Breaking the Mold with Maison Rogue
What does it feel like to drop everything you know about the retail world and go rogue? Perhaps no one can better answer this question than Aphrodite Comodromos and Loren O'Neill, co-founders of the online boutique, Maison Rogue. Seven years ago, they left their jobs in traditional retail with the goal of shaking things up and offering an edit carefully curated to what they were seeing in the fashion world. We talk to the duo about how far their brand has come, and how (very) far it's going, below.
How did you each get started in the retail world?
Aphrodite: I started in retail my junior year of high school working at the local fashion boutique. I mainly worked in the contemporary section where we sold all the favorites at the time like Hard Tail, Juicy Couture, Free People and more. This experience solidified my dream of becoming a buyer and later an entrepreneur.
Loren: I studied at FIT and went through a series of internships throughout college, mostly in fashion PR. My senior year, I interned in the buying office at Barneys New York. I really clicked with the mixed analytical and artistic sides that buying offers. Barneys was the mecca of cool trend-setting fashion, and it was a no-brainer to want to pursue a career there. After I graduated, I worked as the assistant buyer for jewelry at Barneys, where Aphrodite and I met.
What made you want to start a brand together?
A: Loren and I started the same week at Barneys, which is what connected us from the start. From our experiences there and my previous role at Saks, it was very clear e-commerce was the future of retail. The growth and potential was clear. Loren and I kept the idea going and took the biggest risk you can in your mid-20s, we quit our jobs and worked for about a year to get Maison Rogue launched.
L: We felt a lack of creativity and individuality in our corporate roles, and wanted to create something deeply personal that was unique from the other boutiques out there. We used to lament about our corporate environment together with our coworkers and would gather around Aphrodite’s desk gossiping and sharing dreams of saying, “Fuck it, let’s go rogue.” One day, we decided to do just that! We have worked incredibly hard to learn every aspect of running this business, most of which we did not have prior knowledge of—coding, accounting, photography, customer service, you name it. We are opposites in both personality and personal style, which lends to having a well-rounded assortment and a great balance in our working relationship.
How'd you go about building the brand?
A: It took us a long time to figure out exactly what will make us stand apart from the classic e-commerce sites that everyone knew. There was a lot of back and forth, but one day it became so clear. Lifestyle was the main point, many of the e-commerce sites 7 years ago were not offering beauty and home. From lifestyle, we knew we wanted to be curated and offer only the best of each category and style. The final and more important point, because this is how Loren and I both shop, is offering a mix of high-low price points from both emerging and established designers.
We have evolved most with the brands that we offer. As understand more how our customer shops, we have become more refined in our brand matrix.
L: It’s funny looking back at the business plan we made where we laid out very specific target brands almost seven years ago. One brand that we wanted from day one was Sandy Liang, which took some convincing, but it has since grown to be one of our top-performing brands. We’ve gone about building Maison Rogue organically, pursuing brands that we are personally passionate about that we feel fill a void and are unique in our matrix amongst the other brands. We’ve stayed true to our ethos of being laser-focused on our brand matrix, while also learning a lot along the way from our customers about how they prefer to shop.
Personal style in three words:
What are you most excited to carry this season?
A: We are relaunching Maryam Nassir Zadeh, which has been a beloved brand of Maison Rogue customers. Everything MNZ designs is iconic and truly feels so special. It’s one of those brands that is always worth the splurge—the pieces never go out of style and are made with the highest quality.
L: Christopher Esber and Schutz. All the boots we just got from Schutz are amazing, both in style and quality—and all retail for under $300. And Christopher Esber is a brand that I’ve admired for years. It's a delicate balance of feminine and edgy (like me) and has a unique perspective.
What's in store for the future?
A: We both obviously want to see continued growth, but more importantly I want to see more brand recognition. Once people discover us, they feel like they've found a hidden treasure. We want to continue to offer a curated lifestyle assortment and be a go-to for emerging designers.
L: We definitely want to become the go-to source for discovering new brands and for having the best-curated edit. I want customers to think of us as their personal shoppers. The two of us are hand-picking every item with our customers in mind, and I want them to know how deeply personal Maison Rogue is. We’re not some big corporate operation and we never want it to get out of hand. We want to always keep it to the best edit of the best brands.