As we edge closer to a new year, Spell & The Gypsy Collective co-founder Elizabeth Abegg discusses what lessons the business has learned and will take into the future.
Has the business discovered anything new during this period that it will continue?
We had a couple of remote working staff already, however I do think this will help in creating more digital-based meetings moving forward when team members start travelling again.
Personally, it’s shown me more than ever how much I love having everyone in the office!
I feel so much more connected to my team when I can see them and get down and dirty in some real one on one chats and physical brainstorms.
Of course, we know that we can do the remote thing now and feel so much more equipped to offer flexible working arrangements going forward.
But more so, we have discovered what is important to us.
Our growth strategy has changed, we want to be lean and humble - we want to have a brand that is healthy and can weather these kinds of storms.
It felt like where before this pandemic we were charging along without a moment to pause, and now we know the value in stopping, taking a breath - to check you are still on the right path.
What are the plans for Spell going forward?
With everything so uncertain across the board, we need to be very conservative in our buys as well as in our approach to all aspects of the business.
Be it from the collections themselves to how we market them, Spell will be keeping a humble, paired back approach more than ever.
We think fashion, for a while at least will be focused on the essentials, about not being ostentatious because life has become about survival.
This mindset will echo throughout our brand and our business as a whole.
As we were cutting back on so many costs we had to consider how it would affect our sustainability strategy.
We still believe sustainability is a huge part of the future of fashion and so it will still take priority for us.
All of our budgets have been reduced, including marketing, including sustainability – but that just means we need to become laser focused on what is really important to us, because regardless of size, sustainability will still be at the forefront for Spell moving forward.