Highsnobiety joins forces with Zalando, bringing together content and commerce
Felix-backed Highsnobiety has become one of the most influential brands and communities, dedicated to a new generation of cultural pioneers
At Felix, our ambition is to back founders building brands and platforms that transform our culture. We call the founders that operate at the intersection between creativity and technology the Creative Class — they leverage the power of design and community to shape our culture, and move the world forward. Highsnobiety is one of the companies, brands, and communities that illustrate this the best.
From a passion project to a globally influential brand, part of the Felix family
Highsnobiety was born in 2005, not as a business but as a passion project, while David Fischer was still a student. He gave his biggest passion, the lifestyle and fashion space, a real chance. As David said, “I followed my gut and turned my tiny blog Highsnobiety into my first full-time job. Little did I know that Highsnobiety would still be around 17 years later. That we would go on to become one of our generation’s most influential publishing voices and build a creative services business, an e-commerce platform and above all — a brand.”
When Felix launched in 2015, we had already been following the brand for some time, as a key source of inspiration and as a way to stay connected to youth culture. We started our dialogue with David in 2017 and led the first investment in 2018. It was the first time that the bootstrapped, passion-led company had raised any money. We became increasingly keen to partner with David, attracted by his talent, passion, and personality. We were struck but the clarity of his vision, his level of ambition, and his humility. Even if he was standing at the heart of culture and with his pulse on “what’s cool” he was remarkably grounded. The investment thesis was about the strength of the community, the ability to scale a strong publishing business around it, and to gradually expand a commerce business — building a modern, relevant brand for a whole generation. Since 2018, streetwear has taken the fashion and luxury industries by storm. Sneaker culture became the centre of self-expression and fashion, the late Virgil Abloh joined Louis Vuitton and Supreme became a $1bn brand. In this context, Highnsobiety’s influence and cultural influence kept on growing, and the team built a very strong business model on the top of this influence and community.
A pioneer of New Luxury
Through their unique tone of voice and high-quality editorial, Highsnobiety tells a story of our culture through the lens of “New Luxury”, a new cultural zeitgeist shared by the consumers of today. Highsnobiety was and still is read by modern tastemakers (“Cultural Pioneers”) of the world, those who are passionate about our culture and how it is manifested in fashion.
Over the past years, Highsnobiety has not only been a thought leader in fashion and culture, but also advised numerous globally renowned brands on storytelling, building cultural relevance, and engaging with the Millennial consumers of today.
Where content meets commerce
When we met David and Highsnobiety, we were amazed by the scale of the community that they had built organically, and saw the potential for a strong commerce business to emerge atop the highly engaging content. This was our original investment thesis — that content and commerce could not only co-exist, but form a self-reinforcing symbiosis, a foundation for an excellent, creative business.
Over the past years. Highsnobiety has evolved from a global media platform, to a curated commerce destination, merchandising high quality inventory from iconic brands, limited edition collaboration, but also flagships, or Highsnobiety’s own branded collections — Not in Paris, BerlinBerlin, HighArt and HighSports. Highsnobiety is building a shopping destination, powered by content and community, and they are just getting started.
Today the Highsnobiety brand is the strongest it has ever been. It stands for thought-provoking and influential editorial, for ground-breaking brand content and consulting, as well as innovative product and product story-telling.
Zalando x Highsnobiety
Yesterday, Highsnobiety announced that they were acquired by Zalando, and together they will write the next chapter of our culture, through the power of content and commerce — totally aligned with Felix’s investment thesis.
With Highsnobiety’s creativity and Zalando’s commerce excellence, this is the beginning of a new chapter, building an even larger and inclusive tent of opportunities for creators, brands, and consumers — present and future.
We are excited for David, Juergen, and the team at Highsnobiety, and have no doubt that their cultural relevance and influence will continue to grow. In the meantime, we will remain avid readers, and shoppers, of their unique take on fashion and culture. Thanks for having let us share part of the unique Highsnobiety journey!
