Details matter
The other day, Mytheresa announced a “full” partnership with Prada Group, which means that the brand’s products will now be available on the retailer’s platform with delivery across its entire coverage area (previously, it was limited to select regions).
To mark the occasion, I went to check out Mytheresa website, and while looking at a poorly steamed satin silk blouse on a model (creases may also be a designer idea, and it bursts my eyes x), I remembered an interesting story.
Once, I ordered a Zimmermann dress from Net-a-Porter. Long story short, I didn’t have the opportunity to return it because it had been shipped from one country to another, and I wasn’t in a position to inspect it at the time.
When I took it out of the package, I was both confused and honestly a little scared. The issue was that along the seams of this roughly $3,000 dress were clear lines drawn in ballpoint pen. I was in shock for a couple of minutes. Once I snapped out of it, I remembered my sewing experience — oh yes, a person of many talents x — I once made a few garments for myself.
When constructing a garment, the pattern is often transferred onto the fabric using a special pen or marker to guide the stitching. After assembly, the item is meant to be ironed or steamed, and under high heat, the ink disappears. And that’s exactly what happened: when I ran an iron over the ballpoint lines — which, as it turned out, were all along the seams — the ink vanished.
What amazed me most about this story was that neither during production nor at Net-a-Porter had anyone bothered to steam the item.
Details matter.
Before photographing an item for a catalog or website — or before it hits retail space — it should be in perfect condition, free of creases and definitely without any ballpoint pen marks. Ideally, the same care should be applied to customer orders before they’re shipped from an online store.
I could write a dry list of every reason why this level of care matters to a brand or retailer from a customer’s perspective, but I think my intelligent readers know.
*Can’t blame me for pointing this out — I’m someone who sometimes zones out watching cleaning videos on TikTok x
**The competition in luxury multibrand e-commerce is gone (if not almost monopolised, especially if we consider European market), and it makes me really sad.