Curate Your Fashion: A Conversation with Rachel Zoe's Curateur

(Logo courtesy of Curateur)

In the world of fashion, one Rachel reigns supreme. No, it is not Rachel Green. Rachel Zoe began her career as a stylist to the stars diversified her efforts as she grew her large social media following and created multiple businesses. One of her businesses is Curateur. Curateur is a quarterly fashion and beauty subscription service that allows customers to explore established and emerging brands. I had the opportunity to speak with Heather N., Merchandising Manager, to learn more about Curateur.

1. What does a Merchandising Manager at Curateur do?

Curateur is luxury lifestyle membership curated by Rachel Zoe. The brand has a quarterly-released subscription box composed of the seasonal fashion essentials for that quarter. My job is to research our consumers to see what brands and products they would like. I also work closely with Rachel to curate these products for our customers. There is a balanced middle ground of what Rachel believes in a good product and something our consumers enjoy. In addition, I am responsible for our website, which is only open to customers. I source all the products seen on the website. This website is unique because every product is offered at a 20-40% discount. We work with some fantastic brands, and this website helps us further curate lifestyle products our subscribers find meaningful. The website offers pieces that might not be necessarily good for the subscription box but something Rachel wants subscribers to see and have access to. Our third pillar, Collective, relates more to the service-related portal of the partnership. The Collective offers exclusive access to literature, events, etc. We want people to realize that Curateur is not just a fashion subscription box but a luxury lifestyle membership. It's been great working with Rachel for the past four years. I have been in the merchandising world for just over three years. I am excited to see the evolution of Curateur and to add more pillars to the brand.

(Image courtesy of Curateur. Image depicts founder Rachel Zoe with a Curateur box)

2. How does Curateur stay ahead of upcoming fashion trends?

A lot of my job is to research trends. Retail takes on trends a lot longer than once it hits the runway, so retail cycles are longer than runway cycles. Our research boils down to translating trends that become palatable to our consumers. Often, our consumers are not going to buy products right off the runway. The majority of our subscribers are between thirty-five and fifty-five. Runway trends are typically geared towards younger demographics. But, we want to translate these trends to make sense for our consumers. For example, color and bags are a big thing now. The current trend is to have a small bag. But, that does not fit into our customer's lifestyles. Our consumer wants a larger and more spacious bag to store things in. While researching overall bag trends, we noticed the belt bag. Belt bags are both exciting and polarizing. We were brainstorming how to make this palatable for our consumers. After talking with Rachel, we realized that the belt bag could be worn as both a belt bag and a crossbody bag by adding an adjustable chain. At Curateur, we conduct surveys and consumer insights reports. Rachel looks through the universal fashion lens to discover what people across different age demographics can find appealing. Sometimes, we allow subscribers to choose one product that might not be palatable for everyone but is beloved by our team.

(Image courtesy of Curateur. Image depicts a Curateur box)

3. Within your majority demographic, thirty-five to fifty-five, how do you find products that are universally appealing?

I think it's a lot about finding commonality among the products and product usage. Whether you are thirty-five or fifty-five, you want to know if you can use this bag to do errands or bring it to work. We try to select the products as versatile as possible in both style and usage. If there is a more niche product, we would offer it as a choice item. In Spring 2021, scarfs were a huge trend. If someone is at the younger end of this demographic, that person can style it in their hair or as a belt. While someone on the older end might use the scarf more traditionally.

(Image courtesy of Curateur)

4. How Does Curateur incorporate is mission and vision not its product offerings?

Our mission is to provide women with the foundational products needed to live a life of style. When we pick products, our consumers know a lot people conduct research to ensure that the product they are receiving is high quality and is effective. We always keep our mission in mind. Rachel wants to provide pieces that are foundational staples for both wardrobe and home. As a seasonal subscription box, we find the best formula is to provide subscribers with both staple and trendy pieces to elevate their everyday.