Background / Challenge:

Halsey Schroeder grew up watching her mother carefully build her wardrobe – choosing pieces that would stand the test of time. Having acquired the same sense of style, Halsey saw a market that was not being reached. “Everything was too flashy and trendy.” And just like that, a new business idea was born. Within a few months after graduating from Harvard Business School, Schroeder had a plan to create an on-line fashion brand.

The new brand’s demographic was targeted at 35-plus and aimed at women for whom a more classic and conservative—although not necessarily stodgy—wardrobe is a professional necessity, a subset of working women that includes a fair share of attorneys, business executives, and politicians.

Solution:

Working with the founder and her team, WANT was tasked with creating a new brand that would embody classic women’s style and convey warmth and modern tone as well as stand the test of time.

The company name, ‘Halsbrook’, was derived from Halsey and Millbrook, the town where Halsey spends her summers with her family. The site launched in September 2012.

Results:

Halsbrook.com launched Sept. 13 with hopes of settling into a niche as a less trendy version of Net-a-Porter, which features the most buzzed-about garments from high-end designers, and a more grown-up alternative to Shopbop, which tends to skew heavily toward the contemporary market. Halsbrook focuses on brands such as Max Mara and Piazza Sempione—stylish but not driven by trends.

Today, the company headquarters is located in the Flatiron District of New York City.