It could be a Hollywood log-line: two beautiful sisters-in-law named Veronica join together to launch a fashion label in New York City, make it big with dickey jackets of all things, and set out to conquer the world.
It’s not, at least not yet — it’s the story of Veronica Beard, the label founded in 2010 by Veronica Swanson Beard and Veronica Miele Beard.
With revenues exceeding $200 million, the brand has been steadily expanding, recently opening its 30th store in Beverly Hills, with two more California locations to follow early next year, one at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, the other at Fashion Valley in San Diego. That will bring the total number of California stores to eight by February.
“California is like a country it’s so big, and we learn with every door so much about our customers and seeing the nuances of how women dress in San Francisco vs. L.A.,” said Miele Beard, in town for a string of events to celebrate the opening of the Beverly Hills flagship, beginning with a lunch hosted by restauranteur Marissa Hermer at her West Hollywood spot Olivetta.
The guests were the kind of entrepreneurs and women on the go that Veronica Beard aims to cater to: Juliet wines founder Lauren De Niro Pipher; “Optimism doctor” Deepika Chopra; Blunder Beauty founder Monika Blunder; ZdG Home founder Zoe De Givenchy, and influencer and author Tinx.
“They always bring kick a– women — sexy, smart, working women who are real and authentic and hustlers,” said Hermer, who paired her Veronica Beard pin-striped suit with a black lace bra.
“The vibe here — the lunch had a younger take on our brand, which I love,” said Miele Beard, looking very “Legally Blonde” in a pale blue tweed miniskirt suit and Chanel boots. “L.A. is not so froufy, it’s clean, sexy, windblown, bras…They’re pregnant and they find a chic young way of wearing jacket and suit.”
In February, the designers will launch their first handbags with an event in L.A., and they used the city as a backdrop to shoot their spring 2024 campaign.
“We shot in Sherman Oaks, Melrose Place, the magazine stand on Beverly, the Beverly Hills Hotel, Alfred’s coffee, all about town,” said Swanson Beard. “The inspiration was 1990s star on the rise being followed by paparazzi — that woman on the go, busy, busy, busy.”
While they founded their collection in New York on the idea of classic multitasking clothes, L.A. has always been an important touchstone. Their first runway show was for the Vogue/CFDA Fashion Fund, held at the Chateau Marmont in 2013. And in February, they will have a billboard along the famed stretch of Sunset Boulevard.
“We had a whole ‘Clueless’ collection,” Miele Beard said of how the film’s costume designer Mona May has influenced them. “And this campaign is totally inspired by ‘Pretty Woman,’” Swanson Beard added, also name-dropping Stevie Nicks as a perennial design reference.
While the brand started in wholesale, now the majority of sales are direct. “Opening these stores has educated the customer about who we are. That’s the push in California, is building brand awareness. Beverly Hills is a major foothold,” said Miele Beard.
“Every store is different with a unique interior,” she continued, as the two walked through the limestone tiled entryway into the new store on North Beverly Drive, which is decorated with a midcentury Mexican sculptural stone table, tropical-print tapestries, rattan seating and a pair of ’70s palm trees.
“We are Chairish’s number-one customer,” Swanson Beard joked, before pointing out the highlight wall, the denim room, and the shoe display of cap-toe slingbacks and ballet pumps.
“We design everything together because we are from different backgrounds, have different body types, and we are now thinking of a broader base of people. A lot of it is formulaic based on selling and a need in the market, but we sit and conceive of all the product,” Swanson Beard explained of the collection, which carries over core styles like the Miller and Elliette jackets, and the dickies, offering them in new fabrications.
“We are inspired by the same thing every season and we have 11 drops, it’s her life, and creating MVPs of the wardrobe you feel great in,” said Miele Beard.
The brand relies on events and influencers for marketing.
“That’s how we built this business — on community. Tinx is a great example, she’s an incredible influencer, and we have a multiyear relationship with her and it’s real. She drives sales; there’s a big handful of them that drive mega sales. When you think about the way our customer is segmented, we look at influencers the same way; we have content creators, then when we have big moments, like launching handbags, we have community leaders that come in and are influential in their circle. Then we are constantly growing the pool and they become friends of the house,” Miele Beard explained. “And influencers have evolved; it’s not models and actors anymore, it’s people doing life-changing things. Tinx went and spoke at Harvard, it’s a different captive audience.”
Veronica Beard prices range from $198 for a tank to $1,598 for a leather jacket.
“What is special about our brand is we have the number-one crossover from designer to contemporary in all of our department stores. That’s because women don’t just shop designer, contemporary or fast fashion, they mix everything. And with online, on Instagram, how you are fed things with the algorithm, you are getting marketed all the things you like,” said Miele Beard.
While the apparel market has already seen a slowdown, the designers are optimistic for 2024.
“If the product is good, it will sell in any market. It’s a matter of inventory levels, being lean and not too trend. We are classics with a twist. It’s price value — that’s why the designer customer loves us, we’re made in the same factory as The Row. We have a lot of people who maybe they wear a Chanel bag but they want a Veronica Beard suit. They feel like it’s acceptable to them,” said Miele Beard.
How do they manage working with family?
“We just fight over how many jackets we make,” she laughed. “We don’t do holidays together. We are with each other every day. I love this girl but we need a break.
“The Swansons are out here in California, my mother is in New Jersey, but we come back and it’s the same that it ever was,” she said. “And the success of this business is there are two of us.”
