We’ve seen an increasing number of fashion startups lately and the newest one is Hello La Mode, a New York-based startup that just launched its marketplace for luxury fashion resale last week. The company just announced that it has raised a $500,000 seed round from three undisclosed angel investors. That’s not quite on the same level as some other fashion-focused companies like JustFab, which raised $76 million this week, but Hello La Mode has an interesting business model that sets it apart from other fashion startups.
Until now, Hello La Mode co-founder Eric Gagnaire tells us, people were often hesitant to buy secondhand apparel online because of potential issues with quality and conformity. His company, however, makes sure that every item that is put up for sale goes through a “manual check by fashion experts.”
The company plans to use this funding round to build its mobile and tablet apps, as well as to hire more of experts to scale its operations.
Hello La Mode currently operates in the U.S. and Canada. Users who want to sell their clothes can just list them on the site for free. Once a sale is made, the seller receives a free UPS shipping label to send it to Hello La Mode and it’s only send to the buyer after it passes the company’s quality tests. Transactions between the seller and buy are held in escrow until the purchase is certified and shipped. Sellers pay a transaction fee ($25+) that depends on the price of the item they are selling.
The company believes that having a trusted third party will give buyers more confidence to shop for used cloths online. The team also notes that it will “feature only the most luxurious fashion items for sale as chosen by our editors and celebrity tastemakers.”