Online luxury shopping is here to stay. Before the beginning of 2020, online shopping was already a trillion dollar industry, and since COVID-19 emerged, retailers have raked in an extra 107 billion in sales. But if you find yourself struggling to determine which online luxury shopping site is right for you, it’s time to try Farfetch.
Last fall, fashion designers showed their collections for spring-summer 2020 on runways in New York, London, Milan and Paris. The fashions were gorgeous, and there’s a good chance you’re itching to get out of your athleisure to buy some new duds. But the Covid-19 curveball means that the way to shop varies largely by region and state.
One great option is Farfetch.com, the international online store that features luxury and high-end fashion and accessories—along with less-expensive options—from 700 stores worldwide. This platform, which also boasts a luxury pre-owned department, allows you to shop safely from your desk, lap, or bed, enabling you to refresh your wardrobe and look amazing with brands from as far away as Australia for the hot and hazy days of summer.
Channel Marie Antoinette in a floral-print tulle ruffle dress from Simone Rocha, designed with multiple ruffles, a split top layer and puffed three-quarter length sleeves.
Summer of Love
Farfetch’s Senior Womenswear Editor Celenie Seidel is excited about two contrasting trends for summer: romance and the ’70s. “The first [trend] is overtly romantic—think Simone Rocha, Cecilie Bahnsen, Molly Goddard. Big frothy dresses, soft layers, pastel palettes, embossed and embroidered fabrics,” Seidel observes. “Concurrently, there is quite a slinky, ’70s mood—think Jacquemus and classic Missoni. Print-embracing, figure-hugging, a real summer-of-love throwback.” Irish designer Simone Rocha launched her first collection in London 10 years ago. Her fashion has an edginess that is softened by layers of beautiful, embellished fabrics of varying textures.
For this summer, she showed floaty dresses in layers of tulle printed or embroidered with a delicate floral design. The florals are reminiscent of patterns on 17th- and 18th-century wallpaper or hand-painted porcelain. Seidel also likes Rocha’s more simple silhouettes. “Rocha has been serving up the perfect cloud dress for years—Her floaty, romantic pieces are ones to cherish forever,” says Seidel.
Oversized shell choker by Prada.
Flower Child
The exuberant femininity has also been served up by a host of other designers and labels. Zimmerman, from Australia, has ruffles and floral prints galore. The U.K.’s Needle & Thread features dresses and separates in delicate layers of lace and embroidery, which extends to its bridal collection if you’re planning for a rescheduled summer wedding. And, Xu Zhi, from London-based Chinese designer Xu Zhi Chen, has a handful of delicate, floaty tops and dresses alongside its traditionally edgier aesthetic.
Head to the South of France, however, to discover the laid-back vibe of Simon Porte Jacquemus, who launched his signature collection in 2009. Along with flowing maxi dresses with spaghetti straps, Seidel loves Jacquemus’ summer knitwear, including the very ’70s fine knit short-sleeve bodysuit. That ’70s vibe extends to Australia’s She Made Me, a resort and swimwear label that has stand-out crocheted items, including dresses and pants, for this summer. Of course, the retro floral prints from Tel Aviv-based actress and designer Dodo Bar Or perfectly capture the heady era.
A black floral blouse by Simone Rocha.
Shell Yeah
The theme of sustainability has been infiltrating fashion headlines more frequently than ever before. In that vein, vegan leather has become a hot-ticket item for accessories and apparel. While not romantic at all, Seidel likes the vegan leather shorts from Nanushka, a Hungarian designer who shows during New York fashion week. “Nanushka has really been at the forefront of developing pieces in some of the best vegan leather the market currently has to offer,” Seidel says. “(Her) knee shorts are a new, elegant wardrobe staple.”
For summer shoes, Seidel points to the evolution of the hiking sandal—you know, like the originals from Teva—into a fashion staple. “Cecilie Bahnsen, in collaboration with Suicoke, took the classic hiking sandal and turned it into a shoe that thrillingly combines function and femininity in equal measures,” Seidel remarks. The feminine details are the yellow or blue floral embellishments on the sandal straps. Meanwhile, Teva has come out with its own fashion-forward versions of its popular hiking sandals. Arizona Love, from Paris, has a pair of such sandals embroidered with real seashells. Other accessories highlighted by Seidel include the new interpretation of a shell necklace from Prada and the woven leather pieces from Daniel Lee, the British creative director of Italy’s Bottega Veneta. “A long way from the shell necklaces bought on beach holidays and lost in the sand, Prada’s playful version supersized a classic and turned it into one of the key jewelry pieces of the season,” says Seidel.
Bottega Veneta cassette padded crossbody bag in powder blue.
Farfetch Sizing: A Match Made in Heaven
Some women are already experts at online luxury shopping. It’s so much easier to try things on at home and see how they look with your current wardrobe, notes Seidel. You don’t need a pandemic to start. If you’re new to the game, one of the keys to successful online fashion shopping is to properly take key measurements of your bust, waist, hips, and inseam with a tape measure. If you can’t do it yourself, enlist a friend. Also, don’t be fixated on size numbers. What you think of as your size will not be the same number across different labels.
Farfetch features fashion from designers all over the world; the sizing varies from country to country, and different labels scale their sizes differently. Farfetch, however, has a few tools, including a size conversion chart, to make finding your size easier. “A really handy feature on Farfetch is fit prediction—as you shop on Farfetch, the system begins to ‘learn’ your best size and surfaces a sizing suggestion based on the fit of the piece,” Seidel explains. “This is super useful as Farfetch offers such an international selection of brands, so whether the sizing is Italian, French, U.K., U.S., Australian or Danish, the Fit Predictor will help do the hard work for you.”
Jacquemus Les Tatanes check mules made of 100% leather.
Again, for the sizing tool to be accurate, you have to know and be truthful about your own measurements. Many online luxury shopping websites now include the length of items as well as the height of the model wearing the piece and what size the model is wearing. Compare your measurements with all the information you are given, and chances are you will be able to order properly fitting clothes. “Online shopping provides us with so much more choice than we can access locally,” Seidel boasts. “It quite literally unlocks the world.”
Editor’s Note:
Farfetch has many options for delivery, with most items arriving within 3-7 days of a customer’s order. Some items are eligible for same-day delivery, depending on where they are located and where you live. The company offers flat-fee shipping costs based on order amount minimums. Deliveries to the U.S. of non-American goods might be subject to value-added tax, and that is disclosed at check out. Returns within 14 days of delivery are free if you have followed Farfetch guideline.