When Harvard Business School classmates Leslie Voorhees and Calley Means were planning their wedding, they stumbled upon a problem they could fix and started their direct-to-consumer, customized wedding dress company, Anomalie, in 2016. Like many brides, Voorhees had trouble finding a wedding dress that fit her size, style and budget. The former product developer for Nike, M.Gemi and Apple took matters into her own hands and went straight to the source.
“After researching the wedding dress supply chain, I learned 80% of the world’s wedding dresses, including gowns for top luxury brands, were made in one Chinese city. I visited workshops there and learned that dresses that retail for thousands of dollars cost hundreds to make,” she says. After making her dream dress directly at a workshop, dozens of friends contacted her to make their own wedding dresses. Voorhees quickly realized that customization was as big of a pain point for brides as the price and that most of the wedding dresses in the U.S. are sold in brick-and-mortar stores, which offers brides limited selections. “By partnering with these workshops and selling direct to brides, we’re able to offer a much better price and almost unlimited customization,” says Voorhees.
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Today brides use Anomalie to work with stylists to create made-to-order wedding dresses that the brand says are made of the same premium fabrics and materials as premier bridal designers — without the comparable prices. A dress from the Silicon Valley-based startup costs between $1,000 to $1,500 and is completed in about five months. Anomalie has surpassed $1 million in revenue and raised $4.5 million in funding, with primary investment from Maveron and Lerer Hippeau. I spoke with Voorhees about her career path and advice.
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