lookingAhead
the evolution
Ramy
Designer Ramy Brook’s namesake line has grown with her—and her customers. BY ARIA DARCELLA Your brand is all about a really confident, sexy attitude. Does that translate into your own wardrobe as well? Yeah, absolutely! Everything I put on my body really needs to make me feel good about myself. Feeling sexy, for me, makes me feel good, and everything I put on my body has that feel. You released a second campaign with Martha Hunt and Sebastian Faena. What was it like working with them again? We always planned to work with them for two seasons, one in the fall and one in the spring. I love working with both of them. Martha is stunning and beautiful, FA S H I O N W E E K D A I LY. C O M
and so great to work with. We’ve become friends— I really like her as a person. The fall and holiday campaign is spectacular, and she’s amazing in it. Sebastian’s incredibly talented, and he could shoot anybody, anywhere. We have a nice dynamic, the three of us. Why were you finally ready to do a national ad? I’ve been in business since 2010. It took a couple of years to get our footing and understand the market, how everything evolved, and business in general. It just seemed time to launch something bigger and national. Where are you hoping these campaigns will push your brand? I still want strong brand awareness. Through the campaign, I want people to associate the brand with women getting dressed to feel good about themselves. And if people go shopping and think, “I have a party, I need something during the day and it needs to take me into night,” I want them to think “Ramy Brook.”
How are you trying to combine the IRL experience with the online experience? I want it to be the same. I want people who shop on my website to feel the same experience when you go in my store. If you buy online, you can return in my store; if you go into my store and you saw something online that’s not available, we’ll ship it to you. So I want the customer to have a seamless experience, both online and in the store. The brick-and-mortar will definitely follow the lead of our online presence as well. How has social media changed your brand? Social media, and working with social media influencers, is important for us. Brand awareness, working with all different types of age groups, models, and influencers…it’s become something that is really just part of our whole plan. It’s all part of our marketing experience. In 2010, I wouldn’t have even considered that part of our marketing budget—now, it’s a big part of it.
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