San Francisco Gets First Look at Oscar de la Renta x The Outnet

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The Outnet is taking a local approach when it comes to introducing new projects like their recent Oscar x The Outnet collaboration. On Monday, the day before the collab became available for purchase, The Outnet's managing director, Stephanie Phair, welcomed Bay Area fashion editors, executives and enthusiasts to a luncheon where they could see the entire collection first hand and make purchases a day in advance.

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• The entrance to Cookhouse SF
• Cookin' at Cookhouse.
• Oscar x The Outnet up close
• More Oscar x The Outnet up close
• And even more Oscar x The Outnet up close
• Cookhouse SF x Oscar x The Outnet
• Oscar x The Outnet skirts and dresses
• The red maxi dress is gorgeous silk taffeta.
• Stephanie Phair welcomes her guests.
• Jessica Mullens, who helped organize the event, chatting with guests
• Stephanie Phair, managing director of The Outnet, introduces the collection.
• Taylor Sterling of Glitter Guide
• Adrienne Arieff, who helped organize the event, with Angela Tafoya of Refinery 29

Images courtesy of Drew Altizer

Like other designer collaborations from Target and H&M, Oscar x The Outnet was accompanied by a celebrity video, this one featuring Olivia Palermo. But the exclusive event stands in stark contrast to the splashy TV and magazine campaigns from other collabs. It perhaps makes sense for a higher-end project such as this one—pieces hover in the $1,000 range. And it seems to be working: many items are already sold out. We asked Phair a little about the local approach and why the company picked San Francisco for this particular launch:

Why did The Outnet choose San Francisco to launch Oscar x The Outnet?

We have seen various markets in the US grow quickly, namely San Francisco as well as Los Angeles, Dallas and Houston. In each of them we have created an event to target both our existing customers and potential new customers. For San Francisco, it made sense for us to launch our latest, high-profile collection, Oscar de la Renta for The Outnet. There is a special affinity between the brand and shoppers in San Francisco so we thought the tie-in was perfect.

Is SF an important market for Oscar de la Renta x The Outnet?

San Francisco is generally an important market for The Outnet. We find that there is a real love of good quality designer fashion and our customers are keen to dress well by occasion, mix and match current season, with previous season and vintage and look for value.

How are sales going so far?

The Oscar de la Renta for The Outnet collection has been a huge success and we're only on day three of sales. There was a lot of build-up through the competition, as well as the teaser video we created with Olivia Palermo, thus customers registered in advance of the launch. Because the collection is a limited edition there is also more of an incentive to buy that piece!