Historically, fast-fashion retailers have dominated clothing designed for tween and teen girls. Yet, Gen Z, more than any other generation, is known for its environmental consciousness, leaving young shoppers torn between buying affordable, trendy clothes or staying true to their eco-conscious values. With a mission to provide socially and environmentally conscious clothing at a more affordable price point than designer teen labels, Woodley + Lowe was founded in 2020 by two moms, Rachel Thebault and Neda Talebian Funk. “We try to be mindful of who our customer is and that her hard-earned babysitting money needs to go a long way,” said Thebault on the latest Glossy podcast. After experience shopping for their own daughters, the co-founders were frustrated with the archaic sizing recommendations for teen girls’ apparel. “The problem we especially saw with tweens was that these girls are growing at very different times from each other and they're growing in different ways,” said Thebault. The pair developed a proprietary sizing scale, which bridges the gap between teen and women’s clothing and allows consumers to grow into the brand at their own pace. To resonate with its Gen-Z target demographic, Woodley + Lowe created a robust ambassador program, consisting of brand representatives in high school and college. The ambassadors work to foster a community of fans who are educated on buying quality, long-lasting products and are encouraged to think about how and where their apparel is made. The brand has notably found success in the athleisure space, with the pandemic boosting sales for the entire industry. However, Thebault and Talebian Funk see category expansion in Woodley + Lowe's future, while continuing to take a thoughtful approach to teen fashion. Talebian Funk said the brand is planning to build content libraries based on how Gen Z consumes information, including providing interactive and video-based options. And, a potential brick-and-mortar store and brand collaborations are on the docket to continue to drive brand awareness. “From the early days, we’ve thought, ‘How do we become a Goop for this generation?,’” said Talebian Funk. 

After returning from a trip to South Africa, The Folklore’s Amira Rasool was often stopped on the streets of New York and asked where she purchased her clothing, which she scored while abroad. “I knew that African and Black-owned brands were the future because people were getting bored of the same old [stuff],” said Rasool, founder and CEO of The Folklore, on the latest episode of the Glossy Podcast. “These brands have a cultural and heritage point-of-view that shines through in their products.” With research, Rasool discovered that most African brands did not have direct-to-consumer e-commerce platforms of their own and were not stocked in retail stores outside of their home country. Rasool launched The Folklore in 2016 as the first B2B wholesale e-commerce platform exclusively focused on Black-owned and African brands.  “Combining my interest and knowledge of Black history and uplifting Black people in our socio-economic condition with my love for styling and telling stories, I created The Folklore,” said Rasool. “We built this product with African and Black-owned brands at the forefront and not as an afterthought." The company’s designers are based in South Africa and Nigeria, but The Folklore is also developing relationships with brands in Ghana and Morocco. In addition, by September, the company is working to launch Folklore Connect, a B2B wholesale e-commerce platform that empowers global retailers to discover and shop for African and Black-owned fashion and lifestyle brands. The company’s current focus is on apparel, accessories, home and beauty, but will soon expand to new product categories and price points. “With our curation, we still have the potential [to on-board] thousands of brands to the platform,” said Rasool. “We haven't even scratched the surface.”