Matchesfashion opens first overseas Raey pop-up in NYC

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Oct 18, 2019

Private label brands are becoming increasingly important to high-end and mid-market retailers and Matchesfashion is putting a big push behind its own-brand Raey. Its first brand pop-up outside of the UK has just opened at Roll & Hill on Mercer Street in New York City. It stays open until Sunday and will be followed by a pop-up in Seoul, South Korea, on November 1 and 2.

This follows a pop-up space for the brand within Matchesfashion’s Carlos Place luxury townhouse/store and underlines the increasing boost such an own-brand can give to a retailer’s bottom line, even for an ultra-luxe retailer that sells a huge portfolio of the world’s best-known luxury labels.

The brand itself is known for its minimalist spin on wardrobe staples with an approach that aims to avoid short-term trends but manages to stay on-trend. 

Creative director Rachel Proud said: “The focus of the Raey brand is to embrace our customer into our culture of building a wardrobe of season-less, trend-free clothes, which will be kept for a lifetime. We want to make good clothes with good ethics that people want to wear.”

The pop-ups aren’t just about selling clothes but have an experience edge too in order to drive extra footfall, with classes, workshops, customisation and other special attractions.

The products on sale include basics, knitwear, dresses and denim, but also take in Proud’s collaborative work with designer Cressida Jamieson, accessories and jewellery brand Ferian and lingerie specialist Lucy Jones.

It’s part of a wider promotional push for five-year-old Raey that is a bestseller for Matchesfashion.