Feminine and Easy Strenesse New is a fitting name for a

STRENESSE FEMININE AND EASY

Strenesse hopes to return to old strength with a new owner and new players in all key positions. It seems to be working, as the collection plugs a gap in an otherwise saturated market. Text: Martina Müllner-Seybold. Photos: Strenesse

The new Strenesse prefers quieter tones. Financier, management, designer - nobody is eager to seek the spotlight or make headlines. Maybe because the fashion experts in Nördlingen know that light comes with shade. Thus, they enjoy their success in silence. Everything has come together beautifully; the brand can draw strength from this. “We have preserved the DNA of Strenesse, but re-interpreted it in a contemporary manner. Quality, purism, and femininity remain, but we have freed ourselves from everything that no longer meets these criteria from today’s perspective,” says Micaela Sabatier, the CEO of Strenesse New GmbH.

UNDERSTANDING WOMEN

Instead of embodying one “super-woman”, Strenesse is now keen to embody women in all their diversity. “The typical Strenesse women according to conventional attributes probably doesn’t exist. We don’t address a specific class or age group. We want to serve a lifestyle. Our target group is self-confident and smart. She is a power woman who proudly emphasises her femininity and is fashion-conscious. She wants to be perfectly dressed for all occasions, but never over-dressed. Our commitment to femininity, as well as the claim to offer optimal fits and cuts, takes this into account. It makes no different whether our customer is 25 or 65,” Sabatier adds. The brand itself also avoids compartmentalisation quite deliberately. “We don’t want to occupy a niche; we strive to be a brand for all who live this lifestyle, value quality, appreciate the finer things in life, and enjoy aesthetics.”

DRESSING WOMEN

What these women have in common is that they have found their style and are capable of skilfully varying it with a wardrobe consisting of two elements: timeless favourites and seasonal highlights. These two categories make sense for

Micaela Sabatier, the CEO of Strenesse, can draw from years of industry experience and knows how her clients think.

Strenesse too. Sabatier: “Parallel to our pre-order round, we launched a new programme dubbed Iconic, which is a set-up of luxury essentials. It includes timeless, fashionably interpreted classics in purist designs and clear lines, yet with very soft and feminine proportions. They are easy luxury pieces with soul.” There’s sufficient room for extravagances and “wow pieces” in the main collection. Sabatier clarifies: “The collection has been streamlined to communicate a clearer message.” It is divided into four order cycles, complemented by various ready-to-wear capsules with up to eight delivery cycles.

KNOWING WOMEN

“In order to meet the demands of modern customers, one needs intelligent designs that don’t look over-designed and exude an effortless nonchalance that underlines personality. Sprezzatura in fashion, if you like,” Sabatier explains. The new team spirit has paved the way for a new decision-making process, especially in terms of design. “In the design procedure, interdisciplinary teams collaborate with approaches from the design thinking process. This results in more precise collections that are leaner and more exciting, in optimal quality and fit.” The internal processes have been streamlined too. The CEO continues: “We are transforming the company into a modern organisation with lean processes and interdisciplinary teams, not merely in order to be able to react quickly to market demands, but also to react quickly in terms of our own quality standards.”

CONQUERING WOMEN

Now it’s time to spark new loves and to rekindle old ones. The growth targets have, however, not merely been defined quantitatively. Sabatier: “Sales growth at all costs is not our goal. Like the entire industry, the company has bad memories of such targets.” The focus is on partnerships at all levels. “First of all, we plan to significantly increase sales at specialised retailers again. We rely on the retail trade’s consulting expertise and are eager to exploit this channel primarily on a national and international level. At the same time, we are working on an e-commerce concept in which we can integrate specialised retailers. We expect this project to generate significant growth too.”

“Our target group is self-confident and smart. She is a power woman who proudly emphasises her femininity and is fashion-conscious. She wants to be perfectly dressed for all occasions, but never over-dressed.”