We are already in love with Icoona, in particular the variety of labels that this platform carries and the product mix that is updated weekly online! There’s something special for the whole family. We wanted to learn a little more about the foundations which power Icoona, so we reached out to Eric Meulien, Director of Buying, Category, Design and Intelligence to learn more about his vision and ethos for the brand.
The charismatic Eric Meulien is the man who brought Icoona to life for Alyasra Fashion, and tells us all that the vision has always been to create a ‘brand incubator’. Icoona is a place for the people of Kuwait to discover new brands that have a story to tell.
This is not the first time that Eric has wanted to focus on unique brands; throughout his career he has loved finding beautifully crafted products from around the world. In particular, his focus has been on smaller brands and companies where artisans are perpetuating their craftsmanship, and Eric finds sharing that to be a very enriching experience.
Born and raised in Marseille, France, Eric started his career in the perfume industry in Miami, where he had an advertising company. During the 90s, Miami was a vibrant epicenter of fashion and Eric was able to discover the industry from the inside out. He soon after started making waves in the world of fashion in his role as buyer and product developer for fashion retailers. He tells us that he will always have a passion for customer service and retail due to his long rich experience in the industry.
A few years ago, Eric joined Alyasra Fashion, where his main role has been to build up e-commerce capabilities for the company. He tells us that Alyasra Fashion is great to work for since the group has such strong ethics and family values. He has been the driving force behind the launch of Icoona, and he wants the concept to be a platform for new brands, but at the same time, an outlet for brands to learn about the Kuwaiti customer and gain business intel. “We are trying to instill a real new ecosystem that benefits our suppliers as well as our customers, and all shoppers beyond that,” Eric shares. This excites us because this is a two way conversation that Icoona will be having with suppliers and customers, and enhancing the relationship between the two to cater to the Kuwaiti customer even better.
We asked Eric about about the main challenges faced when launching Icoona, he told us that: “launching a new retail platform online in a market saturated by very large retailers is a challenge in itself. Adding to it that many of our brands are by definition unknown to the local consumer is bringing the level of risks and difficulties to new heights. Yet, we learn a lot on our way – like on any journey, the path is often more enriching than the final destination. We improved our practices, we discovered new amazing business partners, and we surprised ourselves with some of the early successes.” It is clear that Icoona is here to make waves in the fashion industry and bring something new to Kuwait. This is very true for Icoona, simply because this ethos defines the brands chosen by Eric to bring to the Kuwaiti customer. Eric’s brands of choice stem from his meetings with the people behind the brands. He tries, where possible, to work directly with the brand to understand their vision and their values and to actually form long term partnerships – this is also one of the primary goals of Alyasra Fashion.
Eric goes on to tell us that about fifty percent of the brands are exclusive to Icoona in Kuwait. “Some of my favorite brands are from master artisans dedicated to producing fabulous creations that rival the quality of the prominent fashion houses. Nadege Seguy is one of those exceptional artisans, she is currently creating leather bags in her tiny workshop in France that will be exclusively available on Icoona this winter,” he shares.
In addition, he tells us about Capelle Miami, a small enterprise built by a handful of young entrepreneurs hailing from Miami. The label has had great success with their unique, multifunctional hybrid swim shorts which are available on Icoona. In addition to these young, contemporary, artisan labels, Eric tells us that Icoona also carries some labels which are much bigger and have already established notoriety in their domestic countries, for example, Le temps des Cerise – which produce beautiful jeans from the best denim fabric available, as well as Goen-J, Recto, Gu-de, all three Korean fashion rising stars, to name just a few.
To learn about new brands and to get inspired, Eric still travels to the Paris and Milan fashion weeks, usually with an open mind, a camera, and good walking shoes. However, he tells us that what he truly enjoys the most is to visit workshops where the garments are actually made, to better understand the construction, the techniques, the property of the materials and the legacy of the master of their art. While Italy and France are important, Spain, Portugal, Peru, Japan, and Korea are also great places to find inspiration.
It is Eric’s constant search for inspiration, unique labels, artisans and craftspeople that has culminated in Icoona. The brand truly offers something different and is set to bring an expanded assortment of unique products and brands. “Our goal is to let consumers influence its evolution and for us to bring new, fresh and exclusive offers to Kuwait and eventually to other regional markets,” Eric comments. The plan is for Icoona to ultimately grow into a full fledged department store with a physical presence.
We cannot wait to see what else Icoona brings to Kuwait! In closing, we asked Eric a few questions to get to know him a little more and we learnt that his favorite style icon of all time is Audrey Hepburn and that his favorite fashion designer is Karl Lagerfeld. He tells us that this is the man who rebuilt Chanel while managing Fendi, and having the ability to run two different fashion houses of that magnitude at the same time is no small feat. In his free time Eric studies and writes about Japanese medieval history and he enjoys reading, he also paints and dabbles in amateur photography.
Icoona offers next day delivery so you never have to be without the latest fashions for long! Discover Icoona online at www.icoona.com and follow the brand for its latest launches on Instagram @shop.icoona.
