3.1 Phillip Lim: Entrepreneurship Is Not Hard To Insist On.

Today, the fashion market no longer needs too much explanation, but ten years ago it was a real shell.

Lin Nengping contributed a lot to the rise of the market. The brand's cool clothes are excellent in quality, unique in style and affordable in price.

In other words, this is a luxury that everyone can afford.

These days, retailers regard 3.1 Phillip Lim as one of the most important and most potential designers.

The series of fashion is sold in the Bergdorf 's five floor, the Barneys seven floor of New York and the modern space of Fifth Avenue, but Lin Nengping and Zhou Xuanwen are not willing to define the brand as a department store brand.

About 10 years ago, fashion was just a vague word, especially American fashion.

Perhaps at that time, it was a well-known gap, and designers could not justify why they started the business.

From 2004 to 2006, based on daily luxury behavior and some smart and stylistic entrepreneurial ideas, a window of opportunity opened up, leading people to today's popular fashion brands.

Just listing a few names is like thunder: Tory Burch (founded in 2004), Alexander Wang Wang (founded in 2005), and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, which created The Row in 2006 for the pursuit of perfect T-shirt.

Lin Nengping (Phillip Lim) and Zhou Xuanwen (Wen Zhou) are also the best in this era. In 2005, the two launched the brand 3.1 Phillip Lim together. In the same year, two people were exactly 31 years old.

All of these designers have made different strategic directions for personal brands, such as raising prices and adding new product lines for personal brands, such as sports series, cowboy series, etc., or in cooperation with luxury group or considering IPO offering.

However, Lin Nengping and Zhou Xuanwen avoided these steps. What they did was to expand their businesses as dramatically as possible. They have set up 14 independent stores worldwide and more than 450 wholesale merchants.

The company did not comment on its annual performance, but the latest earnings report showed that the turnover of the company was $60 million a few years ago, which the industry said would only be higher.

The stable and prudent creation strategy guarantees the high-end position of Lin Nengping / Phillip 3.1 brand in the contemporary fashion field.

The average selling price is between $300 and $700.

Zhou Xuanwen said, "this is only a terminology.

We have a unique aesthetic brand.

I think our work has special value.

The value of the price can not even be properly expressed. This is a very suitable way of life for me and Lin Ping Ping, and it is also effective for our customers. "

Lin Nengping and Zhou Xuanwen often apply the two word "we".

They have just started using Zhou Xuanwen's money made by Aegis, a textile trading company, to start a business together, which is owned by her since she was 21 years old.

It is also in the same building as the office of 3.1 Phillip Lim.

Retailers said there was an impressive partnership between Lin Nengping and Zhou Xuanwen.

Linda Fargo, senior vice president of Bergdorf Goodman, said: "when I think of Lin Nengping and Zhou Xuanwen and their brands, my mind will come up with a word" real ".

They make real costumes to really impress consumers and set the price at a reasonable price range.

3.1 the clothing of Phillip Lim can balance the beauty of practicality with aesthetics. This is very attractive.

He and Zhou Xuan Wen are pioneers in the industry. They are the driving force behind the trend of contemporary fashion and democracy, as well as the representatives and benchmarks of high quality.

In the company profile, the two of them usually introduce in pairs, instead of separate Lin Nengping as designer and leader and Zhou Xuanwen's personal media coverage.

An interview with them for ten years has shown that they can't live without each other.

Lin Nengping and Zhou Xuan understand that they have created a brand, though they also realize that the word "brand" has been misused to some extent.

Lin said, "you can't jump out and say you are a brand.

No experience, no background knowledge, only feeling, that's not brand.

For me, brand is like a person, you need to evolve. "

In this sense,

It is also the Autobiography of the two founders.

Lin and Zhou, the two generation of Chinese Americans, who are responsible for creativity and one in charge, have worked together to realize the dream of fashion.

In describing brand spirit, Lin said, "we will put the pursuit of creativity in the blueprint of business."

They did not set a clear destination. They were proud of their profession, creating creative clothes for busy working women and men.

Lin pointed to Zhou wearing the ivory pink silk tick border jacket and said, "look at this shirt.

Why is it curved here? Why is it designed like this? Why do the clothes float when the wind blows? It's all about quality and value. "

Lin played the role of dreamer in two people, using right brain to ponder, while Zhou used rational thinking of left brain.

His personal Instagram account, @therealphilliplim, is filled with photos of his friends chef, sleeping with dogs and reading books.

The commonly used tags are #bepresent, #31globalcitizens and #livethelifeyouwish.

In order to celebrate the anniversary of cooperation, Lin and artist Maya Lin carried out the spring show.

The theme is "Stop and Smell the Flowers", hoping to convey to people the spirit of slowing down and enjoying the beautiful scenery.

Maya Lin is famous for its large scale and special venue decoration.

This is not to say that he completely disregards the business part.

Lin is very interested in performance growth. He said: "company structure, experience, key employee recruitment and real estate investment are very important.

Business provides creativity, but creativity creates business...

It's very delicate and can't be lost. "

Lin studied design in California, and later worked in the contemporary cool brands Aughts and Development in California. The company used to be a customer of Aegis.

He left Development because of the difference in creative understanding, and Zhou was confident in his aesthetics, so he came to the background to invest in him and co - founded 3.1 Phillip Lim.

He loves design, whether it is art, fashion, car or home design, but he is very unhappy.

He said: "it must be harmonious.

I don't know. Maybe this is some kind of energy. "

Throughout his design series, there are many moments that are unforgettable, difficult, ugly and fragmented, but there is always a layer of clean femininity in the deep layer.

He follows this trend, but his mainstream field is men's tailoring (most of them are trousers), which is totally out of touch with women's style, embroidery and color style.

His Instagram and office furniture convey this sentiment.

Zhou is a practical and tactical talent.

She is good at numbers and analysis. At present, the company is dominated by wholesale. In October, they will have 16 independent stores. Meanwhile, the electronic business platform will also be back online by 10th anniversary.

Every day, she sets goals and to-do lists for herself.

She said, "today, I have three things to solve, which will be my focus all day."

A clear business sense does not hinder Zhou's creative thinking ability or even promote it.

For example, in 2007, the two sides were in New York.

The first store opened in the middle of Prince and Spring street. With the opening of SoHo retail store, Spring street has poured into a large number of contemporary cool brands, including Carven, Rag & Bone, Derek Lam 10 Crosby, and luxury brands such as Marc, Carven, Paris and Paris.

Zhou said: "the location and opening time of the store are very correct, and the profit of the store is very rich."

But he refutes the fact that the Great Jones Street was reopened after the closure of the store due to poor performance figures in 2004.

Zhou explained: "SoHo has become a huge outdoor shopping center, and the number of customers has begun to change.

Consumers are more tourists, and our accessories sales are better, but all of this is changing.

Over the past two years, the performance of Mercer Street stores has doubled, but we did not get the customers I needed, those who really understood the brand and were willing to buy clothes.

I think we have fewer and fewer connections with our customers. "

The store in Great Jones Street is a beautiful shop with an area of 3500 square feet. It is designed by Campaign to successfully visualize Lin and Zhou's "studio luxury" concept.

The items sold include men's wear and women's wear, and accessories.

Over time, children's clothing will be on the market, but Zhou said realistically: "we have to abandon it. We have to focus on our core competitiveness, not children's clothing.

You can learn from past mistakes.

Ready-made clothing is the focus of women's clothing business, accounting for 60%, while accessories account for 40%.

The company's main growth areas are footwear.

Almost all these things are produced in China.

Lin Hezhou said: "at the beginning, China made a negative connotation, as if it meant large quantities of low-end production. In fact, it was not.

The staff of Chinese factories are exquisite and skillful.

This is the ancient civilization of clothing. "

Lin Hezhou's mother is a seamstress.

Speaking Chinese and having experience in Chinese production is a great pride for them.