Just as the old saying goes, “you are what you wear”, clothes actually can reveal who you are, or even change your identity to some extent. One well-chosen blazer or dress will serve you well all the way from your first day at work and beyond by making you feel smarter and more confident.

Chris Ma and Gao Yuan, two friends sharing similar life philosophies, started their own online fashion brand “Nuevo Co.” to bring to life their believes in simple and casual lifestyle. Positioned as a mid-to upper-market fashion retailer, Nuevo Co. recently launched its official website with their first collection for this season.

The two entrepreneurs started the brand by offering men and women wardrobe staple pieces, like T-shirts, tops and blazers, but they plan to expand their product offerings to include other fashion items such as accessories and bags in the future.

Believing in “less is more”, Nuevo Co. focuses on simple and streamlined clothing styles, incorporating contemporary design with fine quality fabrics. Although the price tag of the Nuevo Co. collection is by no means cheap, it is quite affordable and a good value for its product quality.

Chris and Yuan met in New York when they both attended Columbia University for graduate studies. Chris, a fledgling corporate lawyer at a top international firm, was aspired to do something where her true passion lies. Gao, having worked in the financial industry for a number of years, wanted to chart his own professional path. The two immediately hit it off and decided to strike out on their own when they conceived the idea of Nuevo Co.

As a startup, the team handles everything in-house, from design, sourcing, production to distribution. They enlisted the help from their fashion designer friends for cutting-edge designs and handpicked materials and factories to achieve the best results, says Chris.

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Staying true to the founding philosophy of Nuevo Co., rather than using professional models, the company invites their friends to present its collection, so customers get a true sense of what the pieces would look on them in everyday life. The male and female models for the first season collection represent the typical target customers of the brand: well-educated, independent professionals with discriminating taste in fashion rather than brand-obsessed fashionistas.

Although the e-commerce marketplace is now over-crowded with established fashion brands trying to build their online presence, Chris thinks that the competitive edge of Nuevo Co. lies in online-only shopping platform that is free from geographic limitations and the capital-intensive overhead associated with bricks-and-mortar retail stores, which enables the company to better focus on delivering high quality designs and products.

Moreover, Nuevo Co. plans to capitalize on the prominent mobile technology trends in both marketing and sales. The company launched marketing campaigns on social networking platforms like WeChat and is developing its own mobile app.

The company will initially focus on the greater China region, including the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, said Gao. At the present stage, the Nuevo Co. products are available exclusively on its own Website as the company focuses on building up its Nuevo Co. brand, but Gao noted that they do not rule out the possibility of collaborating with other e-commerce channels in the future.

Nuevo

Gao Yuan (L), Chris Ma (R)

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Emma Lee

Emma Lee (Li Xin) was TechNode's e-commerce and new retail reporter until June 2022, when she moved to Sixth Tone to cover technology and consumption. Get in touch with her via lixin@sixthtone.com or Twitter.

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