WHAT'S NEW?

4 Feb

Hey dears! Today I’m excited because this is my first interview, stay tuned, from now on more will come. Beyond this, I present you a lovely woman and a good friend of mine – Stefania Voia. I admire Stefania for her skills as a business woman, she is the owner at Quoi de Neuf store (Baneasa Shopping City), I could say more in this caption but I’m gonna let the interview flow.

Carmen – Why did you choose to start a fashion business?

Stefania – Here I have broken an important rule: I’ve mixed business and pleasure. I have also chosen it because I like playing with womanliness and fashion does express it very well. This is a vast domain and when you own a business it’s good to have a lots of options to juggle with.

Carmen – What does Quoi de Neuf brand stand for and what constitutes its uniqueness?

Stefania – In Romanian language Quoi de Neuf means “Ce mai e nou?” (What’s new?) and I have chosen this version because it expresses the store’s concept: novelty. We always bring something new, like clothes, outfits or other elements which represent the store.

Carmen – On what criteria are you relying on when you buy products for your store?

Stefania – When I buy products, I have to take into account a lot of factors. First of all, it’s important to choose brands that reflect Quoi de Neuf spirit: original, young, versatile, independent. But even if we have a costumer profile to target, it’s important to bring also products that are different from the rest, in order to test the market and see if there is a demand for those products. This is how we bring in new costumers. Another criteria is the fashion trend. In our store you will always find some atypical items because they fit a certain trend. There is also the commercial aspect so I try to keep a varied range and a certain scale for prices. I don’t want to offer outfits composed by elements that have the same price. Also, when buying, I keep an eye on costumer feedback which guides me in my decisions making. I never insist on selling products that nobody buys.

Carmen – Please describe in a few words the spring / summer ’13 collection.

Stefania – The spring / summer ’13 collection consists in elements familiar to our costumers, but also a new approach: a simple and discrete style, but overall with huge impact. We have expanded our brand selection and starting this season, at Quoi de Neuf you will find new brands such as Les Petites, BA&SH, Stella Forest and others. The collection has a feminine and cheerful colour palette, full of uni pieces, but we also kept the unmistakable ethnic style of Antik Batik French brand.

Carmen – Which is the perfect portrait of Quoi de Neuf woman?

Stefania – Qd9 woman is assumed, independent and she wants to be en vogue, but not by any means. She knows that she can be modern by choosing a modern style, not only one modern element. She wants to be original with respect to her identity, she doesn’t get lost into the crowd. Qd9 woman enjoys here womanliness, loves herself and doesn’t make her choices based on trends if those trends don’t represent her.

Carmen – Quoi de Neuf works with Romanian designers too. Who were those designers you worked with so far? Who will be the next designer in your boutique?

Stefania – It’s true! We work with Romanian designers too; mostly those designers that fit our style. Until now we worked with George Enache and his unique T-shirt label – Cotton Club and Andra Andreescu. The collaboration we had with George Enache was meant to surprise through the youthful vibe brought by his Tees. The store’s capsule collection was designed in pop art style and the T-shirts consist in prints handmade by George Enache. It was a new element that was missing in our boutique and we were glad to see that the costumers reacted very well to this collection.

Andra’s collection, especially designed for our store too, included another type of products: elegant and feminine, but sustained, as usual, by a minimalist style. Her collection was a perfect match to our products, most of them with print and colours, and it was a huge success.

We plan new collaborations with Romanian designers such as Andreea Marcuta and her Lkit brand. The rest will be a surprise.

Carmen – What do you plan to do with Quoi de Neuf? Do you have any definite objectives?

Stefania – In fashion, things are changing rapidly. What we spend today comes from decisions that we took one year ago. On the other hand, each decision needs time to be verified. Now I am making plans for the near future but also for the distant future. I want to keep on growing the brand awareness through new brand selections, new collaborations and why not, new products such as children fashion line. We are now discussing and negotiating this possibility.

Carmen – Have you ever thought about designing your own clothing line?

Stefania – Yes. I have thought about this and I would like to do this one day. But I want to plan it very thoroughly so it will take time to implement.

Carmen – Why don’t you sell men clothes in your boutique?

Stefania – All our products can be considered for men, if they are bought as presents for women. Quoi de Neuf was designed to be a women store and yet there are things that I don’t know about the men fashion market. But I don’t exclude the possibility of bringing men items too. Moreover, George’s collection consisted in unisex T-shirts which were also bought by men.