So, what do you think about the shows so far?” asks Fiona Firth, global buying director of Mr Porter. “Did you like Virgil at Vuitton?” she continues, her face lighting up with a kind smile.
We’re at a rooftop bar in the Marais—the Paris sky ablaze with hypnotic shades of vermillion blending into citrus hues of orange and yellow; a glorious sunset to end another full day of Paris Men’s Fashion Week for the spring/summer 2019 season—and it’s overflowing with ‘fashion people’. You know, starving editors, buyers and influencers all wearing the latest must-have pieces, all over styled in a clash of hyper colour and prints, scanning passers-by with a head-to-toe judgmental glare, and throwing shade into the cool evening breeze:
Is he wearing last season’s Gucci T-shirt?
Can you believe she is still wearing Vetements?
She said she was wearing Jason Wu. It was Jason Wu for Target.
And so on and so forth. The thing is, that wasn’t even the worst part of my conversation with the Singapore crew, all of us giddy with gin and tonics by the balcony’s edge, when Firth gently tapped my shoulder and made her welcome.
With her warm eyes, lingering handshake, and a relaxed easy posture—arms gently clasped, resting a wine glass below her sternum—Firth radiates a stillness that stands at odds with the pretence and peacocking so often associated with fashion. And yet, as the buying director of Mr Porter, she is one of the most influential people in the industry. But it is this assuredness, this centered calm drawn from experience, which allows her to see beyond the season’s fleeting trends for the investment pieces. To sort out the bankable wheat from the transient chaff, if you like.
“From what I hear, Vuitton was better than expected?” she probes.
“I thought the clothes were better than expected,” I offer.
“Which show are you looking forward to this week?”
“Dries. Definitely Dries.”
“Oh, I do love Dries,” she gushes, brushing hair from her face.
“I mean, who doesn’t love Dries?!”
Earlier that afternoon, seated in the lobby of her hotel just an arrondissement away, I chatted to Firth about the launch of the ‘Vive la France’ collection on Mr Porter: how did she choose the 14 brands for the capsule, what pieces does she recommend to look like a chic Frenchman, and also, why has Mr Porter launched timepieces?
ESQ: Mr Porter launched the ‘Made in California’ collection last year. So why France for 2018?
Fiona Firth: ‘Made in California’ was something that was very successful. It had a very contemporary feel to it and we got a really good response to it. We do quite a lot of French brands on our site already. We were the ones that really started working with Alexandre at AMI and Pierre at Officine Générale, and they have always been two very good brands for us and they always work with us to do capsules and exclusives. So we thought it would be nice to do something that was more wearable this time around because the ‘Made in California’ collection was quite grungy, you know, that LA vibe and AMIRI.
ESQ: And AMIRI has done so well as a result. It has gone off. Really kind of catapulted by Mr Porter.
Fiona: Yes, probably. I think the ‘Made in California’ capsule definitely helped. To put it on the map for sure. And they have also been incredibly supportive of us and have done exclusives with us. You know, they've just worked with us among all the businesses and it's now within our top ten brands within a year. Incredible, really incredible.
ESQ: That says a lot, because it is a pricey brand.
Fiona: I think it has its own slot. Mike Amiri, to be honest, every time you see him, he looks great. He rocks a pair of boots, skinny jeans, a big hat and a black T-shirt or something. I think people just look at him and go: "I can look like that". And so that was good. So this is what the ‘Vive la France’ is all about. We wanted something that was more casual wear and contemporary and could appeal to a broad range of men—no matter what age.
ESQ: How did you choose your brand partners for ‘Vive la France’? Because what I found interesting was you didn't go for the big luxury French brands. You have worked with 14 French brands of which four are new to Mr Porter. Tell us about the selection process.
Fiona: The reason why we chose the ones we did was because we started with the core big four that we already worked with: AMI, Officine, Kitsune, and Hartford. And then we brought in brands like Arpenteur and Holiday Boileau. And then we thought it would be really nice to actually reference classic French style so we spoke to Nicolas Gabard of Husbands. He's been a lawyer so his style and collection references the sartorial garments that you would associate with courtrooms. And then, of course, we thought work wear. So we brought in De Bonne Facture. Then there’s Maison Labiche, a T-shirt brand, which created these great little slogans on the left chest that are exclusive to us—for example, je ne sais quoi, monsieur, magnifique, and deja vu. I mean just funny or witty things really. That's why we've chosen them. It was a very organic process.
The French are very good at throwing stuff on; it's just a certain elegance to them. It doesn't look like they've taken ages to get ready. Its people like Alain Delon or Serge Gainsbourg. They are not fashionable, they are not trendy per se. It's always just slightly dishevelled and holding a cigarette.
ESQ: There are 14 brands in the ‘Vive la France’ collection offering over 147 pieces on the site. What is the average break up between the brands? Is it quite evenly distributed?
Fiona: No. Well, for example, from J.M Weston we have one shoe. Even on Bleu De Chauffe we have one bag. And something like Officine, we have over 20 options. But, on average, there are about 10-12 options per brand. But it was really looking at a brand and thinking, "Right, what is this brand about", and then just naturally building up how many outfits and products we can work with them. Never sort of starting off with 15 outfits or whatever per brand.
ESQ: What does French style mean to you?
Fiona: French style for me is a casual sort of look. The French are very good at throwing stuff on; it's just a certain elegance to them. It doesn't look like they've taken ages to get ready. Its people like Alain Delon or Serge Gainsbourg. They are so stylish. They just seem to know. They are not fashionable, they are not trendy per se. It's always just slightly dishevelled and holding a cigarette.
ESQ: And they have a certain confidence that they just carry it off so well. Because they can be very classic pieces, but just how they half-tuck a shirt, or fold back the cuff of a sleeve, it just looks elegant.
Fiona: And the other thing is, they are really good at colour. They always wear colour, you know. And come summer, they are all on holidays.
ESQ: In August everyone's gone. Forget sending an email (laughs)…
Fiona:I mean, last night I walked along the road and everybody is out and having a good time. You’ve got trendy people, you’ve got normal people, people with kids. Just everyone. And they all look so chic.
ESQ: If you had to choose your favourite pieces from this collection—easy ensembles to turn any man into a chic Frenchman—what would they be?
Fiona: So I've done the Husbands' pale blue suit. That's just beautiful, very elegant. And I've done the Lacoste polo top. The crocodile logo has a beret on it. It's amazing. I can't believe they did that. But they did it exclusively for us. And I think that with a pair of Officine selvedge jeans that's knackered and roughed up. I've put the Arpetuer T-shirt, which is sort of Tin Tin-inspired with a hand-drawn cartoon, with a lovely pair of drawstring trousers from De Bonne Facture. I also love the AMI yellow sweater just for a pop of colour. The other thing I really like is the AMI black tuxedo because Alexandre's inspiration was very much the Cannes Film Festival, but in a French way. Just throw on the black tuxedo over a white T-shirt. And then, of course, the Le Mont Saint Michel chore jackets—I think it's beautiful—with any of the Maison Labiche T-shirts.
ESQ: Different ensembles to carry off this kind of french insouciant elegance. Perfect. Do you think capsule collections will be something Mr Porter will continue moving forward? Focusing on different countries?
Fiona: I don't know. I don't think we want to get into a, you know, that every year we have to do a ‘Made in’ collection. Because I think it is quite difficult really. We did the California collection, and now France. Of course we can do Italy, because we have lots of brands from Italy, but then you sort of start running out of locations. I don't want it to be contrived. It has to come naturally. Also, for the launch of ‘Vive la France’, the fact that we could do it as part of Paris Men’s Fashion Week made sense. It was an obvious thing for us to do. So, let’s see what the future holds.
ESQ: Mr Porter launched in 2011. How do you think the male shopper has changed? What is he looking for online now that is different to seven years ago?
Fiona: I think the male shopper has become more confident. I think this is because he feels more educated about style—there's more information out there for him now than ever before. I do also think that people have become a lot more digital-savvy, and shopping on the Internet now is a given, not such a novel idea, which it was seven years ago. Which obviously is great. And also, I think we have more fashion customers coming to our site. It's not something necessarily new, but I think they've become a greater proportion of our customer.
ESQ: Has that dictated the way you buy?
Fiona: No it hasn't at all. I think for us, Mr Porter itself is a brand. It stands for a particular style. We have product, editorials, and content all working hand-in-hand. And the content that resonates best with our customers is still educational—so it's like how you could wear a blazer in five different ways, or what do you wear to a summer wedding? One of the great things about Mr Porter is that it's very male friendly. A lot of men don't like shopping. They don't like the fact, in France, the menswear department is either upstairs or downstairs. You've to navigate through beauty. There's too much going on here. With Mr Porter you can shop while you’re at home, in the office, or commuting in the tube. You can actually just buy something. Try it on at home. If you like it, keep it. If you don't, return it. And nobody says anything. No questions asked.
ESQ: I think it is a fantastic model. Your editorial weaves naturally with e-commerce. And it's just so convenient. For me, I’ll even jump onto Mr Porter when I'm about to go to sleep. I'm not fully asleep yet, and I'm on my phone scrolling and shopping. The next morning, I’ll wake up and realise that I’ve just bought three more items! (Laughs)
Fiona: Please continue (laughs).
ESQ: Luxury watches are a relatively new addition to Mr Porter. And obviously, you have partnered with the Richemont Group to sell their timepieces. Tell us more about that strategy, because watches are obviously at a different price point than ready-to-wear or accessories. Do you think that was taking a risk? Or has that proven to be quite successful?
Fiona: Toby Bateman, who our managing director, has actually wanted to do watches ever since Mr Porter started. The average age of our customers is 35. And for us, it was a natural extension of the wardrobe. And you know, we say they are a lot more expensive, but I've got jackets that are more expensive than the bulk of the watches we have on our site. I've got Berluti, I've got Brioni, and these brands are in that price range, if not slightly more than our watches.
ESQ: But do you find that watches are more of a considered purchase?
Fiona: Watches are definitely considered purchases, without a doubt. And we found that most people take about a year to do the research before buying a timepiece. And the great thing about Mr Porter is the fact that customers can actually look at a watch and they can say, "Okay, if I'm looking a sporty watch—whether it's diving or whether it's a pilot—I can also find the outfit to wear with it all on the same site."
If a customer changes his mind about a watch, they can send it back for a full refund, which is pretty rare when buying a timepiece. So that itself is a huge service. And then, all our watches have a five-year guarantee.
ESQ: That’s true. You give it a style perspective. A lot of watch sites just talk about the technical specifications and not how to style it with a full look.
Fiona: And we literally just launched a watch guide. So, if you did want to buy a Panerai for example, you could actually look at the various watches, but then you could also watch the Tick Talk series that tells you about the uniqueness of Panerai and its history. And the content has been a huge success already. What we have found is that a third of the customers coming onto that platform are not Mr Porter customers. So we knew straight away, that we are tapping into a new demographic.
ESQ: How do you give watch buyers on Mr Porter peace of mind?
Fiona: The first thing is that the watches are all coming from the houses, the maisons themselves. These watches are all legitimate. Everything comes into our warehouse and everything is checked. If there is any other information that the customer wants, there's a 24-hour customer helpline. So whether they are based in New York, London, Paris or Hong Kong, there's always someone you can actually call. The watches are sent by DHL, so they have to be signed for, and when somebody buys a watch from Mr Porter, somebody from our personal service team will get in touch just to make sure is everything okay. Do you like the watch? Is it what you thought it was going to be? Any issues? And you know, we have had very few watches returned. Again, if a customer changes his mind, they can send it back for a full refund, which is pretty rare when buying a timepiece. So that itself is a huge service. And then, all our watches have a five-year guarantee.
ESQ: And watch guarantees are usually just two years. So that's a massive tick in the customer's box.
Fiona: Exactly. Whatever happens, customers deal with us and then we'll deal with the individual brands to get things sorted out. So, for example, if the customer has a slim wrist and needs to shorten the bracelet, we tell them to please visit their local watch shop with the receipt, if it’s convenient, because they will actually sort it out for you. But we also have a lot of our customers who live in places where luxury watch brands don’t have a retail presence—such as Silicon Valley, for example—so they can arrange it through us. It's the convenience factor. It’s all about the customer.
ESQ: This last question is really for me actually. I love fine jewellery. Do you think jewellery is a natural extension for Mr Porter moving forward? You have Piaget now, but I would love to see more fine jewellery on the site.
Fiona: We are going to start doing more jewellery. But I don't think you'll suddenly see in the next six months that, "Oh, they've really gotten into jewellery". There aren't that many known menswear jewellery designers actually. But we do have Piaget, and those bracelets have actually sold very well. And we work with Luis Morais, and his more expensive pieces do very well. We will also do more with David Yurman and, actually, we are going to bring Shaun Leane onto the site because of what he did at McQueen. Jewellery is a small market for us, but the customers are asking for more. So definitely, for us it is a natural extension.
ESQ: Excellent. I’m looking forward to it. It's really going to be a one-stop shop for men.
Fiona: I hope so. I hope so.
