Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jami-lyn Fehr. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jami-lyn, appreciate you joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

I came up with MODISTE in 2018 after an internship at a luxury publication startup didn’t quite work out. MODISTE, in my head, was originally an online publication focused on fashion and beauty that had a subscription-based model with exclusive content. I built a website with some editorial contributors but decided to shelve the idea as I was still in school and didn’t feel the timing was right. Fast-forward to 2020, and I was working for another luxury publication when the pandemic hit. My job was put on indefinite hold, and the timing now felt right to launch MODISTE, but I had a new vision for it after working for the aforementioned publication. Nashville had a huge market gap regarding luxury clothing as far as small, curated spaces went, but the demand was (and is still) so high. I recognized the gap and knew MODISTE could fill it. I began working with designers for the branding and website, and once I had something I could show designers, I was off and running — going through linesheets, placing orders, and hopping on zoom calls until the day came that I had a full season’s worth of product loaded onto the back end of the website and in my warehouse space (if you can call it that) and could launch. This happened in November 2020. Now we’re almost at the two-year mark, and I have had a showroom, a pop-up, a downtown flagship store, and we’re soon moving into a permanent flagship space a few doors down that will have a MODISTE Airbnb in the back.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My love of fashion was sparked at a young age, and I went to school at Belmont University to obtain my BFA in Fashion Merchandising and proceeded to get my Master’s in Marketing from Vanderbilt while working as a fashion editor prior to launching MODISTE. I’m proud to say MODISTE is the sole retailer in Nashville for most of the labels within the brand matrix. The same holds true for many labels in the Southern United States and some for the entire United States. MODISTE’s current and upcoming Designers include Altuzarra, Proenza Schouler, 16Arlington, Rejina Pyo, Anna October, Dion Lee, By Far, Acne Studios, Bevza, Sandy Liang, MM6 Maison Margiela, Missoni, Dorothee Schumacher, Blumarine, Marni and more. While we primarily sell womenswear, we’re now beginning our foray into menswear as well. In 2021 we also launched MODISTE Label, our in-house line of beautiful wardrobing staples that we continue to add to, a majority of which are unisex, so anyone that enjoys quality clothing can invest in their closet with us.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

The products we offer are unlike any other small store in Nashville and are unlike even what big box retailers in Nashville carry as well. Our clients come to us for our curation of high-quality designers, both well-known and under the radar. They know we’re providing them with pieces they’re not going to find anywhere else and will want to keep forever. We also don’t buy a lot of stock, so our customers know they’re not going to see anyone out and about wearing the same thing, which is particularly important for our event/formalwear pieces, as we see many stylists come through our doors.

Do you have multiple revenue streams – if so, can you talk to us about those streams and how your developed them?

We were recently approached by LYST, a popular fashion tech company that works with brands and retailers to offer customers a one-stop shop for easy online shopping via the internet or their iOS app. We’re excited to be working with them, as it has seamless integration with our back end and allows for the potential of over 160,000,000 shoppers to have eyes on MODISTE and our products. We also have another partnership in the works of similar technology but a much more curated assortment, but we can’t quite share that yet! These partnerships are great as MODISTE is really trying to focus on bringing our e-commerce sales percentage up. Hoping for a 60/40 split (in-store/online) by the end of 2023.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.modiste.shop
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/officialmodiste

Image Credits
Photo of Jami-lyn by Olivia Fortune; other photos are by myself, Jami-lyn.