When Los Angeles fashion designer Kiana Anvaripour began stitching together her own dress line two years ago, she thought they’d be a hit.
But initial reactions were not what she expected: People were more excited about the slip she had designed to wear underneath the dresses. So Anvaripour stopped her dress work and started designing “shapewear” – undergarments meant to sculpt a woman’s natural curves, accentuating the positive, attenuating the negative.
The slip, which she dubbed the Marilyn after the curvaceous Hollywood star, became the centerpiece of her shapewear brand, ResultWear by dMondaine. Like its namesake, the Marilyn quickly got a lot of attention. It was featured in Italian Vogue magazine and on a celebrity style segment for E Entertainment News.
But more importantly, the line has made it into the big leagues of retail. The slips and bras are sold in high-end department stores Neiman Marcus, Barneys and Bergdorf Goodman, in addition to 50 specialty retailers and boutiques worldwide. They’re also sold online through fashion sales sites Net-a-Porter.com and Shopbop.com.
“I feel like the train is going so fast,” Anvaripour said. “Sometimes I forget how much has happened in the last year because I’m so wrapped up in the day to day, but when I take a step back, I’m really proud of what I’ve accomplished.”
Anvaripour decided early on to manufacture her collections in downtown Los Angeles rather than more cheaply overseas. The proximity made it possible for her to get her garments to department stores according to their strict shipping schedules, but also meant she had to borrow more when she took out a loan to finance her first big order from Neiman Marcus.
David Perry, owner of brand development and consulting firm DSP Group in downtown Los Angeles, said getting into department stores within months of founding a fashion brand is unusual. Most fashion brands prove themselves in smaller boutiques and gain some retail exposure before approaching department stores.
“Neiman’s is taking a chance on her,” he said. “She’s going to have to be really aware of what the retailer is going to require from her. If you don’t produce on time, you get charged. You miss the shipping deadline? They charge you. It’s great publicity for her, but a lot of small companies fold under the requirements of these larger retailers.”
Taking orders
Anvaripour has always had an affinity for Neiman Marcus. When she was a senior studying fashion design at Otis College of Art and Design in Winchester almost 10 years ago, the Beverly Hills store displayed her final student collection in its windows.
After graduating, Anvaripour moved to London for five years, where she worked for a number of small startups, then moved back to Los Angeles.
By the time Anvaripour decided to found her dress company, dMondaine LLC, in 2010, she had gained experience in nearly every aspect of the fashion business, including negotiating with department store buyers. She used those skills and contacts to begin growing ResultWear, dMondaine’s shapewear division, in 2010.
“I called Neiman’s every single day, but they told me, ‘No, I’m sorry, we’re done buying. We’re not looking,’” she said.
However, one day, the store’s buyers agreed to her request for a 10-minute meeting at company headquarters in Dallas. She packed her collection as quickly as she could and got on a plane. She wore one of her dresses and the Marilyn slip into the meeting – and walked out 10 minutes later with a promise for a purchase order for the shapewear.
“It was exhilarating and also terrifying at the same time,” she said.
Today, ResultWear has 10 different styles of slips, bras and, most recently added, a bodysuit that can be worn with pants.
At $170 for the Marilyn slip and $79 for a bra, ResultWear is on the pricy side compared with competitors. Atlanta’s Spanx Inc., the leading U.S. manufacturer of shapewear, charges between $42 and $178 for a slip of comparable coverage and between $32 and $68 for a bra.
Anvaripour said her initial decision to manufacture her garments downtown is one she plans to stick with, even though it adds to the overall cost of the brand.
“The quality control is the most important thing for us,” she said. “I’ve worked for companies before where manufacturing is so far out, and if something goes wrong, you’re screwed.”
Andrew Forbes, president of apparel consulting firm Forbes Consulting Co. in downtown Los Angeles, said that though manufacturing stateside is often seen as an expensive option, it’s one that will give ResultWear credibility with high-end consumers.
“If she’s in Neiman’s, two or three dollars on a manufacturing cost is not going to make that much of a difference for her customers,” he said. “They’re going to be more worried about the quality, and there’s actually an edge to making things in the United States. It gives you a little bit of a plus.”
But while success may have come quickly for Anvaripour, it hasn’t come without challenges.
Anvaripour self-funded most of her business, and got a loan from VEDC, a non-profit in Van Nuys that provides financial services to small businesses, to finance her first large purchase order from Neiman Marcus. The Santa Monica non-profit California Lawyers for the Arts helped her patent and trademark her designs.
Perry said it’s not unusual for companies to take out loans to fill purchase orders, since the capital required for orders can be significant.
“It’s typically 90 days of restricted cash flow, and that often means you’re not developing or innovating your next product because you don’t have the money to support it. That can inhibit a company’s growth,” he said.
Anvaripour is still paying off the loan but said the company is profitable. She works long hours with the help of only one paid employee to manage her business, which she plans to expand into department stores in England, Mexico, Germany and the Benelux countries. She has already received an order from Natches, a high-end London department store.
“It’s so exciting to see it grow,” she said.
