This is incredibly interesting to me from a selfish perspective — I am working slowly to migrate from the lower left into the lower right prior to putting my fashion essay collection into the world. I just spoke to a successful beauty founder yesterday about how I am always going to be niche, given my work (my writing's larger mission to change the narrative of aging and to publish these fashion-centric tales of love, loss and finding my authentic self as told through what I wore), and her response was perfect. "Small can be powerful when it's the right audience." I will get there but love having your axis diagram to remind me that the right quadrant is not only acceptable but a phenomenal place to be.
I am so glad this resonated with you, and that you see the beauty and power in being niche. I am biased about this. I tend to love thought leaders, brands, experiences, artists, etc. who sit above the fray, who offer a thoughtful, considered commentary on culture, and who can be "in the world, but not of it." I find that mainstream / mass brands tend to regurgitate rather than innovate, (which we are coming to fully embrace with the explosion of dupe culture!), and they are the biggest contributors to hyperconsumerism and waste. I think a lot about how divided our culture is about most things, and one of them is the growing divide in our consumption behavior. I want to curate the shit out of everything - only consuming the best. But I also recognize the other side - hyperconsumerism, fast fashion and fast beauty, dupe culture, and so many other consumer trends that are taking us in the "wrong" direction (if you care about quality and the planet.)
Your friend is so right. Small can be powerful when its the right audience. Small and mighty is where real impact lies. It's these founders, stories, brands that resonate deeply and inspire us on a personal level. I can't name one mass brand that does that for me.
I think that the journey from the bottom left the bottom right is a noble path. I would be happy to exist in the bottom right for the rest of my career, as long as I am leaving a positive impact on those I reach.
This is incredibly interesting to me from a selfish perspective — I am working slowly to migrate from the lower left into the lower right prior to putting my fashion essay collection into the world. I just spoke to a successful beauty founder yesterday about how I am always going to be niche, given my work (my writing's larger mission to change the narrative of aging and to publish these fashion-centric tales of love, loss and finding my authentic self as told through what I wore), and her response was perfect. "Small can be powerful when it's the right audience." I will get there but love having your axis diagram to remind me that the right quadrant is not only acceptable but a phenomenal place to be.
I am so glad this resonated with you, and that you see the beauty and power in being niche. I am biased about this. I tend to love thought leaders, brands, experiences, artists, etc. who sit above the fray, who offer a thoughtful, considered commentary on culture, and who can be "in the world, but not of it." I find that mainstream / mass brands tend to regurgitate rather than innovate, (which we are coming to fully embrace with the explosion of dupe culture!), and they are the biggest contributors to hyperconsumerism and waste. I think a lot about how divided our culture is about most things, and one of them is the growing divide in our consumption behavior. I want to curate the shit out of everything - only consuming the best. But I also recognize the other side - hyperconsumerism, fast fashion and fast beauty, dupe culture, and so many other consumer trends that are taking us in the "wrong" direction (if you care about quality and the planet.)
Your friend is so right. Small can be powerful when its the right audience. Small and mighty is where real impact lies. It's these founders, stories, brands that resonate deeply and inspire us on a personal level. I can't name one mass brand that does that for me.
I think that the journey from the bottom left the bottom right is a noble path. I would be happy to exist in the bottom right for the rest of my career, as long as I am leaving a positive impact on those I reach.
xx
I cannot thank you enough for such a thoughtful exchange. I hope to speak IRL at an event for THE BOARD soon. xx
I’ll be at the LA event in July. 😎
I won't be there — I am hoping to make it to the next NYC one.
such good writing! loved your commentary on how the job of the marketer is to make brands seem bigger than they are. so true.
Thank you, Ochuko!