Golden Edit, a new e-commerce site, celebrates summer all year with a focus on swimwear, warm-weather apparel and accessories from a selection of brands that cofounders Florencia Cavallo and Elise Labau Topaloglu came across in their travels. The web site won’t follow a traditional retail calendar, rather, new products will be introduced organically.
Cavallo and Labau Topaloglu met while working at fashion public relations firm HL Group and came up with the idea for Golden Edit. The women, who traveled extensively when they were young and grew up near beaches — Labau Topaloglu in Saint Barths, and Cavallo in Buenos Aires and Melbourne — wanted to source brands from around the world and provide consumers with access to a year-round summer wardrobe.
“I summered in Mallorca and always came across beautiful unique pieces,” Labau Topaloglu said. “You buy something and you’re the envy of your friends. Golden edit gives us the opportunity to curate the best products from all over the globe under one roof.”
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“Our customer is a girl who’s always on the go,” said Cavallo. “Exclusive one-off things are what she wants.”
“We want to bring together a constant selection of great summer essentials that are available all the time, not only during resort and summer at retail,” Labau Topaloglu said. “The selection of swimwear at brick-and-mortar retailers is limited off-season, and online, it’s overwhelming. The idea stemmed from wanting to keep it manageable. We started to realize that while there’s so much stuff out there, unique pieces are hard to come by, and they certainly don’t live under one roof.”
Golden Edit’s prices are “very attainable,” Cavallo said, noting that the range is currently $40 to $350. “We’re very aware of what’s out there in the market.”
Brands include 5th Position, a Turkish swim wear label cofounded by dancer Buse Uğur and model and designer Ezgi Bozkurt; Artesano, Panama hats made in Ecuador; DOR, 100 percent natural Belgian linen separates from Turkey; Australian lifestyle brand In Your Arms; Jade swimwear, designed by stylist Brittany Kozerski using sustainable Italian techno fabrics; Ka’imima, Maria Cecilia Ariza’s accessories, handwoven by Colombian artisans; Matteau, luxury swimwear from Australia; Rowie, apparel from Down Under; Tottem, handbags designed by Colombian-born Laura Buitrago, and Colombian swimwear label Verde Limon.
“The brands we discovered are wildly different,” Labau Topaloglu said. “Some of the brands we work with support artisans in their local communities.”
There will be more travel for Labau Topaloglu and Cavallo. “We plan to go to Majorca. The world we live in now has seen an interesting leveling of the playing field. We purposely avoided more traditional trade shows.”
The site’s editorial component, Chronicles, provides inspiration with stories about adventurers such as Christie Ferrari, a former psychologist-turned-lifestyle-blogger, who visited the Balearic Islands. The platform will feature travel guides, destination spotlights, insider tips, and guest-curated edits.
Golden Edit’s tag line, Summer, Always, emphasizes Cavallo and Labau Topaloglu’s commitment to the concept. “We’re happy to remain within that niche,” Labau Topaloglu said. “We see so many opportunities. We want to nurture and grow our relationships with the brands.”