Redefining Fashion in the Digital Age with Garde-Robe Founder Sarah Findlay
Garde-Robe is an intuitive wishlist and social shopping app, founded in 2023 by Sarah Findlay. The app brings the fragmented shopping journey (screenshots, links, texts, and social media) into one centralized space where users can see what their friends like, save items to organized lists, and add items they own or buy to their online closet to visualize their wardrobes.
Sarah brings a strong foundation in luxury fashion and retail to her work at Garde-Robe. She graduated from McGill in 2011 with a degree in economics and later received her Master of Business Administration from NYU Stern. She has worked at Chanel, Ralph Lauren, and Miu Miu, where she developed deep expertise in trend analysis, forecasting, merchandising, and consumer behavior. Working across fast-paced, high-pressure environments within the fashion industry gave her a firsthand understanding of how products move from concept to consumer, and how quickly tastes and demand can shift.
Our editor-in-chief, Leah Radnay, spoke with Sarah Findlay last week about her background and inspiration for Garde-Robe.
What moment or experience made you decide “I want to start something of my own”?
I always wanted to be an entrepreneur, and I always had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to start something of my own; it was just a matter of figuring out what type of company it would be. I had a lightbulb moment post-COVID, because I was so out of the loop in what my friends were buying. Friends are the new influencers!
I wanted to follow their shopping the same way I could follow influencers, and see what they were interested in. That is how I came up with the idea to start Garde-Robe. The explosion of AI also makes people want to turn to real things and people they trust, and that is what we are here for!
How did your time at Chanel, Ralph Lauren, and Miu Miu influence your approach to building Garde-Robe?
I know the fashion and retail industries like the back of my hand, but Garde-Robe, being a tech startup, was a learning curve, for sure. I have gotten to know retail and consumer problems, there was a value proposition with the app, and my experience working in trend analysis, forecasting, and other skills have been instrumental when starting the app and are definitely transferable to GR. I loved my time in fashion because it was so fast-paced, which really prepared me for such a fast-paced entrepreneurship tech role. The best part is that every day I am still learning new things.
How do you define the problem Garde-Robe solves—for both consumers and the fashion industry?
The problem it solves for consumers is that online shopping lacks interactivity. Our social media pages and web browsers are littered with screenshots and links, and by the time you decide on a product and check out, there is a whole journey occurring on social media, through your texts, and search history. Garde-Robe means ‘closet’ or ‘wardrobe’ in French. Our goal is for our users to be able to monetize their items while seeing how they fit with the rest of their wardrobe.
The larger issue we are solving in the industry is the challenge for brands to reach consumers in a targeted and effective way. For brands, it is so helpful to have access to data to see what retailers need from consumers, what consumers actually want, and where value for consumers lies. It is also valuable for competitors to be able to promote their products in one place, so their exposure is higher.
How do you balance “fun/social” vs “commerce/transaction” in the user experience?
I think of it as a commerce app with the social layer.
We are very focused on just the consumer. We want it to be a commerce platform with social qualities and the tools to help our users save money, resell clothes, and unlock additional strategies for brands to see what their customers need.
The app integrates friend-based shopping, wishlists, polls, and resale. How did you prioritize which features to build first?
We build in order of the consumer journey, and are very focused on wishlists right now, as that's the first step in most people's journey to buy a product, especially around the holiday season. Our product roadmap is aligned with the shopping journey itself to make it feel easy to use and accessible.
How do you prototype and test new features—do you have user-feedback loops, ambassadors, etc?
We use current users, ambassadors, school and university clubs, etc. I am always looking for more feedback, we want to make online shopping as authentic an experience as possible.
How do you decide which partnerships (brands, influencers, platforms) to pursue?
Our users tell us! We see which brands our users like; our choices are entirely driven by our community, as we are able to see what products people already like and use, and incorporate similar brands.
What’s one leadership lesson you wish you’d known before starting Garde-Robe?
I try to show up positively every day. People do their best work when they are encouraged, and I see myself as a cheerleader to the company. I always try to stay upbeat, focus on wins, and give positive feedback to my team. I am a resource for troubleshooting. My job is to enhance the talent of my team at Garde-Robe.
What does your team look like? How many employees do you have?
We currently have four full-time employees. A designer, a developer, a CTO, and me (CEO). We have fractional ambassadors, marketing interns, and UTC creators as well.
What advice would you give someone looking to launch a start-up at the intersection of fashion + tech today?
It is a cool intersection that has been overlooked for a long time, and is a great way to be involved in fashion for anyone who enjoys commerce but isn't necessarily artistically inclined. I worked in merchandising prior to starting Garde-Robe, but fashion tech is especially exciting because it's a space full of opportunities with new companies. It's a great way to focus on sustainability whether it's shopping second-hand or monetizing your wardrobe. I think people are less inclined to overconsume now, and that is what Garde-Robe wants to play a huge role in: sustainability.
