If you’ve ever wondered what real life Devil Wears Prada actually looks like, then the Lauren Santo Domingo podcast with TSC is the one for you.
We sat down with Lauren Santo Domingo, co-founder and Chief Brand Officer of Moda Operandi, to discuss all things fashion, decor, and business. Because that’s the thing about Lauren: she’s not just a fashion expert.
Lauren’s connections, skills, and expertise have allowed her to run one of the biggest fashion e-commerce brands in the entire world. She’s an entrepreneur, a magazine editor, and a socialite who loves attending events like the Met Gala. Basically, she’s an absolutely incredible person.
That’s why today’s post is all about Lauren Santo Domingo & her business, Moda Operandi. But, the best source for this information is the woman herself. Lucky for you, you can hear Lauren’s take on things here:
Who is Lauren Santo Domingo?: Meet the Founder of Moda Operandi
Like we said, Lauren Santo Domingo is an influential entrepreneur, as well as a contributing editor for American Vogue. She’s also the artistic director of Tiffany Home, a line of home decor made by Tiffany & Co.
Lauren began her journey in the fashion industry after several attempts at getting a job at Vogue. Looking back, she says, “I applied for different jobs, and I didn’t get them… Which, I understood later, they just weren’t the right jobs for me.” Finally, she was able to secure a role at her dream job, Vogue. If you’re interested in knowing more about her early days at Vogue, you can watch the episode with her here.
Lauren took her role at Vogue very seriously. She was inspired by her parents, who encouraged her to take her job as seriously as medical personnel take their roles. Once, when she’d been complaining about someone being annoyed that a look didn’t make it to the shoot in time, her parents gave her a reality check.
They said, “If you worked in a hospital and a heart transplant didn’t arrive, would you say ‘Oh, that’s so ridiculous’? … You know, this is the industry you are in, so you need to treat every single piece of clothing as if it were an organ for transplant.”
Lauren carries this philosophy with her to this day, telling us how important the work they’re doing is. “Fashion is an industry, you know. This is a designer’s collection, their dream, their livelihood.”
Lauren took her connections that she made while working at Vogue and her love of sharing things with others, and created her own company, Moda Operandi. But, what is Moda Operandi, exactly?
What Is Moda Operandi?
Moda Operandi is an e-commerce platform for all things fashion. It was designed out of a need Lauren saw for regular people outside of the fashion industry to have access to runway items.
It’s an especially unique business because it is not in the business of fast fashion. Products are custom-made for each customer, have to be pre-ordered, and take 4 to 6 months to be completed.
Lauren brought her experience with Vogue to the company she co-founded. She learned from Anna Wintour that your employees should be able to say, “OK, this is on brand.” vs. “This is not on brand.”
She said of Anna Wintour: “She’s very specific. Probably the greatest lesson that I got from her as a leader that I tried to instill in my own business and in Moda as the brand is that Anna was very deliberate, and she knew what Vogue was. And, we all had a very clear idea on what Vogue was, and what it stood for, and what it meant. So, it was very easy to do our jobs, because we knew what was Vogue and what wasn’t Vogue.”
She tries to make it clear to all her teams exactly what Moda Operandi is, so that their jobs are clear and defined. Whether they’re part of the buying team, editorial, or operations, they know what is and isn’t Moda. Her team excels at curating pieces we’d absolutely die for.
Currently, Moda Operandi works with iconic designers, such as Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, Givenchy, Balenciaga, Gucci, and many, many more.
How Did Lauren Santo Domingo Start Moda Operandi?
Lauren recognized a disconnect between the runway and what consumers could actually buy.
Lauren told us that her idea for Moda Operandi came after she recognized that even her friends who had nice, well paying jobs did not have access to the fashion that Lauren had access to.
She conceptualized a platform where consumers could get runway fashion while it was still in season.
Lauren wanted to share her access with her friends and others who are interested in fashion. She conceptualized Moda Operandi, a platform where consumers could order the latest looks straight from the designers.
Partnering with Áslaug Magnúsdóttir, they developed Moda Operandi.
Áslaug Magnúsdóttir, who had come up with a similar idea of a “pretailer” that lets consumers pre-order items directly from the runway, co-founded the brand with Lauren. Together, Lauren and Áslaug were named on Business Insider’s “Silicon Alley 100: The Coolest People in New York in Tech” in 2012.
Moda Operandi was launched in February 2011.
After spending two years developing the company, it was launched in 2011. The company now has more than 150 employees.
How Does Moda Operandi Work?
Customers can shop online “trunk shows.”
Moda Operandi hosts online “trunk shows”. These trunk shows allow customers to see the latest in fashion, right after they’ve been presented on the runway.
They place a pre-order with a 50% deposit.
Customers select what they’d like to buy from the trunk show. Then, they place a pre-order, paying a 50% deposit.
Once the items are ready to ship, the customer pays the remaining balance.
Moda Operandi will notify the customer that the items are ready to ship. Then, it’s time to pay the final balance.
The pre-ordered items are then shipped to the customer.
Once the balance is paid, the items are shipped straight to the customer.
There is also a boutique option.
Moda Operandi’s “Boutique” offers in-season clothing customers can purchase for immediate delivery.
Lauren Santo Domingo brings cutting edge fashion to the rest of the world.
We’re obsessed with the idea behind Lauren’s company, and we’re so thankful to her for connecting us to such iconic fashion. Don’t forget to catch all the details straight from the source from her podcast episode with Him & Her here!
Ever shopped Moda Operandi? Tell us about your favorite piece! We’d love to hear all about it.