According to eMarketer, in 2023, 1 in 3 US gen z consumers bought a product from an influencer-founded brand. This growing trend of creators becoming founders, and their brands rapidly succeeding, highlights how a creator’s input can influence purchasing decisions.
Targeting an already oversaturated industry, fashion brands like SKIMS, Frankies Bikinis, or Djerf Avenue stand out by leveraging their founder’s credibility, storytelling, and deep understanding of audience preferences. From inclusive sizing to sustainability, these brands can help inspire content strategies and creative campaign ideas for your next brand.
In this article, we’ll explore the top 10 best influencer-founded fashion brands revolutionizing the industry, to learn from their success and elevate your own content strategy.
When an influencer becomes a brand founder, they are already being held to a certain standard by their followers based on their online persona and what that audience is expecting to see.
Luckily, online personalities like Sami Miro (Sami Miro Vintage) and Danielle Bernstein (We Wore That) already nail to resonate with their strong audience built around their personal style and fashion sense.
Here are 3 reasons fashion influencers like Sami and Danielle launch brands:
Check out our top 10 fashion brands that work with micro influencers and learn how to get your collaborations started today.
As an example, influencer founder Grace Beverley grew a loyal following, initially interested in her fitness journey, and leveraged this engaged audience to launch her sustainable women’s activewear brand named TALA in 2019.
According to Vogue Business, TALA’s sales were eight figures back in 2023 and continues to grow alongside Grace’s unique vision.
Like SKIMS, explore similar brands that work with nano influencers and discover how authentic partnerships and niche targeting can drive massive engagement and loyalty.
Explore how Matilda Djerf expanded her fashion brand into Djerf Avenue Beauty and check out our top 10 influencer founded beauty brands.
Explore other top Instagram fitness brands to follow in 2025, and how they are setting trends by building loyal online communities.
From a work-life balance to creator blocks, becoming a brand founder can bring many challenges. Here are 5 initial helpful steps you can take to face these difficulties with confidence, and build a solid foundation.
Does your brand stand for sustainability, inclusivity, bold self expression, or minimalism? Like Matilda Djerf showcased her timeless and slow fashion style into Djerf Avenue, what are your brand’s mission, vision, and values?
The start of a brand identity could sound like: “Our mission is to empower women through minimalist, timeless fashion pieces made sustainably.”
As a creator, you already know who your followers are and what they are interested in. Take understanding their behaviour a bit deeper and analyse their preferences and frustrations.
Nicole Trunfio, founder of BUMPSUIT, created fashionable basics for pregnant women after identifying this very specific pain point within her audience.
As mistakes in production or design can get costly, start small, test your ideas. You can leverage your audience and create Instagram polls or digital mockups to share and welcome feedback.
Francesca Aiello began Frankies Bikinis with made-to-order pieces posted on her IG profile, helping her validate ideas before scaling up.
Your strong audience is already a fan of you, now they have to become a fan of your brand.
A helpful tip can be documenting behind the scenes content and taking your followers with you. Integrate them into your brand-building journey and make them feel a part of it. Turn your followers into your most powerful launch partners.
Check out this helpful Reddit response to discover content ideas, smart audience research tips, and a powerful tool for turning engagement into warm leads, everything to start your own fashion brand’s media growth and sales.
Even after a great content strategy, quality and sizing can make or break a fashion brand. Prioritize wear-testing or invest in samples to gather useful feedback of your product’s fit, durability, comfort, and functionality.
Brands prioritizing comfort and quality like SKIMS or TALA prove to win long term.
Key Takeaways: From creating your brand DNA to building community and working on product quality, these 5 steps will help you establish a strong starting point for a fashion brand that’s authentic, audience-driven, and built to last.
From SKIMS to KAI Collective, influencer founded brands have been revolutionizing the fashion industry and its customers' purchasing decisions.
By connecting with their founders’ communities and prioritizing feedback, these businesses establish a direct relationship with their most trusted buyers, helping to build brand loyalty and authenticity. These brands don't only sell products, they sell stories, values, and lifestyles that resonate deeply with their influencer founder and make their audience feel like they’ve become a part of their journey.
If you’re a creator dreaming of launching your own brand, consider building the foundation now.
Platforms like Creator Hero help you connect with top brands through paid collabs, so you can monetize your content, grow your audience, and gain firsthand experience in what it takes to market and sell a product.