Two and a half years ago, Project Runway finalist and CFDA-approved designer Daniel Vosovic had an upsetting realization: Despite critical acclaim for his self-named collection and a hard-earned spot at NYFW, he was starting to resent his job. “I felt like all these opportunities were slipping through my fingers,” he recalls over the phone, his busy studio humming in the background. “We had lots of interest in our runway collections, and the samples celebrities wore to events, but very few of those pieces actually made it to stores. There was no way to harness all this great energy that was happening. The system was designed to fail.”
So, three weeks before presenting his fourth collection in a fully sponsored show, he canceled, shut down operations, and began building a new business model from scratch.
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His grand plan? What debuts today as “THE KIT,” a luxury line of versatile separates—grouped and sold together in mix-and-matchable “kits”—produced with next to no overhead costs. “Basically, we invest in beautiful fabric—we’re starting with the most sumptuous silk georgette—and print each item to order. So it doesn’t matter if we sell one or 1,000 of a style! I can introduce a whole new set of prints and colors every two weeks without constant pressure to move product.” It’s not a bad deal for the customer, either. While the label reflects the same craftsmanship as a luxury line (everything is printed on the same machines Hermès uses), low margins keep its prices contemporary-level low: $395 for coordinating a dress and a top pairing.
This extra layer of styling service is another cornerstone of THE KIT’s forward-thinking concept. “Instead of changing the way women dress, I want to make it simpler with a few key pieces,” Vosovic explains. “A lot girls I know are leading multiple lives in one day. These ‘kits’ let them adapt to different occasions by just adding or removing another layer.” Although the company is starting with a tightly edited selection (currently, the site offers just the one combination in different colorways) he looks forward to expanding in the future.
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“We’re already thinking about fun themes, like ’The Weekend Getaway Kit’ or the ‘First Job Kit,’ or the ‘Congrats, You Passed Your Pregnancy Test, and You’re Not Pregnant Kit!'” he says. “I finally have the freedom to be totally creative—work is literally just play time.”
Visit thekit.com to shop the label now.