Overall, I have to say that I find luxury brands tiresome. But I like this one; Clemens en August. They have completely challenged the rules of fashion retail. Instead of fixed stores, they take their clothes ‘on tour’ – a tour they make twice a year, stopping for three days in 12 major cities around the world. In doing so, they have shunned expensive retail rental and store mark-ups (oh, and they also shun conventional advertising, opting instead for word of mouth and exclusive invites). On top of this, when ‘on tour’, they host their collections in museums, galleries and other impressive spaces. Going to the shops has never seemed more vanilla!

I love that Clemens en August do not consider this to be pop-up retail. To them, going ‘on tour’ is a differentiated concept that drives every aspect of their business model. Apparently the company’s first founders (Clemens & August) started by taking their textiles to wealthy farmers in the North of the Netherlands, by foot. The business model – the fabrics that come to you. Today’s modern founder, Alexander Brenninkmeijer believes what they are doing today is merely an extension of this. The clothes that come to you (rich city dwellers that is, not rich farmers).

The last stroke of genius I liked from this brand is their price tags. They want to let us know that by not having to waste money on store mark-ups of property rental; they can give us great clothes at a fraction of the cost. So their labels sport two prices. Their price; and the supposed cost if you were to buy the item in Selfridges of Bloomingdales. So a tuxedo is priced at $714 and then again $1,786. What a great twist.

A lot of what Clemens en August are doing makes business sense. A lot of started from a place of necessity. How else do you launch a luxury fashion brand and expect people to care? These guys have embraced the implications of being in an underdog position and made it work for them. In a way that has made them the envy of the big luxury players. So what would happen if we embraced our position as the underdog? How might we start seeing the things we have at our disposal as assets, not hindrances?