Digital native brand Aeyde is getting physical.
Launched in 2015, the Berlin-based accessories brand has carved out a loyal niche with its stylish casual shoes and attractive prices. It is now preparing to launch a series of temporary pop-ups, which will launch at Selfridges in London on Tuesday.
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“We see this as a really great opportunity to showcase the brand directly in front of the customer in a physical space for the first time,” said Aeyde co-founder and chief executive Luisa Dames, describing Selfridges as “the perfect partner to launch this range”. .”
“We thought London was the best city for us to run this and, as one of the most innovative outlets in the department store landscape, Selfridges can really showcase brands and build their own identities in small corners within the store.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Aeyde to Selfridges Shoe Galleries, bringing architectural Berlin roots and understated luxury to our customers in modern design,” said Peter Rodwell, accessories buying manager at the luxury retailer. “The pop-up will host the brand’s chic day-to-night styles, from sought-after flats to boots.”
For the occasion, Dames commissioned London-based interior designer and gallerist Max Radford to translate Aeyde’s signature aesthetic, based on the Bauhaus and Brutalism movements, and his ethos between form and function into the installation.
“It’s clear that as a brand we focus a lot on our design language and the core fundamentals of Berlin,” Dames said. “We wanted to work with a local designer who could translate our values for London into a pop-up experience, but who was also familiar with the values of the country. “Max Redford is really talented and he also straddles the art space and the more commercial retail space design, which is something we really liked,” he said.
The resulting clean installation relies on metal elements, a nod to Aeyde’s headquarters in Berlin, but is combined with glass and stone details to give it a “slightly warmer” feel, Dames said.
The partnership with local talent on design will be replicated for other pop-ups the brand plans to roll out. Following Selfridges, an area will open at Le Bon Marché in Paris at the end of August, which will strengthen the city’s visibility and traffic after the Olympic Games.
But Aeyde’s shoes are already earning some attention, as they’ve been seen on celebs like Taylor Swift, Sydney Sweeney, Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Anitta. The Selfridges pop-up will highlight its best-selling chic collection alongside its Spring 2024 collection, which was recently unveiled in a campaign featuring Lily McMenamy, photographer and model Nella Ngingo and artist Adina Fohlin. These include Uma’s square-toed Mary Janes, Gabriella satin ballerina flats, Catrina pointed-toe slingbacks, Stina kitten heel mules, and Thekla fisherman sandals.
In addition to an accessible and wide range of shoe options ranging in price from 225 euros to 745 euros, retail prices of jewelry and accessories such as belts and scarves vary between 145 euros and 345 euros.
The brand’s great designs and interesting positioning appeal to consumers between the ages of 25 and 45, who mostly live in major metropolises such as Paris, Milan, New York and Los Angeles. (Dames said the data was based on those who registered through Aeyde’s online store.)
She also pointed out that TikTok is a tool that increases excitement around the brand and brings in extra sales once an account reviews Uma’s style. He said that he sees this social media as an additional platform that expands the brand’s target audience.
Dames said he wanted Aeyde to “remain a digital-first brand and focus more on that in the coming years” and pointed to the “grim state of retail” at the moment.
“I’d rather keep the risk smaller and focus on the things I do really well internally and my digital channels where I can reach my customer directly and create my own customer journey,” he said. “From the beginning Aeyde started with a key distribution, we just [about 100] partners. The brand is still quite niche in that sense, not very exposed. “As a brand owner, you have to find this very striking balance and not go too heavy in terms of distribution.”
“We still wanted to bring this excitement to our customers around the world [of really experiencing] seeing and touching the brand and you can only do this with a physical presence; “This is where you can really bring your values to life and showcase how you intend to present your products,” he continued. “If you’re working with 100 partners around the world and everyone there[s] you are different in shopping malls, the brand does not look the same as we see, so for me [the pop-ups are] It’s actually a matter of image. “The positioning is the same because we stand next to brands such as Manolo Blahnik and Bottega Veneta.”
Aeyde’s distribution includes 118 high-end luxury boutiques, department stores and online retailers worldwide, including Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Moda Operandi, Net-a-porter, SSense and LuisaViaRoma, among others.
The wholesale channel accounts for 60 percent of the company’s total sales, which Dames declined to disclose. He said last year’s sales were up 60 percent through a combination of consistent product offering and engaging communication.
The largest market for Aeyde in the first quarter of 2024 was the USA, accounting for 25 percent of sales. This was followed by the DACH region of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and the UK, which accounted for 20 percent and 10 percent of Aeyde’s sales respectively.
“The brand is profitable and that is also a huge accomplishment for me as a business owner,” Dames said. “Now it’s time to think about how we can see this at the next level and how we want to continue to develop this.”
Dames, who has a background in cultural and economic studies, previously worked at Zalando’s private label, Executive Shoes & Acc. The department said its approach has always been based on a “very long-term strategy” and knowing “where you want to be in 10 years.”
“I’m starting this business [thinking] “Where do I want to direct this brand, where do I want to position myself, which partners do I want to work with and which ones do I want to exclude?” “As a brand, it’s really important to stay very strongly rooted in yourself and not look too much at what others are doing.…Especially as a business owner, you shouldn’t be afraid to go against the grain: you always need to. Basically, create risk and believe in what you do.”
Dames’ vision is to keep Aeyde the home of accessories. While he said there would be further expansion in the jewelery field and did not rule out a development into bags in the future, he underlined that there is still great potential in the footwear field, where he sees a polarization between the low-priced and luxury market. The former offer products that are “affordable or cheap, but made of terrible quality material,” while the latter have ever-increasing prices, she said.
“It’s more about exclusion [customers] “And I actually want to have a brand that encompasses a lot of different people,” said Dames, who is also eyeing unisex styles and hopes to add a men’s collection.
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