Fashism
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Fashism (fashism.com) was a fashion-feedback startup founded by Brooke Moreland and Ashley Granata. The app and website let anyone get instant opinions on an outfit: users downloaded the app, snapped a photo with their phone, and posted it for other users to comment on — a 'fashion + criticism' social network where strangers rated what-to-wear and what-not-to-wear. It gained early press coverage, including a Boston Herald story about teenagers posting prom dresses on Facebook and Twitter through Fashism so friends would know not to wear the same one.
02 / Fashism FAILURE REASONS
Failure factors
Cofounders’ shutdown email and Brooke Moreland’s comment to Betabeat (Observer, Sep 2013) said Fashism could not generate enough revenue to stay running and never scaled to significant revenue on a social app, despite an engaged community.
not able to generate enough revenue to keep Fashism up and running.
never able to scale to the level needed to generate significant revenue on a social app.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Product or service closed
published the cofounders’ email announcing Fashism would shut down its website and apps at the end of September 2013 after four years. Mashable (27 Sep 2013) likewise reported the Ashton Kutcher–backed social fashion startup was officially closing.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
Brooke Moreland and Ashley Granata created Fashism (fashism.com): an app and website where users photographed their outfits and got instant feedback from strangers — a 'fashion + criticism' social network.
- 02
The idea won early press, including Boston Herald coverage of teenagers posting their prom dresses on Facebook and Twitter through Fashism so friends would not copy the look.