What: The platform is betting that new womenswear essentials label There Was One (launched with New Guards Group) will capture anti-hype shoppers looking for sustainable wardrobe staples.

Why it is important: While the pandemic helped Farfetch cut back on the discounting and customer acquisition costs that have dogged its bottom line, it is still searching for ways to increase its margins and help convince investors that buying New Guards Group in August 2019 made strategic sense in a competitive luxury retail market.

The range offers minimalist closet staples for women priced under USD 2,000 with a sustainable angle, including a USD 95 organic cotton T-shirt and a USD 1,400 leather biker jacket made in a tannery certified by non-profit Leather Working Group for environmental best practices.

There Was One will be exclusively sold on Farfetch.com. To develop the line, Farfetch tapped the design and production capabilities of the New Guards Group, the firm behind hype-defining brands like Off-White and Palm Angels.

Farfetch’s chief brand officer Holli Rogers said the line was informed by consumer shopping data that showed that since the start of the pandemic, customers have been “investing in pieces that would last them possibly a lifetime” and preferring items made with some kind of sustainable element.

The label will be discoverable on Farfetch.com alongside the marketplace’s luxury offering and within its “Conscious Edit” of sustainable fashion. (Rogers said sales of Farfetch’s “conscious” pieces grew more than three times faster than the average item in 2020.)

Farfetch launches womenswear private label