 84 euros for shorts and between 180 and 200 euros for a jacket.”
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“It would be nice to further increase the number of points of sale in the Netherlands to strengthen our webshop. If we reach thirty stores next year, I’ll be very happy. From there we can dare to go abroad. Interesting markets for us are Germany, England and Scandinavia, but also the USA and Canada. So we are in the process of increasing our production and stock.
Ma Ra Mi: “We want to contribute to the preservation of craftsmanship.”
Romanian designer Andra Clitan was living in the Philippines when she founded her fashion brand Ma Ra Mi in late 2016. “I’ve been working in the fashion industry for a while, having studied art, specifically textiles, since I was a child,” she explains in writing to FashionUnited my interest entirely in crafts and artisans from different cultures, so I decided to create a brand centered on that main idea to see how it would go on.
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The focus of Ma Ra Mi is on the heritage, the crafts and the people. The inspiration for the brand is the fusion of Romanian folk costumes with different cultures from all over the world. “We have been working with manufacturers from Romania and other cultures for more than a decade. Our main goal is to contribute to the preservation of the craft.”
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Ma Ra Mi works with natural fabrics and handmade details and is aimed at customers who appreciate this artisanal and sustainable aspect.
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“We sell the pieces in our online shop and also work with a few other retailers that we hope to find more from in the future.”
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The selling prices are very different. For example, a dress costs between 300 and 700 euros, depending on its complexity, as do jackets and other items.
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“We want to expand our distribution and hope to find more retailers around the world.
Hampton Bays: “Our name makes many customers feel good.”
Since 2019, the Belgian brand Hampton Bays has a new owner: Daisy Plas. As a brand manager and designer, she has been associated with the brand since 2006. “When I heard that Hampton Bays was going to be sold to someone who didn’t know the soul of the brand, I felt really sad,” she tells FashionUnited over the phone. “Without much thought, I decided to take the plunge and do this to take over the company myself. I believe in the brand, it has a good name and it has a beautiful look and feel. And I knew exactly how to market the brand. Looking back I’m like, Wow, who would have thought it would turn out like this!”
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“When I took over the brand, my goal was to revive the three original pillars: jersey, color and comfort. We’re a positive brand and we love color. And comfort. I want women to feel comfortable in our clothes. Each collection consists of three color themes that can be combined with each other, with knitwear and stripes forming the unifying element. Apart from that, we are not trendsetters, we are trend followers”.
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“Our collection is for women who have a positive outlook on life, feel good about themselves and dare to show it. Women who have both the time and the budget to dress stylishly.”
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“In Belgium we are represented in around 70 boutiques in prime locations. With our participation in Modefabriek we want to increase our profile on the Dutch market, where we are now represented in several boutiques such as Creëer in Sittard, Fashion Team in Weert and Silvana Senff Women in Voorburg.”
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Hampton Bays is mid-priced, with retail prices ranging from €49 for a t-shirt to €199 for a long dress (or up to €229 for a dress with a lot of fabric).
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“Our goal is to reach the number of sales outlets that we have in Belgium in the Netherlands as well. Hampton Bays was once very big here. Many people still know the brand from the past and have a positive association with it. Our name conveys a happy feeling! The women in the Netherlands wear a lot of colour. My dream is for people to rediscover the brand and become fans again.”
This translated and edited post previously appeared on FashionUnited.nl.