26 CLIQUE MEDIA GROUP

For parlaying fashion advice into retail gold

Known for its hit lifestyle and e-commerce websites—who What Wear (fashion), Mydomaine (home decor), and Byrdie (beauty)— Clique Media leaped out of the digital world and into the physical one in January 2016 with a clothing line for Target. The millennial-minded Who What Wear collection offers runway trends at big-box prices ($34.99 for velvet pants, $44.99 for a cape blazer) and keeps up with the frenetic pace of fashion by committing to 12 updates a year. It’s a natural evolution for the 11-yearold company, which grew out of the Who What Wear blog started by Elle magazine veterans Katherine Power and Hillary Kerr. “We felt that the high-end fashion magazines spoke down to women,” says Power, who now serves as CEO. “We wanted to create this friendly voice that felt like your most fashionable friend.” Today, Power’s team uses the information gleaned from Clique Media’s verticals and social media accounts to figure out what will sell. “We have amazing insight into what’s converting: what brands, what silhouettes, what material,” says Power. “We’re also engaging the customer along the way. We’ll be looking through fabric swatches and go on Snapchat and say, ‘Which one do you like better?’ ” The crowdsourcing has worked: Who What Wear’s Target collection has recently expanded into shoes, and Clique Media has more retail collaborations in the works. Last July, Clique Media organized an IRL meetup for readers of Obsessee, its new social-only “publication” for gen-zers. It put together a pop-up shop at a Los Angeles mall that sold Obsessee-branded T-shirts and school supplies. Teenagers thronged. Over the course of three days, the store processed more than 1,700 transactions. Revenue wasn’t the only goal. “Everything was sold for social currency,” says Power. “To purchase something, you had to make a Snapchat or post an Instagram, and, of course, tag Obsessee.” It’s step one in building a content brand that sells.