The Rasario brand has occupied a very narrow niche: it creates evening wear. But it has made itself known as widely as possible – it is sold in leading international online stores, and the list of clients includes Jennifer Lopez, Heidi Klum, Kourtney Kardashian and other A-list stars. Over the 12 years of its existence, Rasario has achieved impressive results that other domestic brands can only dream of.
For Rasida Lakoba, the founder and creative director of the brand, all this is a systematic and big job that literally lasts 24/7. Small steps towards a global goal – today the company has a representative office in New York, an office in Turkey and the already mentioned online sales around the world. Rasida is maximally involved in all work processes and is convinced that she is only at the beginning of her journey. When asked what her superpower is, she replies: “It’s that not only do I choose the right people, but they choose me. We have a very close-knit team.” We met with Rasida to find out whether minimalism exists in evening fashion, about clients who come not just for a dress, but for emotions, and the new ambitious goals that she sets for herself.
Arrived Lacoba
About philosophy
We don't have a beautiful story, but we do have a real one. We feel it literally at our fingertips – everything is so intuitive that it is difficult to find the right words. It is difficult to accurately and subtly convey the feelings of a woman who comes into our space and tries on dresses: how her face changes, her mood rises, how she becomes more confident, how she has a desire to go out somewhere in it and have fun. Rasario dresses are about a woman, about her world and about how to feel beautiful and special.
About the global scale
Rasario has grown from a small studio with an area of 16 square meters into a global international brand in 12 years. From the very beginning, I understood that creating and selling evening dresses in a certain price category only in Europe is a dubious story from a business point of view: the market capacity is not the same. Therefore, I relied on b2b partnerships with large retailers. Two or three years later we became partners with Moda Operandi, and a little later with Net-a-Porter. And so we gradually increased and increased the scale of the business. Today our brand is sold all over the world: in offline stores in London, New York, Dubai, Turkey and Kuwait, as well as on nine online platforms – from the already mentioned Moda Operandi and Net-a-Porter to Mytheresa and Browns.
We have long gone beyond the borders of Europe. Our production facilities are scattered all over the world: part of our collections are made in Italy, and all denim and leather goods are made in Turkey. In addition to the production part, there are partners and contractors in America and the Emirates who help us with promotion and sales. For example, organizing fulfillment in Dubai helped streamline the processes of international filming, appearances of stars at events and, most importantly, delivery of products to clients abroad by reducing delivery times to a minimum.
Arrived Lacoba
About friendship with stylists
First you work for your reputation, then your reputation works for you. We constantly receive a huge number of requests for cooperation from opinion leaders, but our strategy involves a targeted approach. In Europe, for example, we have stopped keeping PR samples altogether – they simply don’t exist. If we want to give someone a dress for going out, realizing that the heroine is 100% ours, then we would rather sew it according to individual measurements. If we talk about international stars, then power is concentrated in the hands of stylists. We are friends with many and maintain good relationships. Thus, stylist Kelly Johnson has been collaborating with Rasario for several years. It's no coincidence that her client Lauren Sanchez (fiancee of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos) chose a dress from the brand's latest collection for a reception at the White House.
About evening fashion
I call our dresses conceptual: they have practically no complex decor. If the back is open, then the neckline is extremely delicate. The draperies are laid in such a way that it seems as if the dress was sewn especially for you, or rather, as if the dress was molded on you. All thanks to the complex, thoughtful cut and literally jewelry work. This brevity, minimalism and monumentality is evident, the DNA of our brand – the Rasario dress is always quite easy to recognize.
About the wedding collection
The big advantage of partnering with large retailers is instant feedback. For example, the wedding line appeared at the suggestion of Moda Operandi. It was they who suggested releasing our dresses in white – we thought it was interesting, so we did it. This is how the Rasario Bridal line appeared – since then we have been releasing a collection of wedding dresses every year. At the same time, the main Rasario line also always contains white models, which brides often choose for their celebrations.
About my role
I'm interested in everything: design, marketing – all aspects of business in general. Rasario is a large, historical, beautiful and luxury brand, the locomotive of all history. But there are others that we launched recently, but we already see great prospects in them. RozieCorsets acts as the second, more youthful line of Rasario, while Kóvik offers the ideal base for every day. These are new niches for us, we are learning again, and this is a very exciting process. I'm hopeful that in five years I'll be talking about them with as much pride as I do about Rasario.
Arrived Lacoba
