This article is part of our Vogue Business Membership package. To enjoy unlimited access to Member-only reporting and insights, our NFT Tracker, Beauty Trend Tracker and TikTok Trend Tracker, weekly Technology, Beauty and Sustainability Edits and exclusive event invitations, sign up for Membership here.

Catherine Holstein’s business pitch in 2014 was based on the idea that women’s needs were being neglected. Fashion was showmanship; it was marketing, she says, and that resulted in fragmented, frustrated shopping experiences. Her brand, Khaite, was born in 2016, with a line of don’t-call-them-basics in cotton, denim, leather and cashmere. Handbags came later, but Holstein soon realised she had a problem.