Free People
Free people began it’s journey in 1970 in West Philadelphia. Free people is an American bohemian apparel and lifestyle retail company selling women’s clothing, accessories, shoes, intimates and swimwear. From its very early days as a retail store, Free People has expanded and flourished into a impressive lifestyle brand for stylish, confident young people who look for expression and freedom through their clothes, without sacrificing quality and affordability. Their range of unique pieces appeal to a vast demographic. The target market for this brand is described as 20-30 females, who are smart, creative and self-aware. Free People can be expensive for a number of reasons, but the main one being the high quality materials that they use. They feature unique bohemian-style that is extremely hard to come by. Their clothing, shoes and accessories are known to be in such good shape and that they will last you for a lifetime. Free people is part of the Urban Outfitters, inc (URBN’s) portfolio. Both brands have their own unique compelling entity, however they all share the same core values and emphasis on creativity and freedom and desire to cater to a rich customer experience. Free People was founded on the values and principles of inclusivity and cultural understanding. ‘Every day we strive to be better, to better serve our customer and, in return build a better community’. In support of the BIPOC Free People have made donations to nonprofits advocating for social justice, specifically the black community. These nonprofits include an employee donation match to which surpasses $925000. Additionally in September 2020 URBN’s Home Office participated in the 2020 UNCF Virtual walk. Free People raised over $18k in donations that will support children’s education via the UNCF.
Free people has been worn by a range of successful celebrities including Selena Gomez wearing the Free People ‘Diogo Coat. Taylor swift who was spotted wearing the Free People ‘Melanie tank’, and also Hilary Duff, who was spotted wearing the ‘Bay to Breakers Pants’.
Free People discovered that people wanted to be more adventurous with their clothing, something ‘playful’ and ‘unexpected’, this encouraged the brand to design pieces predominantly featuring, colour, hand detailing, embellishment and embroidery. Free People introduced their FP movement which helped their brand expand even more with a focus on fitness and leisure. The Free People movement was created to bring the power of collective movement to all through inspiring, fun, community-driven fitness and wellness experiences. They found many people spend their days and nights in pursuit of fitness, wellness, happiness and beauty, so they wanted to curate a line that speaks these qualities. The FP movement was born of that endeavour, and provided additional support for those looking to achieve balance both inside and out. Free People’s FP movement has been worn and loved by very influential celebrities including, Hailey Bieber, Hilary Duff and Vanessa Hudgens, the activewear collection has been snapped by paparazzi left and right.