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Virginie Alvarez, SK 2006, founder of MyWardrobeMistakes: pre-loved fashion meets e-commerce in London!

29 October 2018 Race

SKEMA Alumni met business owner Virginie at the first speed networking event held in London on 31 October 2018 and spoke to her about the website she has launched for buying and selling second-hand luxury items. Her team couldn’t be prouder of this ethical choice.

Virginie Alvarez, SK 2006, joined SKEMA Business School on the Sophia Antipolis campus to complete an MSc in Luxury Management and Marketing, after graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Management.
As someone who has always had a passion for luxury and fashion, she got her foot in the door at Agatha Paris by starting at the bottom as soon as she finished school. 

 

Can you tell us about your career path before MWM?

I’ve always had a passion for fashion. After spending 6 years at Agatha Paris as Product Manager, London was calling me. My next experience was as a Brand Manager at Liberty, the famous London department store renowned for its prints, its fabrics and its design. I quickly progressed to Head of Sales, shifting away slightly from marketing, but it taught me a great deal about wholesale among other things. I then joined Farfetch, which at the time was much smaller than it is today ;), as head of the France site and, after my first maternity leave, as Category Manager Jewellery. After my second maternity leave, I discovered that I no longer had time to reconcile a demanding job and a very full family life.

For months I thought about what I could do if I combined what I knew best, fashion and e-commerce, and that is how I got the idea for MyWardrobeMistakes!

 

A website for buying and selling new or almost new luxury items to get the most out of all those wardrobe mistakes we make when we shop. What mistakes? To name a few: buying high heels and never wearing them, forgetting to return an item, or not being able to let go of the gifts we receive but will never wear. The pieces are gorgeous, and yet they will never be worn!

So instead of going out to buy more new fashion, let’s try to sell what is already out there, build a website or organise pop-up sales that make people want to buy stunning pre-loved season items that have never been worn!

Second-hand is also an ethical choice for me. Our business is paperless, and we use as little packaging as possible for our orders... every little bit counts. 

The second major goal with MWM was to offer women services, because in this day and age our biggest luxury is time! No one has time anymore and you have even less if you have kids or a demanding job. We wanted to offer our customers a concierge service: we come to you to pick up the items you want to sell; we also have a wardrobe consulting option for buyers and sellers, and we have a “see, touch and try at home” option. We want to provide the same quality service as the best websites. It’s not because we sell second-hand that we should downgrade the service. Quite the contrary. Our customer service must be excellent and super responsive!

 

What have you learned about yourself since becoming an entrepreneur?

For the moment, we’re a start-up. I work at 360 degrees with media and PR agencies, a designer, and I have two people who help me with the admin. I also have 5 stylists for the wardrobe consulting.

It’s not easy to manage everything by yourself, especially when you’ve been used to open-space offices. Sometimes the silence gets to you, or the more boring tasks that need doing... but when it works, you feel such satisfaction!

Today, I want to work only with people I enjoy working with. That is my luxury!

The hardest thing is still having to wear all the different hats: being a woman, a mother, a business owner. I don’t know anything more difficult. You oscillate between feeling guilty and racing around. Between my personal life and MWM, I never stop. To me, that is the real glass ceiling for women! 
 

What 3 addresses do you recommend in London?

In Soho, Liberty, the best store, Boca di Lupo, one of my favourite Italian restaurants, and Dean Street Townhouse, for their delicious breakfast pastries (what I miss the most over here)

 

Contact: Virginie Alvarez virginie@mywardrobemistakes.com

https://www.mywardrobemistakes.com

MyWardrobeMistakes

MyWardrobeMistakes

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