To get into Liberowe’s studio in North London’s Queen’s Park, I have to jump through a large floor-length window; the door is currently being blocked by shipping boxes. Once in, founder Talia Loubaton gives me a tour of her studio, which doubles as her warehouse.
It’s not uncommon for an emerging brand to share space, but for Loubaton, it’s come with an added benefit. Because the team sends out all orders itself, Loubaton says she recognises all returning customers by name. Last week, she recognised a frequent customer at a social event, who she’d spoken with after the woman posted about Liberowe on Instagram. “We were friends before we’d even met,” Loubaton says. To her, the interaction spoke to what’s so special about the brand the Paris-born designer founded back in 2022. “We’re building a community with Liberowe.”
In an environment where most successful brands are prioritising online direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales, Liberowe is honing in on the intimacy of the in-person relationship. She is fresh off a trunk show that she organised the day before, hosted at a friend’s house. The brand displayed its collection of fitted blazers with Nehru collars in neutral tweeds and wool, as well as peplum jackets, knitwear and practical denim. “You get to see customers trying things on and what they go for instinctively and their reaction. You understand how the product works and the perception of your brand — so you’re not in a bubble, you’re in constant communication with your customer,” she explains.
The past two years have been particularly disruptive in fashion. The wholesale landscape has seen significant challenges, rising costs have hindered many emerging and independent brands, and the broader slowdown in luxury spending has highlighted that customers are seeking more value and a better shopping experience. “I came in at a turning point and it’s been really positive for us because the industry is looking for change,” says Loubaton. “Women are looking for an experience, they’re looking for something personal and to be taken care of.”
Liberowe reached £1.2 million in sales this year and is projected to reach between £1.8 million and £2 million next year. Turnover has grown 250 per cent since the business started. Liberowe has a stockist count of 11, which includes Net-a-Porter (where she is part of its Vanguard incubation programme), Bon Marché, Harvey Nichols Kuwait and Harrods come April.
“We see that Net-a-Porter customers appreciate Liberowe for its combination of luxury tailoring, sophistication and artistry. The brand offers pieces that are not only beautiful and timeless, but also rooted in its commitment to responsible craftsmanship,” says Net-a-Porter fashion director Kay Barron. “What stands out to our customers is Liberowe’s ability to create wearable styles that don’t compromise on the brand’s value-led approach. It caters to a growing group of consumers who are looking to shop for luxury with a purpose.”
Six months ago, the US constituted between 70 and 80 per cent of sales; but now, the UK has grown, so each market makes up about 40 per cent of sales, with the rest of the world (namely France, Switzerland, Australia and the Middle East) accounting for around 20 per cent. The brand is building a strong presence in the Middle East in particular, where bespoke is increasingly popular. It also has celebrity fans. Liberowe has been worn by the likes of Man Repeller’s Leandra Medine Cohen (who hosted a pop-up in her home for the brand last November), Gwyneth Paltrow, singer Cheryl Tweedy, actor Elizabeth Hurley and Bridgerton’s Hannah Dodd.
Loubaton has ambitious plans for Liberowe: expanding to four collections a year instead of two, adding wholesale clients in key markets, growing her team of seven, seeking external investment and eventually opening a flagship. She says she wants to grow the business as big as possible, but remain intentional and keep the same sense of intimacy. Can it be pulled off?
Putting the customer at the centre
Loubaton had her first child at the age of 25, right after graduating from Central Saint Martins with an MA in fashion, specialising in knitwear. She worked short stints pattern-making at Christopher Kane and designing at Alexander McQueen before going freelance, which she “hated”. As a young mother, she felt unemployable. Between having her first and second child, Loubaton began designing dresses for herself and her friends, eventually adding tailoring inspired by the Nehru collar jackets she saw on a trip to Rajasthan in India. By May 2022, she had a big enough collection to host a party at a friend’s house in London, displaying all the samples, and eventually put on other trunk show events in Paris and New York.
“I think the success of Liberowe is that I was not relying on someone to put me out there, I went to get my customer and I went to meet them,” she says. “When I was planning my New York event I was thinking, which neighbourhood do I need to go to? What are the women I know that I can contact there? It’s quite old fashioned, but that’s how it started and I don’t want to lose track of that.”
The brand has strong design codes, with signature silhouettes, cuts and details that are commercially recognisable. “The pieces are unique and easy to identify,” she says. “The fashion ocean is so wide it can be easy to get lost in it.” Loubaton credits her product development to being a woman herself. “Women are often more pragmatic and we know what other women need in their wardrobes, we know how to fill a gap in the market,” she says.
All growth has been organic and 30 per cent of sales are from returning customers. “When you have a good product that is well cut, made from a beautiful fabric and at a decent price point, you don’t need to spend on marketing or communication or customer acquisition,” she says. Her community are her marketers, her communication strategy is word of mouth, her customer acquisition strategy is hosting a party.
Liberowe’s next phase
Liberowe is currently exploring external investment, and has already seen interest from investors before officially fundraising. Loubaton also just hired a part-time CFO, Lucy Ayache. “She’s a friend of mine who was working in finance and is super career driven and clever but then she had kids and struggled, so she just joined us and is working from home part-time,” says Loubaton. For her, entrepreneurship is about being creative, both in terms of how you reach the customer but also in how you construct your team. “I’m trying to be something that reflects a healthy vision of what mothers can do in the industry and give a voice to women in fashion that we can have kids and don’t have to sacrifice our personal lives because of our jobs,” she says.
When asked about the fledgling brand’s key challenges, Loubaton’s answer is no surprise: cash flow. “The way the industry works and wholesale works, it stretches cashflow a lot,” she says. “I spend a lot of time checking my cashflow and trying to figure out how to build a team, keep hiring, pay for production and get paid on time from stockists.”
The trunk shows have been a stepping stone to launching a pop-up (the brand is hosting its first at Bon Marché from February to April next year) — and eventually to opening a flagship. “We get a lot of requests to come here to the studio, so it would be nice to have a flagship and keep it intimate like a nice cocoon where women can come and experience the brand,” Loubaton says.
Loubaton has found a happy medium with her wholesale-DTC split. DTC cultivates the sense of intimacy, while wholesale — which makes up 70 per cent of sales — helps the brand expand, particularly in international markets.
Net-a-Porter’s Barron says Liberowe was selected for Vanguard after seeing strong customer interest following several seasons stocking the brand. Liberowe has a “unique approach to lasting luxury”, she says.
As part of Vanguard, Loubaton is receiving mentorship from Alison Loehnis, president and interim CEO of Yoox Net-a-Porter. “Spending an hour chatting to her is like getting a master’s degree,” says Loubaton. She’s also being mentored by Greg Chait, founder of LA cashmere brand The Elder Statesman. “I’m so excited he’s my mentor because he’s become a big success from being very quality and product driven, and finding his audience through that. Liberowe is similar in that sense,” says Loubaton. “We’re meant to have a Zoom call soon, but I don’t want to do a Zoom. I think I’m just going to book myself a ticket and meet him in person.” Classic Talia.
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