Love, Bonito marked the beginning of its Southeast Asian expansion journey with the launch of a brand new store situated in Publika Shopping Gallery, Solaris Dutamas. For a limited time only, loyal Malaysian customers of Love, Bonito need not get their order shipped from Singapore!
Love, Bonito has come a long way since it first entered Singapore’s online fashion retail scene in 2006 as a humble blog shop. Driven by a shared passion to empower women through style, Love, Bonito has earned a reputation for expertly striking a balance between style and affordability.
The online fashion brand debuts in Malaysia with a pop-up retail store in Publika Shopping Gallery and Love, Bonito invites Malaysians to visit the store that boasts a wholesome range of apparel to cater to every woman’s needs, style and occasion.
At the exclusive media launch of the pop-up store, we also got the opportunity to speak to the founders of Love, Bonito – Rachel Lim and Viola Tan. The two lovely ladies shared with us their plans for the future, their inspirations, a little bit about the pop-up store as well as the clothes displayed in the store.
Q: Can you tell us a little bit more about Love, Bonito?
VT & RL: So, Love, Bonito is a Singapore brand, it’s a homegrown label. Everything that you see here is designed and manufactured by us. We are four years old.
Q: How did the both of you meet? How did this all come about?
VT & RL: Well, we grew up together and we are childhood friends. When we were younger, I think about 10 years ago, we wanted to earn some extra pocket money. Hence, we started selling our second hand clothes online. Back then, online shopping wasn’t rampant. We are actually the pioneers in Singapore to come up with this online store concept. We realized that increasingly, customers are taking a liking towards our style. A lot of customers actually come back and ask us for more designs. Then, we realized that there is a market for our style. So, we decided to design our own pieces. Starting to design our own pieces means to stand out from the crowd – to create unique pieces and have more control over the quality.
Q: Did you guys go to design school?
VT & RL: Funny thing is, we don’t have a background in business or fashion. So, we just learn along the way.
Q: I know that you guys deliver to Malaysia, but the store is a first. How did the idea of a concept pop-up store come about?
VT & RL: Love, Bonito is a e-retailer. So, we had a similar concept in Singapore and the response was really, really good. We realized that we could reach out to a lot more women who didn’t hear or know about Love, Bonito. Also, we realized that we have a strong Malaysian customer base and we actually wanted to reach out to more Malaysian women. We also understand that you guys are sometimes sceptical about online shopping because of the material, fit and sizing. If it doesn’t fit well, the item has to be returned all the way to Singapore. Hence, that is why we decided to come here to gain the confidence of the Malaysian crowd. We are here to display for four months until the end of January 2015.
Q: Who came up with the concept of the pop-up store? It looks amazing!
VT & RL: Our creative team did an amazing job. It’s very true to the brand of Love, Bonito and it’s relatable. This is really who Love, Bonito is. Thanks for appreciating it! They put in a lot of effort and sleepless nights just to set up all this.
Q: You had a previous pop-store at Tangs, VivoCity Mall. Was it a similar concept to this?
VT & RL: I think concept-wise, yes, definitely.
Q: As for the designs, where do you look for inspiration?
VT & RL: We have a team of designers and we constantly look for inspiration from magazines, runways and when we travel. We have to keep ourselves up to date.
Q: Would you say that the designs are a mix of all your styles?
VT & RL: Yeah, of course. We would wear all these pieces in the store. Actually, the stuff that’s in the store right now are all of our favourite pieces. We hand-picked all these pieces from our entire selection to be displayed in Malaysia.
Q: How often do you guys come up with new designs?
VT & RL: We come up with 12 designs every four days.
Q: For the shoes and accessories, do you guys also design them?
VT & RL: We design the shoes and bags ourselves. However, the accessories aren’t designed by us for now.
Q: How is your Malaysian customer base like?
VT & RL: We are a homegrown Singaporean brand, so clearly our customer base there is stronger. Having said that, we’re very confident that our Malaysian customer base will grow and we’re very happy to be here.
Q: Tell me a little bit more about your new collection.
VT & RL: We decided to collaborate with one of Malaysia’s influencers, Cheesie. I’m sure you’ve heard of her. We wanted to reach out to the Malaysian crowd and Cheesie is a Malaysian, so she would understand what Malaysian women like. We realized that Malaysians and Singaporeans tend to have a slightly different shopping habit, so this is how the collaboration came about. It will be launched in October. There are 12 pieces in the collection, so do look out for that. Cheesie is going to acknowledge the launch of the collection.
Q: Aside from the pop-up store, is there anything else that’s happening for Love, Bonito in Malaysia?
VT & RL: It’s still under plans, so we cannot confirm anything yet. We’ll let you know via our social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram!
Visit Love, Bonito’s pop-up store at Lot No. 15, Level G2, Publika, No. 1, Jalan Dutamas 1, Solaris Dutamas, 50480, Kuala Lumpur. You can also view Love, Bonito’s full selection at www.lovebonito.com.
