"I launched my own independent fashion label - these are my tips for making your website stand out"

Adobe

Credit: Adobe

Fashion


"I launched my own independent fashion label - these are my tips for making your website stand out"

By Stylist Team

3 years ago

In partnership with Adobe

Adobe

When Fisayo Longe founded Kai Collective, she never anticipated shutting down the site to cope with demand for her celeb-approved designs. Now, she’s ready to relaunch with a brand new site, and learned a lot along the way… 

From working as an accountant to dressing A-listers, Kai Collective founder Fisayo Longe has been on quite a journey.

“It all started when I was travelling. I would go fabric shopping and have clothes made, and people would ask me where I got them from. That’s when I realised I could sell them,” Fisayo explains.

Since its launch in 2016, the brand has found fame for its signature Gaia printed dresses, popping up on every cool girl’s Instagram feed and into the wardrobes of Saweetie, Michaela Coel and Jackie Aina. Fisayo also landed a place on Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2021.

Kai Collective is now a team of four, and while all that growth might seem like an entirely positive thing for an independent fashion label, earlier this year the brand took the difficult decision to shut down their site while they figured out how to cope with demand.

In this restructuring period, Fisayo has been redesigning the Kai Collective website with Adobe Express, ready to relaunch with a bang.

Here are her top tips and what she’s learned along the way… 

1. Nail the basics

First up, get the essentials right. Having staple sections on your website will entice people to want to shop with you.

“On our first website, all of our newest items appeared at the top of our general shop page,” explains Fisayo. “But whenever I shop online, I go straight to the ‘new in’ page, otherwise I feel overwhelmed by having to look through everything. You want to make it as easy as possible for people to spend money with you.”

Delivery details, such as letting people know when they’ll get their order and what your returns policy is, and a ‘contact us’ page with an email address, not just a contact form, are also essential. 

“A contact email address gives me a sense of security that someone is going to deal with my issue,” Fisayo adds. 


2. Create cohesive visuals

A visual identity is one of the most important things you can develop for your brand, and should be cohesive across all platforms.

“As a new business, you want people to see certain images or graphics and be able to link that back to you,” says Fisayo.

For Fisayo, who comes from an accounting background, creating those graphics was a challenge she never anticipated when creating Kai Collective’s first website.

“Using an easy-to-use design tool like Adobe Express is amazing. There are thousands of templates to choose from with great colours and fonts, and templates are shared with your whole team so they can be cohesive across Instagram Stories as well as website banners. We also use it to trim videos for socials, or turn them into GIFs.”


3. Don't wait for perfection

How often have you held off from doing something because it wasn’t just right? Waiting for perfection could get in the way of your excellence.

“If I overthink something, I start to think of all the ways I’m not good enough, I believe in just starting things,” says Fisayo.

“Obviously do as much research as possible and be prepared, but know that you are capable. A lot of people think that they don’t know what they’re doing, but even I’m just winging it!”


4. Tell a story

Don’t just think of your audience as customers - cultivate a community, advises Fisayo.

“We get messages from women saying that they haven’t liked their bodies since they gave birth until they wore our Gaia dress, and then they felt like Beyoncé. 

“Kai Collective is more than just clothing, we’ve built a community of women who rely on us for their most special days. That is such a privilege.”

Your ‘about me’ page is a great way to create that sense of community and get your brand story across, Fisayo says. 

“People want to spend with brands who share the same values as them, so tell your story and what you stand for. Don’t be scared to share your struggles as well as your highlights either, as people can make emotional connections with you if you allow yourself to be vulnerable.”


5. Prioritise the important parts

Anyone who runs their own business will know that your ‘to do’ list can seem endless. While you might start out doing everything yourself, it pays to prioritise according to Fisayo.

“When Kai Collective first started, I was the founder, CEO, creative director, everything. But as you grow your business, you learn the importance of hiring people who are better than you at certain things.”

“Adobe Express is so simple to use and has a lot of drag and drop functions, which makes it easy to create amazing looking content in a matter of clicks. This frees up my time to spend on other areas of the business. For a new business owner without a team, time is your greatest asset.” 

If you want the experience of a designer sat next to you, telling you exactly how to make your website look relevant and impactful, Adobe Express is your go-to.

The app will help you create thumb-stopping social graphics, short videos, and web pages that make you stand out from the crowd, in an intuitive and easy-to-use way. 



Adobe’s new mobile and online design app Adobe Express is supporting entrepreneurs and small business owners like Fisayo in growing their business and in marketing across all channels. Through thousands of beautiful templates and assets, Express is ready to help entrepreneurs when it comes to anything design related, allowing entrepreneurs more time to focus on the many other demands of building a business.  Start creating your website now.

All Kai Collective imagery featured in this article has been created using Adobe Express.

Adobe

Credit: Adobe

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