Founded in Australia in 2015, the Silk Laundry brand has just opened its first boutique on 4812 Melrose Avenue in the West Hollywood district. A new address that represents its sixth boutique in the world after Australia and Canada. Founder Katie Kolodinski agreed to answer FashionNetwork.com’s questions.
FashionNetwork: You bring a new creative touch to the world of silk. Why did you focus your work on this very special material, silk?
Katie Kolodinski: My original intent was to create clothing that was simple, wearable and made of natural fibers. When I was younger and trying to narrow down my style, I found it difficult as I can be quite eclectic in my tastes. However, the common denominator in my style was that I wore natural fibers and never synthetic. When I began Silk Laundry, it was extremely difficult to find well made clothing made from silk. It’s a fiber that holds so much strength, yet it’s soft as butter on the skin, has the ability to regulate your body temperature, and has antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. When I began Silk Laundry, I was living in Queensland, Australia, and I was always fighting the heat in some way. Silk Laundry was born with a focus on reducing heat in my own day to day life.
FashionNetwork: This week, you’re opening your first store in Los Angeles on Melrose Avenue. What does this very special opening mean to you?
K.K: This store has been a long time coming. I won’t lie and say that this has been easy process. It has been our most difficult build from start to finish, and challenges were thrown at us every step of the way. I am extremely proud of my team who have worked tirelessly for the last two years on this project. I’m also extremely product of my close team who are on the ground with me now in LA, as well as my husband Reece, who never gives up and takes everything in his stride to stay positive and move forward.
FNW: What does the boutique’s set-up look like?
K.K: It’s a bright open space that lets the garments speak for themselves. We have a mix of old and new. We have kept the old flooring and marble from the previous tenants, as I couldn’t see it go to waste. We have diffused light, some metal finishes, and some really beautiful custom made walnut timber pieces.
FNW: The Silk Laundry brand is already present in Australia and Canada via your other boutiques. What made you interested in the California market and Los Angeles?
K.K: We have been well supported by customers in the United States, particularly in California. The United States is our second biggest market outside of Australia. We have a strong ecommerce business here and also sell in about 40 stores through wholesale so it was a natural progression to be able to bring customers into one of our own boutiques and give them a full brand experience.
FNW: Is the American market the one you’ll be targeting over the next few seasons?
K.K: International growth is high on our agenda, with the U.S. being a strong market for us. Thus, it makes sense to focus on continuing our growth here. We are focusing on building our business across all three of our sales channels. Silk Laundry is already present here in wholesale and ecommerce, so retail now completes the mix and we will now focus on growth across all three channels. This will be our only store in the United States for the moment. However, from this space, we are now able to serve our customers better with local shipping and returns, a storefront for hands on service, and local customer support.
FNW: More generally, what international markets are you targeting?
K.K: We still see a lot of growth in our home markets of Australia and Canada so they will continue to get a lot of focus, and now we have added the U.S. to this mix. Beyond this, we now have an office in Barcelona and are beginning to look at Europe as our next expansion market. Earlier in the year we launched our EU-specific e-commerce site and have also appointed agency support in both wholesale and PR to help with that growth. 2025 will see us push a little more in Europe.
FNW: How has your company’s sales evolved in recent years?
K.K: Apart from 2020 due to Covid store closures, we have seen strong annual sales growth (30%) since inception and that growth returned post-pandemic and has continued. The channel mix has changed over the years for us. Originally, we were 100% online, then slowly began to grow our wholesale business with our first retail store only opening six years ago. Now, we are pretty even across all three sales channels.
FNW: What is your strategy for opening boutiques and developing wholesale? On the wholesale side, how many boutiques does Silk Laundry currently have?
K.K: Wholesale is an important sales channel for us as we see it as a great way to connect new customers with our products, where they can touch and try the garments on. We have focused predominantly on small independent boutiques that have local intimate connections with their customers. However, we also are stocked in major retailers too, such as Ssense and Rent the Runway. We are currently stocked in about 140 stores globally, with North America being a growing market for us.
FNW: Silk is by nature a sustainable fabric, but the rise of “silkworm rearing” can have a negative ecological impact. How can we stay sustainable with silk production?
K.K: Most of our work has focused on the reduction or elimination of synthetic fibers and the promotion of buying pieces that you truly love and will keep for a long time. We also know there is, at this point, no perfect production process. However, the end of life impact of over production as well as non-biodegradable textiles is a massive problem that needs to be addressed. At the moment we work with three small makers and we are exploring other natural fibers, new dying processes, and we are constantly learning, growing and evolving.
FNW: Looking at your collections, are you thinking of developing a line dedicated to men in the near future?
K.K: It adds another complexity, but I would love to develop a true men’s line in time when the timing is right.
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