Beauty Brands REVIEWS

Fashion Nova is becoming the internet's favorite fashion label. Here's how this affordable brand won over Kylie Jenner and Cardi B on its way to 14 million Instagram followers.

https://www.businessinsider.com/fashion-nova-favorite-
Dec. 13, 2018, 11:30 AM

Fashion Nova has 14 million followers on Instagram. Facebook/Fashion Nova

  • Fashion Nova is quickly becoming one of the most talked-about brands on the internet. It was ranked the most Googled fashion brand of 2018.

  • Thanks to endorsements from celebrities including Cardi B and Kylie Jenner, the brand has shot to fame and now has 14 million followers on Instagram. In Piper Jaffray's recent survey of teen spending habits, it was voted the No. 6 preferred website, beating out Adidas and Forever 21.

  • Find out more about the brand below.

Fashion Nova is quickly becoming one of the most talked-about brands on the internet.

On Wednesday, Google released its 2018 Year in Search report, which showed that Fashion Nova was the most searched-for fashion brand of 2018; in 2017 it was ranked in fourth place, beating out Chanel and Dior.

The company has shot to fame in a relatively short period of time thanks to a host of endorsements on Instagram from influencers and celebrities like Kylie Jenner and Cardi B.

In October, it ranked as the No. 6 preferred website for young people in Piper Jaffray's semi-annual survey of teen spending habits.

Find out how this brand grew to have 14 million followers on Instagram in just five years:

Fashion Nova is known for its Kardashian-esque aesthetic, selling affordable bodycon dresses and tight, high-waisted pants.

Facebook/Fashion Nova

The majority of its clothing costs between $20 and $50. However, there are some more pricey pieces.

Fashion Nova
Dresses cost between $9.99 and $299.99.

While the brand is best known online, it actually started off in the mall. Its founder, Richard Saghian, opened the first store in 2006, in Panorama Mall in Panorama City, California.

Today, it has five stores in California. Yelp/Fashion Nova
Source: Paper

Several years later, in 2013, Saghian launched Fashionnova.com. From the start, Saghian used Instagram as a way to direct shoppers to the website, frequently posting photos of best-selling items.

Fashion Nova

Instagram is now an integral part of Fashion Nova's sales process.

Instagram/Fashion Nova

Its best marketing tools are influencers and celebrities, such as Cardi B and Kylie Jenner, who post photographs of themselves on Instagram wearing and promoting the clothing.

Kylie Jenner. Fashion Nova
See one of Jenner's Instagram posts about Fashion Nova here.

Most influencers receive free clothes in exchange for promoting the brand. Jenner is paid for her endorsements, however, and one of her posts can drive north of $50,000 in sales for Fashion Nova, according to its founder.

Kylie Jenner. AP/Evan Agostini/Invision

"A post from Kylie's page is better than any Super Bowl ad," Saghian told The Cut in 2017.

Source: The Cut

Rapper Cardi B has been promoting the brand since its early days online.

A new collection, made in collaboration with Cardi B, is expected launch online this month. Fashion Nova

"Before she even started her musical career, she was shopping Fashion Nova," Saghian said in an interview with Paper in May.

"I worked with her all the way back in 2014 or 2015. She was a personality and she had really great content on her social media. And we loved her style so we would always work with her."

Thanks to these celebrity promotions, the brand has exploded in popularity. It now boasts an Instagram following of 14million.

Facebook/Fashion Nova
Saghian told WWD in February that the company grew by 600% in 2017 and is profitable. He would not share specifics on the company's revenue.

New styles are constantly being posted to Instagram.

Facebook/Fashion Nova

Saghian describes this as ultra-fast fashion. Over 1,000 new items are released each week.

Facebook/Fashion Nova
Source: WWD and The Cut

It is able to speed up the supply chain time in part because it has access to over 1,000 manufacturers, many of which are located locally in the Los Angeles area.

Facebook/Fashion Nova
Saghian told WWD that it takes the company just 48 hours to design and manufacture a product.

Items are photographed quickly and posted straight to Instagram.

Facebook/Fashion Nova

This constant newness keeps customers coming back.

Facebook/Fashion Nova
"It's important to have a lot of styles because our customers post so much online and need new clothes. We don't want girls showing up to the club in the same outfit. We need 50 different denim jackets. Not just one," Saghian told WWD.

It also offers speedy shipping options.

Orders over $75 are eligible for free two-day shipping. Facebook/Fashion Nova

Customers that live within a 40-mile radius of Los Angeles have the option to order same-day delivery via Postmates.

This service has been temporarily suspended, however, as the company plans to open a new distribution center in January. The Postmates service is expected to be back in time for the holidays.

In the fall of 2016, it expanded its offering with a new collection called Fashion Nova Curve devoted to plus-size shoppers.

Fashion Nova

In June 2018, menswear followed.

Modeled by Jeremy Meeks. Fashion Nova
Source: Cosmopolitan