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It’s not an easy time for fashion. Global tariffs, inflation and geopolitical tensions have shaken even the most die-hard consumers, leading to plummeting stocks and downgraded forecasts for industry leaders. Emerging brands, meanwhile, are dealing with shrinking support structures within fashion, from wholesale retail’s ongoing troubles to fewer exit options.
For Nina Khosla, none of this scared her away from getting her second brand, Ossou, out into the world.
“Creating in a time of uncertainty meant returning, again and again, to a single question: what is truly necessary? The world has shifted, and with it, a renewed appetite for permanence,” says Khosla, who founded American fashion label Fforme in 2022. “People want fewer things, made better, with a clearer point of view. That mindset became the foundation of our creative process.”
Debuting tomorrow with a website and presentation at New York’s Casa Valle, Ossou wants to be the foundation of a modern wardrobe, says Khosla, who crossed over into fashion after years of working in technology. Talia Shuvalov, founder of fine jewellery line Erede and formerly of Alexander Wang and Narciso Rodriguez, is her co-creative director, while Fforme CEO Joey Laurenti will also serve as CEO of Ossou. The ready-to-wear brand specialises in Japanese denim manufactured in Los Angeles, with cotton, leather and silk pieces sourced from Italy and manufactured in Europe. Prices range from $295 for its T-shirts to $1,295 for leather.
“Everything begins with materials,” says Shuvalov. “We choose only what holds intrinsic value, in both function and feel. That includes Japanese denim, yarn-dyed twills and indigo silks, selected for their durability, depth and character.” The denim is the centrepiece. “I’m from San Francisco, which is the birthplace of the jean,” adds Khosla. “So I’ve always been really interested in denim and how it can be explored as a more premium luxury material, refining it in a way that can create the backbone of a modern woman’s closet.”
Khosla’s point of view and leadership crossover is where Ossou’s relationship with Fforme ends, as it’s not a sister brand, but a wholly separate entity addressing different consumer needs and at a different price point — one that will allow the brand to reach a broader audience more quickly, says Laurenti. “While Fforme is firmly planted in the designer world, Ossou straddles the line between designer and emerging designer, which is a really good spot to be,” Laurenti says, who previously served as the CEO of New York fashion label Sies Marjan (which shuttered in 2020) and joined Fforme in 2023. “Consumers shop at all price points and don’t really see things in these industry buckets, like designer or contemporary. For us, it was about building something that fit a certain aesthetic and quality standard, and then creating a business plan and strategy around that.”
It’s hardly a typical climate for a brand launch, but Laurenti says that external factors weren’t enough to change the team’s plans — even if they might have influenced expectations. “We didn’t plan to launch during this economic period, but this is when our launch is. There are peaks and valleys. We have this opportunity to build our brand and our infrastructure, and we’ll be able to scale quickly as things pick up, which they always do,” he says. “We’re aggressive but conservative at the same time. We have to be realistic about what we can do, and that’s how we plan to move forward.”
Two factors are key to any brand’s success formula in an uncertain environment: price and quality. The industry is not short on elevated, everyday wear labels that offer a counter to luxury’s ever-climbing prices but still hover around the $1,000 mark, which Laurenti sees as the new norm.
“We don’t want price to be a barrier to entry, especially in an economy like this. It depends on the kind of product you’re creating, and what the consumer’s perceived value for that is. We’re really thoughtful about that,” he explains. That the majority of the brand’s denim is made in LA — at a time when the threat of staggering tariffs hangs over manufacturing countries — is an advantage, continues Laurenti, and has also helped the brand to set its prices where they are. “Having your actual eyes on your product as it’s being made results in a super high quality product.”
Then it’s a matter of getting the brand in front of the right people. While Ossou now is only available to shop via its website, the plan is to split sales evenly between direct-to-consumer (DTC) and wholesale. Ossou will go to market in Paris at the end of June to get in front of potential retail partners. Laurenti says a mix of traditional efforts, like PR, marketing, affiliate and a strong VIP strategy will route traffic back to its DTC site. Word-of-mouth and a strong community, he says, will drive sales — things that have always been true for fashion. “I largely think that the rules haven t changed. Product and consistency over time are really the requirements to build a luxury business. That’s always been my experience, and I think that that really holds true today.”
Like Fforme, Ossou will benefit from the backing of one sole investor: Khosla herself. “The constraints of the moment brought clarity. Instead of reacting quickly, we chose to build slowly, with patience and intent,” she says. That perspective bled over into the construction of the pieces themselves. “We spent over a year working with Japanese mills to source some of the most beautiful indigo and yarn-dyed denims, fabrics that develop unique character over time,” adds Shuvalov. “There’s a discipline in taking that much time, and we believe it’s felt in the final result: clothing that endures and evolves.”
Laurenti muses that maybe it’s better to introduce a new brand during a downturn, when being highly disciplined is a requirement from the start — unlike other brands who are ripping up inventory plans and projections for the year. “I think that is the bright side — that we don’t have all this history of years and seasons prior. The best way to navigate this climate is to just be really nimble.”
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