Fashion Brand, Universal Standard, comes to Houston with Pop-Up Tour and Model Search on October 14-15
100 percent of profits of the pop-up shop will benefit One America Appeal to support hurricane relief funds
The Houston visit, scheduled for October 14-15, will feature a pop-up shop, model search in partnership with The Lions Model Management, and the opportunity to meet co-founders Polina Veksler and Alexandra Waldman for personal fittings, style tips, and insight into the brand aesthetic and philosophy. The pop-up shop is part of a two month, 12 city tour and national model search.
Event details: Saturday, Oct. 14: 11 am – 7 pm – Trunk Show; 11 am – 2 pm – Model Search (one day only) & Sunday, Oct. 15: 11am – 7 pm – Trunk Show
at The Texas Wine School on 2301 Portsmouth Street in Houston, TX 77098.
Saturday RSVP: www.eventbrite.com/e/model-search-trunk-show-by-universal-standard-houston-tx-tickets-37498768827?aff=es2.
Sunday RSVP: www.eventbrite.com/e/model-search-trunk-show-by-universal-standard-houston-tx-tickets-37498768827?aff=es2.
GET TO KNOW UNIVERSAL STANDARD WITH CO-FOUNDER, ALEXANDRA WALDMAN
Talk about the design concepts on the range of outfits & the age bracket you’re targeting:
I’d describe Universal Standard’s aesthetic as modern, every-day cool. Our pieces have an understated downtown style, but also stand the test of time. Clothing that you can actually live in – wear day in and day out. We’re not interested in following trends. We’re interested in setting them.
We often refer to clothing as a language of self-expression. Not only does it tell the world who we are, but who we want to be. For so long, many women have been denied the ability to present themselves in the way they want.
How have you gotten the word out? We’ve been really lucky in that we’ve had an incredible response from the press, as well as our customers. The combination of organic publicity and word of mouth has had the biggest impact in getting the word out about Universal Standard.
Additionally, the 12-city road trip we’re currently on has caught the attention of a lot of new customers. We’re trying to reach them on their turf. Being able to try the pieces on and feel the fabrics we use really brings the brand home in their understanding of what makes US stand out amongst other brands in the space.
How has the response been & what type of feedback are you hearing from shoppers? The response has been overwhelming. The brand receives love letters on a daily basis. We consider ourselves to be a customer-centric business in that we’re constantly trying to exceed expectations and set a new standard. That’s really our ultimate goal – to make women happy.
Evolution of your designs: We’re starting with pieces that easily fit into each other and your existing wardrobe. In terms of design we’re always trying to offer pieces that are beautiful and well made. We want everything to be incredibly wearable and easily integrated into day-to-day life, but at the same time be stylish and modern.
Best thing about your products: Style, quality, and fit – you really can’t separate these three. When we started Universal Standard we decided that those are the areas we would never compromise on. We source the best fabrics in the world – Peruvian cotton, French satin-back crepe, Italian merino wool. The pieces look great, and feel amazing.
We approach fit differently than most brands. Instead of just scaling up a small garment to fit a bigger body, we look from size to size in our range and make adjustments to ensure proper fit across the spectrum. It’s an approach we call micro-grading, and it’s helped us hone in on what we feel is a real standard in sizing. By being a direct-to-consumer business we’re able to keep up the standard in quality that our customers deserve and still keep prices fair and accessible from the start.
Plans for the future: There are a lot of new and exciting things on the horizon. We’re launching a new Tria Collection with Danielle Brooks in November, which we’re very excited about.
More into the future, we’re planning to introduce new categories, and more collaborations and projects. It’s just the beginning for US.
MORE ABOUT UNIVERSAL STANDARD:
Fast Company claims that Universal Standard “may have just solved the biggest problem in plus-size fashion,” and they have attracted the attention of other national media including Vogue, The Today Show, Glamour, and Forbes. A few things that they are doing differently:
– More fashion-forward, contemporary design that you might find through brands like Theory and Helmut Lang.
– Quality fabrics and tailoring for affordable prices.
– Pioneering a program termed “Universal Fit Liberty” that provides size exchanges of items from the brand’s core collection for free within a year of purchase to accommodate women’s never-ending battle with fluctuating weight. The returned items are laundered and donated to charity.
– Universal Standard just announced last week an exciting partnership with Orange Is the New Black star Danielle Brooks on a three-piece “Tria” collection.
– To ease the shopping process, they offer Starter Kits – eight or ten-piece options – complete with various looks their web site.
Details on Universal Standard available at www.universalstandard.com.
photos courtesy of Universal Standard