NK iMODE was founded in 2003 aspiring to provide women worldwide with meticulously-crafted nightwear inspired by classic elegance and vintage flair; the company makes the most of high-quality materials such as gossamer silk Georgette and delicate lace to create their pieces. All collections are designed in their Vancouver, Canada, office and manufactured at the founders’ family factory located in the historical silk capital of the world, Suzhou. A more-than-a-decade old label, today Nki Mode is stocked at Selfridges, and counts some of fashion’s favorite girls as enthusiastic followers; it-girl Alexa Chung and editor Pandora Sykes were recently spotted wearing one of their signature pieces over a plain white tee. Read on as we discuss sustaining and pushing a family business forward, responding to the growing demands of retailers, and the company’s future plans.
Your pieces are crafted in your family’s factory. What steps of production have you kept from its long run, and what have you left behind?
Although all our production still comes from our family factory, all styles have initially been designed, draped and crafted from our Vancouver studio. This method enables us to closely monitor the fit and continually modify the design of each style to achieve perfection in the final garment. The “toiles” and drafted patterns along with detailed technical documents are sent to our factory to develop fit samples.
Your designs have an ostentatious luxurious feel to them. What are your priorities when designing?
Our designs are primarily inspired by vintage lingerie. However, we have to consciously update them to today’s women’s lifestyle and needs, keeping in mind our collections are ultimately worn by discerning women all over the world!
How do you introduce new designs to your line?
The introduction of newness is a marriage of current trends and feedback from our loyal customers. We consider it our duty to come up with new and exciting ideas that will eventually become part of our iconic line of fine lingerie!
How are buyers’ and customer preferences influencing your decisions on new pieces?
We are fortunate to be able to distribute to boutiques as well as direct to customers. We thus receive valuable feedback which we then analyze to confidently bring a cohesive product to satisfy our customers’ expectations.
How do you feel about trends? Has the lingerie-not-meant-for-the-bedroom-only trend influenced the wearability of your designs yet, or is it going to in any way in the future?
We have to keep in mind the ultimate decision on this trend is up to the customer. We can tactfully suggest a certain style can be worn in or out of the confinement of your bedroom. This is why we have to stay focused, and be aware of changing trends in case they suddenly go out of style without warning. Fine lingerie is about evolution, not revolution!
Alexa Chung and Pandora Sykes have recently spotted wearing your brand. Is celebrity endorsement a type of exposure you were looking to create for your brand or did that happen spontaneously? What other marketing mediums do you use?
Recent celebrity endorsement happened spontaneously! It is humbling and definitely pleasing. Although we do not actively search for celebrity endorsement, we are more than willing to consider all endorsements that might come our way if there is a mutual fit.
Describe for us the moment when you realized that your retail network has started to expand, and the challenges that came along with this transition.
A couple of years ago while on the tradeshow floor, we took a step back and asked: “how do we better serve our stockists?” The answer was everywhere: digital transformation, broaden our reach 24/7 anywhere. Our quality has always been consistent and with beautiful photography. Stockists can plan their buy at their convenience. We are excited at the positive response from both loyal and new stockists.
To my opinion, nightwear and lingerie are appealing to women of all sizes. How do you decide on the size range?
Whenever possible we will offer the appropriate fit range that will maintain the integrity of each style. We have recently introduced an equivalent “XS” to our fit range to positive results. We have also moved away from labelling our fit charts that were using traditional, XS-S-M-L-XL by giving them more “lingerie” appropriate reference names that represent our diverse customer base: “Charming” is X-Small, “Darling” is Small, “Amazing” is Medium, “Alluring” is Large and “Dazzling” is X-Large.
What are your future plans?
We have witnessed a dramatic shift in the retail model. Bricks and mortar stores are quickly becoming showrooms for the vast retail model we call e-commerce. We have been very proactive in this regard, and have worked diligently with our stockists who have been so supportive of our brand. We continue to grow our number of followers on all social media platforms, to nurture and grow our long-term sustainable e-commerce model. Our timeless and elegant pieces can be acquired and enjoyed across all retail platforms.
www.nkimode.com
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