Charles Harbison relaunches his luxury fashion brand, Harbison Studio, with a renewed focus on authenticity and sustainable growth, learning from past challenges in the traditional fashion system. This episode offers insights into navigating the fashion industry as an independent designer, balancing creative vision with business realities, and strategic funding for growth. It underscores the importance of a clear brand identity and customer connection over chasing conventional industry metrics.
Key takeaways
Harbison Studio's relaunch prioritizes authentic brand building over conforming to traditional fashion industry pressures, suggesting a need for founders to define their own success metrics.
The initial success driven by celebrity endorsement and Vogue placement, without a solid business foundation, led to an unsustainable model; highlighting the importance of business acumen alongside creative talent.
Actively seeking friends and family funding rounds and strategic partnerships like Bergdorf Goodman are key strategies for independent designers to secure capital and expand market reach.
Harbison's hiatus for personal wellness reinforces that founder well-being is critical for long-term brand sustainability and a prerequisite for a successful return.
Challenging established industry norms and focusing on direct connection with consumer needs ("women love what I do") can inform a more resilient and purpose-driven business model.
Charles Harbison relaunched Harbison Studio in 2022, six years after putting the luxury fashion brand on pause. And it’s already clear that, this time around, he’s doing things differently. “I’m building a brand with more authenticity,” Harbison said on the latest episode of the Glossy Podcast. “I've tried to do it before in the way that everyone said I should do it. And it just was not for me.”
Harbison was thrust into helming a fashion brand in 2013, when he launched Harbison Studio after an unexpected chain of events while between jobs: To avoid holes in his portfolio, after working 7-8 years for brands including Michael Kors and Billy Reid, he created and photographed a small fashion collection. He showed those to two advisors, who showed them to Vogue editors, which led to placement in Vogue’s September issue and an order from Ikram, Chicago’s influential boutique. “In some ways, the cart was before the horse,” Harbison said. “I hate to say that because, in my perfect world, talent, craft and a love of fashion is the horse. But in our world now, with fashion, money's always the horse. And that is what I quickly learned over those two years of making clothes that I love, but not really building a business.”
Eventually, Harbison decided to step away from the brand, which had already gained fans including Michelle Obama and Beyoncé. But he’d always planned to return: “I moved to L.A. to regroup and center my wellness, but the thing that never left me was the fact that women love what I do. And there are so many people in the world who relate to it. [I knew that] one day, I’d come back and resume my conversation with them through clothes.” Shortly after New York Fashion Week, in early October, Harbison met with Glossy to share how his return to fashion is playing out. Along with hinting at a new Bergdorf Goodman partnership, he promoted an active friends and family funding round. He plans to use the funds to expand his team and the brand’s product categories —
What does this episode say about founder & leadership?
Harbison Studio's relaunch prioritizes authentic brand building over conforming to traditional fashion industry pressures, suggesting a need for founders to define their own success metrics.
What does this episode say about brand & content?
The initial success driven by celebrity endorsement and Vogue placement, without a solid business foundation, led to an unsustainable model; highlighting the importance of business acumen alongside creative talent.
What does this episode say about finance & fundraising?
Actively seeking friends and family funding rounds and strategic partnerships like Bergdorf Goodman are key strategies for independent designers to secure capital and expand market reach.
What does this episode say about founder & leadership?
Harbison's hiatus for personal wellness reinforces that founder well-being is critical for long-term brand sustainability and a prerequisite for a successful return.
What does this episode say about founder & leadership?
Challenging established industry norms and focusing on direct connection with consumer needs ("women love what I do") can inform a more resilient and purpose-driven business model.
