"designer items" "Designer clothes typically sell for 8 times what they cost to make. But it doesn't have to be this way. We've set out to challenge convention

"designer items" "Designer clothes typically sell for 8 times what they cost to make. But it doesn't have to be this way. We've set out to challenge conventions and build a new retail model. We have no physical stores, no middlemen taking their cut and no crazy brand markups. Instead, we create our own luxury basics and sell them exclusively at everlane.com." One thing this model is missing is that part of the reason designer goods cost more is because people are paying for the name as well as presumably better quality. To the point where people knock off designer goods and there is an entire IP infrastructure in place to police those brands. So while this is pretending to be the "Louis CK" model of selling it's really not. First, they don't have a known "Louis CK" brand. 2nd removing the middleman only removes a part of the markup of a luxury brand. This might be similar to someone offering to sell a Hyundai that performs on the same level as an equivalent Porsche or BMW but is a Hyundai. By "performs" I mean same quality of materials, same cornering, acceleration etc. (Let's suppose they could do that). What you would end up with is only part of the allure of the Porsche. The brand does mean something and that's part of what you are paying for. (In addition to the commission the dealer makes and the salesperson makes). Part of the money that goes into a brand is what you are paying for when you buy the brand. If what they want to do is simply sell better quality goods and cut out the middleman that's fine. But they shouldn't dismiss the value (in some people's brains) of having a "brand" of anything and paying more for it either.