The Digital Weave is a space where we dive into real stories from brands and makers who are using tech to build labels and systems that are more sustainable, more profitable, and uniquely their own.
In this edition, we speak with Wendy Heijne, the founder of Studio Heijne—a pioneering made-to-measure fashion brand using digital tools, automation, and AI to build a more sustainable future for apparel.
Wendy shares her journey from studying fashion in the Netherlands, to years as a designer and recruiter at H&M in Sweden, to building a brand that redefines how clothing is designed, produced, and personalized.
Wendy Heijne is a fashion designer and entrepreneur building a future-driven label that unites inclusivity, craftsmanship, and technology. After a 12-year career at H&M, she founded Heijne with a clear mission: to create a high-quality, sustainable womenswear brand. She built the business on made-to-measure, on-demand production, achieving both exceptional fit and a financially viable model. She is also the founder of ShapelyTech, a startup developing solutions to scale made-to-measure manufacturing for the next era of the industry.
Studio Hejjne instagram: @studioheijne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/studioheijne
Website: www.studioheijne.com
My contact: wendy@studioheijne.com
Linked In Wendy Heijne: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-heijne/
Linked in ShapelyTech: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shapelytech
ABOUT THIS INTERVIEW
Wendy began her career studying fashion at an art academy in the Netherlands before moving to Sweden to work at H&M, where she spent many years as a designer and later a recruiter.
Her shift toward sustainability ultimately motivated her to launch Studio Heijne in 2015:
“I was constantly talking about sustainability at H&M, but one question I could never answer was: how can mass production ever be sustainable? So I followed my heart and created my own brand—one that truly aligns with sustainable practices.”
Wendy recognized a major gap in womenswear: while industries like automotive, tech, and interiors offered customization, fashion still relied heavily on mass-produced standard sizing.
Studio Heijne introduced customizable garments where customers choose necklines, sleeve lengths, fabrics, colors, and more. This naturally evolved into a made-to-measure model, where pieces are produced only after measurements are submitted.
Two European ateliers in Lithuania and Romania produce garments within 2–3 weeks, offering custom fit without excess inventory.
Originally, the system was manual: customers entered measurements on the website, supported by tutorial videos and optional video calls with Wendy. The atelier then manually adjusted patterns to create tailored garments.
Today, Studio Heijne is rapidly advancing this workflow through technology and automation:
“Our goal is full automation: when a customer places an order, the system automatically creates a made-to-measure pattern and sends it directly to production.”
To scale impact across the fashion industry, Studio Heijne developed a Shopify app called Shapely, designed for brands that want to offer:
The app is currently available by contacting Wendy directly, with a full platform launch expected within a year.
“If we want the industry to change, we need to make it easy for brands to adopt on-demand production.”
Wendy has been an early adopter of AI in fashion. She began by generating print concepts for silk scarves, which sped up the idea phase of design.
AI then became a powerful tool in content production:
“AI lets me show products on a wide range of models without producing inventory or organizing costly shoots. It’s a game-changer for small brands.”
Wendy believes the future belongs to brands that embrace new models rather than retrofitting traditional ones:
“Modern brands without legacy constraints will take the lead. Digital-first production and on-demand models will shape the next era.”
Wendy offers practical guidance for designers starting out:
Splitting creative and operational responsibilities helps brands scale faster.
The traditional wholesale model is slow, expensive, and inflexible.
Use digital prototypes, AI visuals, and on-demand production to test concepts before manufacturing anything.
Digital tools allow you to test silhouettes, colors, and concepts without financial risk.
A digital brand is cheap to build but requires budget (or investment) for visibility.
“If you're skilled digitally, you can start almost without upfront production costs. Time is the biggest investment—but marketing funds are essential.”
The Digital Weave is a storytelling series powered by The Fabricant, exploring how creators and innovators are reshaping fashion through technology. These conversations aim to inspire brands of all sizes to build more sustainable, profitable, and creative futures using digital tools and AI. The Digital Weave is powered by The Fabricant, the leading AI fashion tool.
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:03,140 --> 00:00:05,500 [Adriana Pereira]
Now, good morning, Wendy. Real nice having you-
00:00:05,500 --> 00:00:05,900 [Wendy Heijne]
Good morning
00:00:05,900 --> 00:00:21,220 [Adriana Pereira]
... here as part of our interview of The Fabricant series, where we're spotlighting creators and innovators like yourself shaping the future of fashion through technology, and we hope to inspire other people through your story.
00:00:21,220 --> 00:00:22,860 [Wendy Heijne]
Thank you. Thank you for having me.
00:00:22,860 --> 00:00:33,300 [Adriana Pereira]
Amazing. Let's just get, uh, straight in. Uh, first question I have for you is, uh, can you share a bit about your background and, uh, how you got into fashion?
00:00:33,300 --> 00:01:05,480 [Wendy Heijne]
Yeah. I mean, it's a long time ago that I got into fashion. Uh, uh, I, uh, studied, uh, fashion in, uh, the Netherlands actually, uh, at the Art Academy. And so that's a long time ago. And then I, after that I moved to Sweden where I'm, I'm still based. Uh, I moved to Sweden because I got a job at, uh, H&M. Uh, so I worked there many, many, many years as a designer. Um, and also, um, a few years as a, as a recruiter for the new designers. Um, and
00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:25,400 [Wendy Heijne]
then I left H&M in 2015 and, and started my own brand. Uh, but I also have been freelancing for different brands. Uh, still also a bit for H&M, but mostly for, um, but also for other independent brands. Um, focusing most on my, mostly on my, my own, uh, Studio Heijne brand.
00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:39,520 [Adriana Pereira]
Yeah, let's talk about the Studio Heijne. So tell me about it. Uh, why is it different and, uh, how it started. And, uh, I know that, uh, you do very unique, uh, on demand, uh, model, so I'd love to hear about it.
00:01:39,520 --> 00:03:03,640 [Wendy Heijne]
Yeah, it was around, uh, 2015 when, you know, I was very much aware, of course, about sustainability and, uh, and, um, at that time I was, um, um, traveling around with two different, um, schools in Europe to recruit some new designers for H&M. And, uh, one of the questions we always got to... Because I was also telling about all the sustainability work H&M was doing. But one of the questions I always got was like, "Okay, but you know, it's still mass production and it's, like, fast fashion, so how is that sustainable?" And I could never answer that question because it is not sustainable. Um, so then I decided to, um, to follow my, uh... Because I really wanted to work more in a sustainable way. So I followed, I followed my, uh, my heart and, uh, started my own brand, which then of course the, uh, it had to be a, like, a sustainable brand for the future. Um, and, uh, one of the niches I found was that there was a lot of, like, customization going on, uh, for other industries. You could, like, um, customize your Nike shoes with different colors and you can customize your IKEA kitchen and you- your car. But actually for fashion, and especially for women, uh, it was not so much of customization, uh, opportunities. So there I though- I thought I could find, you know, my niche to start a brand where you actually can, can customize, uh, your garments to, um,
00:03:03,640 --> 00:03:39,580 [Wendy Heijne]
make different decisions within the des- the design. Um, so that was a starting point. And that, that of course goes very well together with, like, a made on demand production way. Because you are, uh, first designing kind of your garment and then, yeah, when it's done, we produce it. Um, and then, well, we... Anyway, on it, I was thinking like, yeah, but why should we do standard sizes if we actually do on demand? Then we can do, like, uh, you know, also, uh, do the, the sizing, uh, personal. So you actually have a really personal, uh, um, product.
00:03:39,580 --> 00:03:40,320 [Adriana Pereira]
Mm-hmm.
00:03:40,320 --> 00:04:01,440 [Wendy Heijne]
Um, so that- that all c- came together in Studio Heijne. Um, yeah, and since then, it has been re-... I started with dresses only. Uh, and since then, he had been involved and adding more and more products. And now actually also shifting a bit from... We still have customization, but, uh, we have, are shifting more to made to measure-
00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:01,560 [Adriana Pereira]
Mm-hmm
00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:14,640 [Wendy Heijne]
... to actually get, like, the, the perfect size because we have been, uh, experiencing that this is much more important and a much more bigger issue that you actually want a really good fitting, uh, jeans for example or-
00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:14,740 [Adriana Pereira]
Yeah
00:04:14,740 --> 00:04:15,420 [Wendy Heijne]
... or trouser.
00:04:15,420 --> 00:04:19,779 [Adriana Pereira]
Right. Can you explain a bit more how you're doing it?
00:04:19,779 --> 00:05:02,299 [Wendy Heijne]
Uh, yeah. So from the beginning at Studio Heijne, we've been doing it pretty manual. Uh, well, we created of course an, um, interface so that the, so that the customer could put, put in their measurements, uh, with help of, uh, k- kind of like a simple way. With a made... Uh, measurement tape, but also with videos, how to explain, you know, how to measure. And you can also book always video meetings with me so I can help you if you, you know, have, uh, problems, uh, uh, with, like, finding the right, uh, the right, right way to measure. Um, and then if we get, like, the right measurements of the, of the, um, the, uh, customer, then I translate it into the garment, correct garment measurements. And then we
00:05:02,300 --> 00:05:06,370 [Wendy Heijne]
put, like, an order to the... to our atelier or, like, our production unit. We have a-
00:05:06,370 --> 00:05:06,370 [Adriana Pereira]
Okay
00:05:06,370 --> 00:05:35,840 [Wendy Heijne]
... production unit. One in Lithuania and one in Romania. Um, and they, uh, they actually... A- at the moment with the system we are still working. We are gonna change this. But at the moment, they are taking the, uh, the measurements, which I had said, like, these are the garment measurements. And they are changing the pattern slightly so they will, you know, will be a good fit. So that is what they are doing at the atelier. And then they sew the garments.
00:05:35,840 --> 00:05:46,659 [Adriana Pereira]
Wow. And they do one-on-one, uh... They do the, then the pattern tweaks. So they have a basic pattern, then they manually gonna grade it slightly different depending on the measures.
00:05:46,660 --> 00:06:02,760 [Wendy Heijne]
Yes, uh, exactly. Well, at least, um, our atelier works manually and another production unit works a bit more digitally. They do it digital. Um, but yeah, that, that's the way. And the whole process from order to delivery takes approximately two, three weeks. So it's, it's pretty fast.
00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:03,219 [Adriana Pereira]
It's pretty fast.
00:06:03,220 --> 00:06:04,120 [Wendy Heijne]
Have a-
00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:05,120 [Adriana Pereira]
That's amazing.
00:06:06,388 --> 00:06:20,327 [Wendy Heijne]
Yeah. But this is like, um... Oh, we can maybe come to that la- later, because we have to, you know, automate this pro- uh, this process. Of course, it is a bit too, uh, too manual at the moment, or like, it has been. We are working on that.
00:06:20,328 --> 00:06:30,268 [Adriana Pereira]
Well, then that's... Yeah. Love to hear more in detail how you're using technology now, and how you see, you know, it's gonna evolve even further.
00:06:30,268 --> 00:06:31,527 [Wendy Heijne]
So, you mean in Studio Heine?
00:06:31,527 --> 00:06:32,408 [Adriana Pereira]
Yeah, Studio Heine.
00:06:32,408 --> 00:06:51,228 [Wendy Heijne]
Um, so I will... Um, but technology then, it's so br- It brought, right? I've been... Always been using, uh, um... Well, d- digital tools, for example. It, it keeps it very, a bit simple, um, because we have worked with customization, and that means it's for
00:06:51,228 --> 00:07:01,868 [Wendy Heijne]
one dress. You can maybe choose a V-neck or a round neck, or you can choose short sleeves or long sleeves. Uh, so you... And then different colors, so you can make a lot of, uh, combinations.
00:07:01,868 --> 00:07:02,388 [Adriana Pereira]
Mm-hmm.
00:07:02,388 --> 00:07:26,847 [Wendy Heijne]
And a- And of course, it's not really sustainable to, uh, to, uh, make, uh, uh, samples of all of these different garments. It's, uh, both not economically, um, sustainable, and also, uh, not, uh, environmentally. So then I've been using... From the beginning, I've been using a lot of Photoshop, actually. So digital tools to, to create, um, these garments which are actually... We have never seen them.
00:07:26,847 --> 00:07:29,587 [Adriana Pereira]
Yeah. Wow. Fantastic.
00:07:29,587 --> 00:07:39,828 [Wendy Heijne]
So that's like, uh, the... That was in the beginning, and now we are g- getting more into, uh, more advanced, uh, uh, tools, uh, which makes life much easier.
00:07:39,828 --> 00:07:40,147 [Adriana Pereira]
Mm-hmm.
00:07:40,147 --> 00:07:58,408 [Wendy Heijne]
Um, but that is one of them. And, uh, otherwise, um, uh, techno- technology, um... That this is something I've been, like, working on the, the past years more to automize the process of, of made-to-measure, uh, and made-on-demand. Um,
00:07:58,408 --> 00:08:06,528 [Wendy Heijne]
so it started, like, two years, and now we created an application actually, which, um,
00:08:06,528 --> 00:08:25,568 [Wendy Heijne]
gives an, uh, interface, um, for the customer now. First, we built it in our website, but now it's, like, separately. So it's actually for, for a- all brands to use. It's not only for us. You can just plug it in your website and then you have an interface, uh, and, um, which
00:08:25,568 --> 00:08:31,908 [Wendy Heijne]
allows the customer to, uh, enter the measurements, um, in a much better way than we, we have on our own website.
00:08:31,908 --> 00:08:31,918 [Adriana Pereira]
Mm-hmm.
00:08:31,918 --> 00:08:53,127 [Wendy Heijne]
It's, it's much, much, much better now. Um, and then, um, it creates, uh, automatically, if you put an order, you... It automatically creates an production order and send it to the production with all the correct information about which g- the garment, the buttons, the fabric, and of course the measurements as well.
00:08:53,127 --> 00:08:53,488 [Adriana Pereira]
Mm-hmm.
00:08:53,488 --> 00:09:10,887 [Wendy Heijne]
Um, so that is the first step for us in auto- automation. Um, and then we are looking to the next steps, which are even much more advanced, because what we actually want to do is to automatically create the pattern, which is exactly-
00:09:10,887 --> 00:09:11,117 [Adriana Pereira]
Mm-hmm
00:09:11,117 --> 00:09:56,448 [Wendy Heijne]
... you know, made-to-measure, um. Uh, and this is a very advanced pro- uh, project, which we are working at the moment with, um... And a university here in Sweden who is, um... Um, has just presented us, uh, the way to do, and then it's go- It's with AI, and it is with, uh, parametric design. Um, so yeah. It's, it's... I won't go too into much details there, but that's the aim. That we are, are going to automate the whole process. That you just, like, uh, plug it in your website, and the... On the other hand, when a customer, uh, puts an order or orders a garment, then the production will get, like, the automated, like, pattern-created, um-
00:09:56,448 --> 00:09:56,688 [Adriana Pereira]
That's amazing
00:09:56,688 --> 00:09:57,728 [Wendy Heijne]
... made-to-measure. Yeah.
00:09:57,728 --> 00:10:06,848 [Adriana Pereira]
That's amazing. And, uh, your... So your customers, they still would need to do their own measurement, right? There's, at home I would do my own measurement?
00:10:06,848 --> 00:10:14,058 [Wendy Heijne]
Yes. We, uh, we have one, uh... At the Studio Heine we have one way of putting it, measurements in. At the moment, that's manually with the measurements.
00:10:14,058 --> 00:10:14,068 [Adriana Pereira]
Mm-hmm.
00:10:14,068 --> 00:10:17,338 [Wendy Heijne]
And we are... There are other ways, of course. Body scanning and stuff.
00:10:17,338 --> 00:10:17,348 [Adriana Pereira]
Yeah.
00:10:17,348 --> 00:10:25,168 [Wendy Heijne]
So we're looking into that. But we haven't really found, uh, the perfect partner yet, but we will have different solutions.
00:10:25,168 --> 00:10:30,607 [Adriana Pereira]
Yeah. Definitely. As, as technology's evolving, the body scanning, the sky's the limit. Then-
00:10:30,608 --> 00:10:30,748 [Wendy Heijne]
Yeah
00:10:30,748 --> 00:10:46,168 [Adriana Pereira]
... it's amazing. I love, I love how you, so pioneering the beginning, you're already thinking about your brand, and it's actually taking the steps to add technology to make the process better, right? Uh, for your customers, and I guess also for the manufacturing in this case.
00:10:46,168 --> 00:11:14,488 [Wendy Heijne]
Yes. Because it's... You realize that, like, if you really want, want to scale and it... And it's, it's possible also to scale ma- made-to-measure and mass customization, but then you need to automize. Uh, and also, it's... I love to b- work my own brand and I will keep on doing it, but it's also, if you want to make a bigger impact, uh, in the fashion world and really change things, uh, then I want also other brands, of course, to, to make it easy for other brands to start working.
00:11:14,488 --> 00:11:20,308 [Adriana Pereira]
Oh, that's nice. When do you expect to have your solution in the market so people can find you?
00:11:20,308 --> 00:11:34,048 [Wendy Heijne]
Okay. So we have our... Uh, we have a Shopify app which is already in the market. Um, and we will, um, have our whole platform ready, uh, I think within, within a year.
00:11:34,048 --> 00:11:37,988 [Adriana Pereira]
Okay. Amazing. And the app on Shopify, what does it do now?
00:11:37,988 --> 00:11:43,428 [Wendy Heijne]
So the app in Shopify is the... Then got, uh, the first, uh, part of the process. So it, it's actually an interface-
00:11:43,428 --> 00:11:43,887 [Adriana Pereira]
Mm-hmm
00:11:43,887 --> 00:11:55,127 [Wendy Heijne]
... for... So everyone can, uh, put in their Shopify, uh, website and st- and start with made-to-measure. Uh, and it creates this automatic... This, uh, this production order and send it to, to the, um... To the, the production.
00:11:55,127 --> 00:11:55,227 [Adriana Pereira]
Uh-huh.
00:11:55,228 --> 00:11:58,718 [Wendy Heijne]
That's what the... What the, what the, um, app does.
00:11:58,718 --> 00:11:58,727 [Adriana Pereira]
Nice.
00:11:58,728 --> 00:12:12,488 [Wendy Heijne]
And you can use it for made-to-measure, you can use it for made-on-demand, and you can also u- use it for simpler, um, garment solutions. For example, if you just want to offer different lengths of your trousers or different lengths of your skirts.
00:12:13,132 --> 00:12:18,052 [Adriana Pereira]
That's amazing, and what's the name of the app if people want to find it in Shopify?
00:12:18,052 --> 00:12:24,392 [Wendy Heijne]
Oh, uh, it's called Shapely, but they have to contact me because we are working on making it public. It's still, uh, not public.
00:12:24,392 --> 00:12:47,312 [Adriana Pereira]
Okay. No, no problem, no problem. I'll make sure that, uh, I mention that. That is, uh, that is super cool. So, once, once these, uh, I guess this last leg is more automated, what do you think you're gonna achieve? Do you think you'll achieve, um, cost savings or time saving, uh, or is it just about the experience of the user? What do you think is going to be the payback at the end?
00:12:47,312 --> 00:13:06,212 [Wendy Heijne]
Um, it's definitely, uh, the, uh, the- the process of speed, uh, and the costs, cost saving, um, because y- it costs a lot of time and- and money, of course then, to- to manually make every pattern, um, adjusted-
00:13:06,212 --> 00:13:06,262 [Adriana Pereira]
Mm-hmm
00:13:06,262 --> 00:13:14,902 [Wendy Heijne]
... to, uh, to even... So that's like, if you want to really scale it and apply it to b- like bigger volumes, um, then it has to be automated.
00:13:14,902 --> 00:13:14,922 [Adriana Pereira]
Yeah. It's-
00:13:14,922 --> 00:13:17,071 [Wendy Heijne]
So it's the only, it's the only way to scale it.
00:13:17,072 --> 00:13:18,771 [Adriana Pereira]
Mm-hmm.
00:13:18,771 --> 00:13:23,612 [Wendy Heijne]
So yeah, it will, it is necessary to, uh, to make it, uh, in the end profitable and, uh-
00:13:23,612 --> 00:13:23,892 [Adriana Pereira]
Yeah, yeah
00:13:23,892 --> 00:13:25,292 [Wendy Heijne]
... scalable. Mm-hmm.
00:13:25,292 --> 00:13:32,632 [Adriana Pereira]
And, uh, do you expect then, um, to expand your brand further with these new tools?
00:13:32,632 --> 00:13:46,512 [Wendy Heijne]
Uh, yes, I hope so. But I also, um, am very much, uh, at the moment, putting focus on- on this new tool, which is actually gonna be another company.
00:13:46,512 --> 00:13:46,992 [Adriana Pereira]
Yeah, yeah.
00:13:46,992 --> 00:14:09,392 [Wendy Heijne]
Uh, so I will divide my, uh, I- I actually m-, uh, I- I am hoping to, um, I'm working on it already, like, to get other brands on board. Uh, so I- I want to, um, still work with my brand, but I think focus a lot on, you know, having other brands, uh, on board and help them changing into on-demand and made-to-measure.
00:14:09,392 --> 00:14:23,471 [Adriana Pereira]
I love that. Love, love that. And, uh, just talking about another technology piece, I know that you are an adopter of AI and you have been experimenting. Can you share a bit about your experience and what AI has, uh, brought to you?
00:14:23,472 --> 00:16:53,492 [Wendy Heijne]
Yeah. So from the beginning, the first experiences w- were with, um, um, in the design phase, um, I'm designing, um, a lot of, like, I love designing prints, so I work with, um, designing scarves, silk scarves, like this one. Uh, and, uh, there I used the AI for, uh, to get like from the idea stage to get like a lot of like print ideas and then take them into an, uh, into, um, other tools and work with them more personal. So that was the- the first one, which is, I think it's super clear and fun and super easy. Um, and then also, uh, I, um, started with, uh, changing, uh, started actually with changing models actually, because you know, you want to create so much content, uh, but creating a photo shoot costs a lot of money, uh, and it's a whole project. Um, also it's not too easy to, uh, and costs money to get like your products in different sizes. Uh, when you w- work with made on-demand, you don't, don't want to, you know, produce too much, um, uh, in- in- in advance. But still I wanted to show my customers that actually we are doing, uh, our garments for every size, you know, for every, like, doesn't ma- how you look. So you also want to communicate that, uh, but it's very costly to do a lot of photo shoots. Uh, so then I started, uh, with the AI and, uh, just changing, um, based on, uh, uh, er- uh, per... In the beginning it was based on real photos, and then we changing models and, you know, so that you can create a lot of new content. Um, that's how I started. And now, uh, you know, using The Fabricant's, uh, tools, now it's getting so much easier, and now I can even create a whole products, uh, for the, for, on the website, uh, like a product photo shoot, uh, just with... It can maybe even be from a prompt, but I usually actually take, uh, a picture of the existing garment, uh, but not even on a model anymore. Uh, and then work with it and- and create both product shoots, uh, but also look-book photos and, um, photos for social media. That has been
00:16:53,492 --> 00:16:54,771 [Wendy Heijne]
really expanding.
00:16:54,771 --> 00:17:20,952 [Adriana Pereira]
Amazing. Yeah. Uh, we hear, especially like, I think... Well, I wouldn't say especially with small brands, but a lot of, uh, of brands are using exactly for that use case, which is the model photography. Not only to show diversity, but to, of models, right? But also have different settings, different occasions. So it gives a lot of flexibility. So we're having, we're having a really good feedback about it indeed. Um, I'm curious, uh,
00:17:20,952 --> 00:17:32,772 [Adriana Pereira]
what's your point of view on the fashion industry in the next five years? You know, where, with all this technology, what do you expect to happen?
00:17:32,772 --> 00:17:35,512 [Wendy Heijne]
Oh. Uh ,
00:17:35,572 --> 00:17:52,272 [Wendy Heijne]
it's so interesting because there's so many layers. Um, and I see like big companies like, um, H&M, for example, um, they are adopting these tools, but they are not really changing their business model.
00:17:52,272 --> 00:17:52,412 [Adriana Pereira]
Mm-hmm.
00:17:52,412 --> 00:17:58,672 [Wendy Heijne]
They are just trying to put it in, you know, the working method they already
00:17:58,672 --> 00:18:49,080 [Wendy Heijne]
doing. Uh, so that's one way. But I think there will be so many like, uh, new brands, uh, younger brands, more modern brands who are having different kind of, uh... You know, they don't have this history of doing things in a certain way, who will just-... um, build a brand in a, in a v- very new way. And, uh, um, yeah, I really believe, uh, that more brands will work with made on demand and, and, and, uh, put out digital, uh, products, uh, already, you know, before, before maybe even have to produce them. Um, um, at the same time, it's also very, as you said, it's very traditional. I've been also trying the business-to-business model working with retailers-
00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:49,840 [Adriana Pereira]
Mm-hmm
00:18:49,840 --> 00:19:05,080 [Wendy Heijne]
... and, and that's a, that's... They are not really going together, uh, this world, so that's a bit, like, interesting how, how that will, how that will go. Because that slow world of presenting your garments and then you really have to have garments and then-
00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:06,580 [Adriana Pereira]
They perform, yeah.
00:19:06,580 --> 00:19:22,620 [Wendy Heijne]
Yeah, and then you have to, like, you know, wait whole year and then produce them. And, uh, I don't know, but a lot of these, you know, retailers are also struggling. So i- in the end, I think they, the, the modern, uh, brands were thinking you will take over.
00:19:22,620 --> 00:19:51,260 [Adriana Pereira]
So I'm, I'm very excited about what you just said, like a- as an independent brand, right? Uh, now is the moment. So if you take your experience with, um, uh, your brand with Studio Hajne, and, uh, if you would explain to a young designer what is required to set up a brand, what would you explain? Like what would be the, the steps... And again, using all the range of, uh, experience and technology that you have in place, what do they need to have to make it successful?
00:19:51,260 --> 00:20:07,669 [Wendy Heijne]
Mm-hmm. So if you're talking to a d- a designer, I would say get a business partner. First advice. I, I never did. I would really do it. I would really do that. So you have a bit of the v- you know, divide your, uh-
00:20:07,669 --> 00:20:08,560 [Adriana Pereira]
Mm-hmm
00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:14,190 [Wendy Heijne]
... Yeah. One can work a bit more creative and one can focus on that. So that's like a general advice.
00:20:14,190 --> 00:20:14,200 [Adriana Pereira]
Yeah.
00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:38,740 [Wendy Heijne]
And then I would, um, definitely go for, uh, a business-to-customer approach directly. Don't go into the traditional way of, like, presenting it business to business, uh, and trying to g- get in with retailers. It's so inflexible, and it's so difficult. You can just put your effort instead of, like, put... A- um, and your money on the t- you're putting your brand out there-
00:20:38,740 --> 00:20:38,889 [Adriana Pereira]
Mm-hmm
00:20:38,889 --> 00:20:41,280 [Wendy Heijne]
... and create really great content and-
00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:41,379 [Adriana Pereira]
Yeah
00:20:41,379 --> 00:20:44,280 [Wendy Heijne]
... great digital products before you actually even...
00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:44,480 [Adriana Pereira]
Sure.
00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:53,139 [Wendy Heijne]
You can try so many things, uh, digitally before you actually even produce it. So I would, like, really recommend to experiment and, and, and, and focus on that.
00:20:53,139 --> 00:20:59,179 [Adriana Pereira]
Oh, I love that. And how much capital would the, would this, uh, designer need to have to start?
00:20:59,179 --> 00:20:59,960 [Wendy Heijne]
How many, sorry?
00:20:59,960 --> 00:21:04,579 [Adriana Pereira]
How much capital, like how much investment you think?
00:21:04,580 --> 00:21:09,879 [Adriana Pereira]
If you were to go this digital model where you don't need to produce upfront? Uh...
00:21:09,879 --> 00:21:28,040 [Wendy Heijne]
Yeah, I mean, it's, it's... So, uh, you can start with relatively... If you're good digitally, uh, as a designer and you just want to like, uh, you know, try out your brand, try... Like, then you can actually do... Doesn't cost much money at all if you just keep it digital.
00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:28,560 [Adriana Pereira]
Mm-hmm.
00:21:28,560 --> 00:22:02,210 [Wendy Heijne]
Uh, it does co- cost a lot of time, uh, because that's the thing, of course. I mean, even if... AI makes everything faster, but still to get the, you know, good level of... It costs time. Um, so... But it doesn't really... Uh, you do need capital anyway because, you know, wanted to get your brand out there. And that's, that's the, the challenge, right? We need marketing money and, uh, to be able to run ads. And so yeah, it's, it's im- impossible to, to mention, uh, as, as, as sum but, um-
00:22:02,210 --> 00:22:02,210 [Adriana Pereira]
Okay
00:22:02,210 --> 00:22:11,360 [Wendy Heijne]
... I would really... Uh, if you have investors, I would really, uh, recommend to, uh, try to get investors.
00:22:11,360 --> 00:22:48,360 [Adriana Pereira]
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