This British contemporary label has made its way to Southeast Asia, so #TeamCLEO had an inside chat on style and brand-building for the region.
"The AllSaints Spring 2019 campaign paid homage to cinema on the open road"
Contemporary and individual, British label AllSaints was born out of East London more than two decades ago, inspired by the spirit of art, street and graffiti. AllSaints then expanded to establish its first presence in Asia in Seoul, South Korea in 2014. After taking spots in other cities such as Tokyo and Taipei, the fashion brand chose Kuala Lumpur as their first location in Southeast Asia — housed at Parkson Elite at Pavilion KL. With plans to expand further to Singapore and Bangkok, #TeamCLEO sat with Connie Yeow, Executive Advisor for Asia Travel Retail and Franchise for AllSaints to talk the business of fashion and strategy.
How would you describe AllSaints?
The brand is from East London, and [the vibe of East London] is about celebrating independence. Speaking of which, the three main key words for the brand are creativity, attitude and individuality, and the brand has encapsulated the essence of the city.
How do you think AllSaints speaks to the Southeast Asian market?
We believe that it resonates with the local shoppers who have studied or lived abroad, or simply frequent travellers who might find the brand familiar but don’t know much about it.
What are the marketing and communication strategies applied internationally and locally?
Being an international brand, we always work with the regular global directives but I feel that the brand is constantly evolving. Since Asia is a new market for us, we wish to present the brand spirit of individuality as we go along.
AllSaints is well-known for its iconic leather jackets. Apart from that, what other signature pieces should we look out for?
For womenswear, the dresses are our key pieces that come in several iconic silhouettes throughout the year such as the body-shaping dresses in knit jersey; silk dresses and at times ruffles too. Even in winter, you’ll see the asymmetrical cut long dresses. For menswear, the signature Hawaiian shirt would surface every spring/summer. Even though we are not a ’denim denim‘ brand, our denims are doing very well with different cuts and silhouettes, mainly because they are a staple that will go well with everything.
Can you describe the brand’s positioning and what makes it stand out from every other brand?
We’re neither a fast fashion nor high street brand. We define ourselves to be a contemporary fashion brand and we are unique — you hardly see another brand that has an equal ratio of menswear and womenswear. There are many mixed gender fashion brands in the market, but with a ratio of 70 per cent womenswear to 30 per cent menswear. For AllSaints it’s even.
The top three must-haves from AllSaints?
1. The biker definitely, for men and women. 2. The basic essentials like dresses for women and white shirts for men. 3. Jeans as our pieces are body-fitting and shape well with great elasticity.
What are the future plans in the region?
We are definitely going to establish our presence in Singapore. There are many Singaporeans who have studied and lived in the UK, who would find the brand relevant to them. Bangkok is on our watch list as well. I find that the city is full of creativity and the people are very fashion forward. They are fearless when it comes to fashion and art.
"Voon Wei with Connie Yeow, Executive Advisor for Asia Travel Retail and Franchise for AllSaints"
"[The] brand is constantly evolving. Since Asia is a new market for us, we wish to present the brand spirit of individuality."
