Many IFA Paris graduates aspire to be entrepreneurs and launch their own fashion businesses once they complete their studies at IFA Paris. This is exactly what Daniela Reyes Vanegas did, an MBA Fashion Business (now MBA Fashion Management – Apparel Major) graduate, and now a fledgling businesswoman. Inspired by her Colombian roots and noticing the plethora of talented Latin American fashion brands that just aren’t available in Europe, she decided to launch her online platform and bring those brands to this side of the world. Vardao is born.
Beyond their creativity, Daniela wishes to highlight designers with strong ethics who are committed to creating desirable fashion that lasts beyond a single season. Vardao showcases emerging designers with genderless and limited collections who are socially and environmentally responsible.
María Montoya x ALS available on Vardao platform
Adopting a fashion forward approach, Vardao sells fashion apparel and accessories, as well as jewellery. Launched towards the end of 2021, the first designers onboarded onto the site include Vera, Daniela Salcedo, and A Lot Studio, whom all bring a distinct style to the e-commerce store. Customers in France can now enjoy discovering new designers that can be purchased without the hassle of international shipment. Daniela used her business intuition and research to home in on this gap in the market and the business opportunity.
Jewelry brand available on Vardao platform
Vardao is for people who are looking for unique, high-quality designs and want to differentiate themselves and find a style that represents who they are and that they will be proud to wear.
Daniela explored her business idea inside our Fashion Technology Innovation Lab as an incubatee of Cohort 3 of the Startup Program. During the program, she worked with the lab team and a variety of mentors to help shape her business idea. This included developing customer research with partner agency Fast & Fresh, the business model with seasoned entrepreneurs, and the launch strategy with marketing professionals. Getting any new business and project off the ground is no easy feat; therefore, it will be exciting to see how Vardao develops as a young business.
At IFA Paris we encourage entrepreneurship, with many of the programs now having entrepreneurial modules embedded into the curriculum. For graduates, the Startup Program is now accepting applications from aspiring entrepreneurs from any discipline and background. The next cohort starts June 2022.