28 Sep Karmaloop Founder Launches Wanderset.com
Greg Selkoe, founder of Karmaloop.com, has launched Wanderset.com, a men’s fashion site “focused on telling the stories of and sourcing the next generation of designers and cultural creatives.”
With financial backing from Flybridge Capital Partners, Twin Focus, Fabulous Brands, CrashFund and The Al Adawi Fund, Wanderset is launching with more than 70 trendy brands.
A sample of Wanderset’s inaugural brands (live and signed-on) includes: Alps & Meters, Android Homme, Anwar Carrots, Comme des Garçons, Days Off, Dead Studios, Del Toro Shoes, En Noir, Gucci’s “Gucci Ghost” Collection, IISE, Lacoste, Logan Real, Mr. Completely, Naadam, NIGHT : SHIFT, Pleasures, Puma, RCNSTRCT Studio, Surf Is Dead, Tango Hotel, York Athletics and Youth Machine.
Some influencers aka “Set Members” included in the launch (live and signed-on): Visual artist and Olympic snowboarder, Trevor Andrew aka Gucci Ghost, who will be featuring his massively successful collaborative collection with Gucci; Cash Warren, entrepreneur, co-founder of The Honest Company, featuring his brand, Pair of Thieves; celebrity stylist, Andrew Weitz, named to GQ’s Top 10 best dressed in the world (2017); NBA player, Mike Conley; Ariel G. – stylist to J Balvin and Daddy Yankee, whose “Despacito” was the most watched video in history (over 3 billion+ views), producer, DVLP, sneaker connoisseur, “Sneaker” Steve Patino, rising artist, DJ Five, and LA’s Power 106 FM radio personality, Eric Dlux.
“Wanderset harnesses the power of cultural creatives and influencers, folds in superior product and exclusive brands, and brings it all together in a retail experience that inspires customers to wander, discover and buy products they love,” the company said in a statement.
Wanderset gives its Set Members their own page on the platform, called a “Set Page,” where they can merchandise and sell their personal consumer brand along with favorite pieces they select from Wanderset’s roster of brands.
Customers can shop Set Pages and brand pages in two ways: (1) a traditional e-commerce format (“Product View”); and (2) a format featuring shoppable lifestyle imagery and creative assets provided by brands and Set Members (“Lifestyle View”).
Lifestyle View gives brands and influencers the option of long-form, image based narrative – anything from pictures of Set Members or other high profile individuals wearing product, to a complete editorial story – and shares a deeper, qualitative connection with customers, allowing them to discover the product that truly speaks to them.
A blog entry around the launch from Selkoe is here.
Based in Los Angeles and Boston, Wanderset is led by Selkoe, CEO, founder of Karmaloop.com, which was acquired by Comvest Partners, of West Palm Beach, and CapX Partners, Chicago, out of bankruptcy proceedings in May 2015. Other members of management include Wil Eddins, director of business development, co-owner of Institution18b Las Vegas; Matthew I. Growney, head of brands, co-founder of Fabulous Brands and a senior advisor to Puma/Kering brands; Dina Selkoe, creative director, former creative director of Karmaloop.com; and Ben Sack, CTO, co-founder (with Wayne Chang) at BTG, partner at Apidae (acquired by Ingersoll Rand/TRANE) and owner/chief engineer of PushBuild.