The Kardashian-Jenners’ favorite new basics brand was started by 3 sisters
If you aren’t hip to Naked Wardrobe in 2017 I’m pretty sure you’ve been living under a rock.
Sisters Shida Kaviani, Shirin Kaviani, Shideh Kaviani came together to start this brand out of their parents’ house a few years ago and now are rolling in dough while doing what they love.
In our Q+A, we sat down with Shida and learn the ins and outs of NW and a little about these sisters too. Keep reading if you wanna learn about how they did it and how they plan on having us spend our money next.
What’s your background and how would you describe what you do? Tell us your story.
We are three sisters from Los Angeles, born and raised in the Valley. Attending college and getting our degrees was always very important to us. I studied fashion design, Shirin studied graphic design, and Shida studied communications. After we graduated, we all went our separate ways, got our feet wet in different fields, and then we ultimately came together to start Naked Wardrobe.
How would you describe your journey of becoming a business owner?
Secretly, the three of us were entrepreneurs at an early age. When we were kids, we would stand outside on the corner of the street and sell lemonade, fresh watermelon juice, anything Shirin could find in the fridge and throw in a blender. And it was only $0.15 a cup! We remember taking our daily earnings and rewarding ourselves with some Taco Bell! We were so proud of ourselves. We were little entrepreneurs in the making.
So where did the initial idea for Naked Wardrobe stem from and how did you fund it in the beginning?
Two out of three of us had an online shopping addiction! Our mom took our credit cards away so it was time to be resourceful. We reached out to our tech savvy friend to help us create a website, and the rest is history.
How is it being business partners with your sisters? What is each person’s role and why?
It’s a gift and a curse! There are moments where we disagree during discussions and certain topics, but at the end of the day we are all so passionate about what we do and proud of what we’ve built together. Each of us is strong in our own way, but overall we all do a little bit of everything.
What was your overall vision for your company?
Our vision has always been to create the highest quality pieces at an affordable price point. Growing up we had to work hard for our own wardrobe and we know how hard it can be to always look fly! Also, with the internet and social media, no one wants to spend a lot of money on clothes because they don’t want to post the same outfit twice.
Why did you all decide to be more behind the scenes than make it known that it’s your company? Was this a business move?
Honestly, we never really had the time. Having to represent a company and keep everyone updated is a full-time job! We let the clothes speak for themselves and did the best we could to promote the brand rather than ourselves. We are camera shy anyway!
What are some marketing techniques your company uses?
Social media. Social media is your best friend majority of the time. Overall it has definitely been the driving force for our brand.
How did you get the Kardashians to wear your clothes and how did this help your business?
We know people, who know people. Just kidding, but really, not kidding! Once their stylists got it in their hands, they kept coming back for more.
What is something you struggled with when you first became an entrepreneur?
We are total control freaks. Sometimes, our NW team will find us in the warehouse sending out packages with them. It was a struggle letting go of tasks we’ve been doing since day one, but we have a great team these days that help put our minds at ease.
If you could go back a few years, what are three things you would have done differently as new business owners?
We have no complaints since the day we launched. We would not do anything differently. If we could go back, we would more than likely do everything the same. We are very happy with the progression of Naked Wardrobe and still cannot believe how far we have come.
Once you initially started your business, how long did it take for it to become successful?
We felt the success and the growth of our brand when we moved Naked Wardrobe out of our parent’s home (where we launched), and into its own commercial space within the second year of launching. When we launched, there were only a few heavy hitters that were online, and there wasn’t much competition. What sets us apart is our designs, quality and affordable price point. #bodysuitsforlife
Currently just about everyone is some sort of blogger. Do you all work with bloggers? If so, tell us about how you pick the girls to rep your brand or who you decide to post on your social media.
We did not want to follow the trend and pay for posts. We’ve always been more focused on organic traffic and consumers. Word of mouth is just as powerful. Most bloggers you see wearing and tagging Naked Wardrobe do it on their own; we let the clothes speak for themselves.
Tell us about a difficult time in your life that you overcame and explain how you did so.
Business wise, a little over a year ago, Instagram made a change to their algorithm, which creates a barrier to reach our audience that we’ve built for the last five years. Social media is ever changing and our biggest challenge is to stay ahead of technology. Every day there’s something new and we strive to keep up with it, and we want to stay ahead of the game. Personally, for Shida she was born with a hole in her heart; it’s called Tetrology of Fallot. A customer recently contacted her directly on Instagram, and she was surprised to see her scar in a picture. It’s from from an open heart surgery she had when she was 8 months old. The beautiful part about this is, she reached out to her because she also had open heart surgery when she was little. Of course this is something that Shida will be living with for the rest of her life, but for others to know that she can relate to them, even in this way, that means a lot to her.
Tell us something about you that can’t be learned from your social media.
Shida is a songwriter at heart and is usually writing one or in the studio trying to sing one. Shideh comes to work and attends meetings in her workout clothes! Workout clothes is the new professional outfit and Shirin can cook like a boss!
What can we expect next from not only NW but the ladies behind the brand?
Naked Wardrobe is currently working on new collections and collaborations that you will be very pleased with. We also just launched a new cosmetics line called “Dope Cosmetix”. We are applying everything we learned from Naked Wardrobe to our new business venture. Following the NW motto, Dope Cosmetix is affordable, too!
What do you really want your followers to take away from this interview?
A lot of hard work and teamwork can make the dream work! We started this business as a family, and as we’ve continued to grow, everyone who is part of the NW team also becomes family to us.
