Stacy London, a stylist, fashion consultant, author and magazine editor, is teaming with QVC for a collection called By Stacy London. The apparel collection premiers on-air and on QVC.com on Friday.
In her role on “What Not to Wear,” a makeover reality TV series, for over a decade London developed a funny, honest and unfiltered approach to what to wear at any age.
London’s QVC collection is designed to be personal, with multiple ways to wear each piece. That includes London’s signature “addables,” which are collars, cuffs and other items that can be collected and changed to create layered looks without the bulk.
With inclusive sizing ranging from XXS to 3X or 0 to 28, prices go from $36 to $170. Most of the pieces are machine washable.
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“The collection was born out of my own desire to experience joy in midlife. I have never felt more like myself, despite body changes and menopause, and I couldn’t find clothes that made me look as confident as I feel,” said the 55-year-old London. “I designed this collection with the QVC 50-plus customer in mind to give her quality, ease and style in every design.”
She said the collection delivers comfort without losing style. “It is my mission to help others find the joy in getting dressed again. This is the Age of Possibility in all things…style included,” she said.
London explained that she had to stay away from fashion to come back to it. While away, she was in the throes of peri-menopause and didn’t like any of her clothes. “I didn’t feel like myself in any of my clothes. I didn’t feel like myself period,” said London. She said she also heard from women aged from 40 to 70 who are having difficulty finding clothes that are right for them.
While traveling around the country doing women’s health and advocacy work, women spoke to her about how their bodies changed after having kids and after menopause. But they were most concerned about not having clothes that felt modern. “That was the number-one question I got,” said London.
“One of these things I recognized was a drop in confidence and sense of insecurity as she was aging that she didn’t know how to explain,” said London. She said she has spent her whole life styling people to feel confident in themselves and she realized she could do this for this age group, and that QVC was leaning into this consumer.
“It’s not about trends geared to a 20- and 30-year-old. It’s about having a wardrobe that feels appropriate for your age. I don’t care what body type you have. It’s much more about empowering yourself and using style as a tool to find the magic of midlife,” said London.
The Q50, which is a part of the Age of Possibility, is comprised of QVC hosts, celebrities, activists and entrepreneurs whose experiences and achievements prove the possibilities that this time of life offers women. London was also named a Q50 Ambassador.
Rachel Ungaro, general merchandise manager and vice president of merchandising for QVC, said about their choice of London, “What’s not to like about her? She is amazing from her history on ‘What Not to Wear,’ she’s a fashion authority, and she’s the salt of the earth. Her collection is unique and different, and it’s fun.”
She said London believes in color, texture and shine, and offers interesting pattern work, floral prints and beautiful brocades. She believes the line, which is built as a full head-to-toe collection, will appeal to their core 50-plus customer.
“Stacy’s expertise and commitment to empowering women over 50 through fashion aligns perfectly with QVC’s mission through Age of Possibility to offer women [aged] 50-plus the products and shopping experiences that make them feel seen and supported. The launch of By Stacy London marks an exciting addition to our array of fashion offerings and we look forward to inspiring our customers through Stacy’s passion,” said Ungaro.
“I think it’s going to do really well. I think the customer will really embrace it,” said Ungaro.
For her first collection, London said she focused on “modern vintage.” For example, she’s doing floral brocades in teal and gold and pink and gold. “It’s just a modern version of what I think a lot of women our age are struggling with. Whether they are the moneymakers in their household, whether they are divorced and starting new lives, this is a time of significant change. You have to say goodbye to who you were to become who you are,” she said.
London said you realize that you don’t want to dress the same way you did at 25 or even 35. “Everything in life changes, so wouldn’t your style evolve to match the stage of life that you’re in?” asked London. She designed suiting and ponte suits in white and jewel tone colors that are easy to wear, an oversize boyfriend blazer, and wide and straight-leg pants, which she feels will be one of the foundation pieces.
Asked if she’s ever designed a collection before, London said, “Never, and I’ve been a stylist for 35 years….you think you know everything until you realize you are the dumbest person in the room.”
London designed what she felt was missing in her wardrobe and the wardrobe of this particular age group. “Wanting to look chic but not looking that I’m trying so hard. It’s not about dressing your age, but finding your style and this reinvention that is possible for us at this stage of life,” she said.
She went for things that are sophisticated in the way that they look, but also comfortable in the way that they make you feel. “It’s a no-brainer to kind of get dressed in the morning,” she said.
“What I like to say is, ‘it’s Garanimals for grown-ups.’ It’s instilling confidence in a crazy moment in our lives where women feel we’re not getting the same attention we got when we were younger,” said London.
The first collection features 19 pieces. The line is manufactured by KBL, which was introduced to London through her business partner, Marla Wynne Ginsburg, who also has a line, MarlaWynne, on QVC. Wynne encouraged her to apply her menopause experience to a clothing line.
One of London’s favorite pieces is the brocade pantsuit. “I wore it one night and somebody asked me if I was wearing Gucci,” said London. She also loves a tweed suit that comes with a scallop jacket and the ponte suits “that are like wearing pajamas.” She designed a two-in-one convertible trench, which actually is a five-in-one. “It’s Transformers for women,” she said.
London said she has a two-year contract with QVC with automatic ability to renew.
She looking forward to her first appearance on air on Friday at 11 a.m., EST and pitching this collection directly to the consumer. She will be on-air at least twice a month. Every month they will drop another 19 to 20 pieces. She said she’ll also be doing on-air styling as well.
London said she designed this collection to be complementary to what already exists at QVC and she wants there to be crossover among brands. She said she wants this customer to feel “pampered and seen and heard.”
For the second quarter ended June 30, Qurate Retail, parent company of QVC, had revenues of $2.4 billion, down 9 percent from a year ago, while net income was $20 million, an 81 percent decline from the year-ago quarter. A bright spot, however, was the Age of Possibility campaign.
David Rawlinson, chief executive officer of Qurate Retail, noted in the earnings call this month, “This quarter we invested in the Age of Possibility campaign we launched in April, where we gathered 50 powerful influential women, including celebrities, business women and activists to be QVC brand ambassadors. Since launch, we have experienced strong initial reaction to this campaign with 38 billion earned media impressions, 330,000 new Facebook community members, a nearly 200 percent increase in the number of QVC social followers and more than 1 million visits to QVC’s campaign website.
“We saw strong demand from Age of Possibility-related brands in Q2 with collective demand for the existing 12 brands up low double digits after the campaign launch and particular strength from Valerie Parr Hill, Kim Gravel, Apparel and Beauty, and Doris Dalton’s Doll 10.”
