The Blonde Salad Launches E-commerce Site
The Blonde Salad Launches E-commerce Site
Chiara Ferragni, the fashion blogger turned lifestyle guru responsible for The Blonde Salad, is launching an ecommerce site, due to go public on September 6.
Based in LA, the Italian influencer has expanded far beyond just blogging. “When I started back then, I just wanted a personal space,” Ferragni told Business of Fashion. “But for the last three years, we haven’t been a blog. We’ve been a website.” Followed closely by fans worldwide, the influencer has curated a strong social media following, and created from a personal blog a website visited by over 500,000 individuals each month.
The site itself has developed from being written mainly by Ferragni, to a website and online magazine that depends on the work of several writers and editors. The site has maintained a focus on quality content related to both Ferragni’s personal style, and the style the readers have come to expect and love. To maintain this quality, Ferragni has had to turn advertisers away. “Most of the time what I wear is not paid for — it’s my choice,” she told Business of Fashion. “And on the website, everything we select is completely not paid. The editors decide.”
Over the past seven years, Ferragni has also collaborated on products with designers such as Giuseppe Zanotti, and a video series with Louis Vuitton showcasing how she uses the brand’s products. Her new ecommerce site will also feature her own independent designs – a collection that moved from a shoe collection to accessories, t-shirts, phone cases and more – along with vintage finds from flea markets in Los Angeles and Europe.
Ferragni’s shoe line was launched through the online retailer Luisa Via Roma, where she now sells t-shirts, jackets, phone cases and backpacks as well. Sparkles and flirtatious, winking eyes glimmer at the shopper from her section of the website, and faux leather jackets featuring lightening bolts and stars bring to mind glam rock and David Bowie.
Between her own designs and collaborations, and the advertisements featured on her site, Ferragni has amassed a small empire of style influence, generating approximately $17 million in revenue a year. One expects that bringing the e-commerce in-house, Ferragni will not only take a greater portion of those earnings in directly, but also make room for greater expansion in merchandise.
The Blonde Salad Launches E-commerce Site
