PrettyLittleThing was once the go-to fast fashion brand for going-out tops and last-minute outfit deliveries. Every Millennial and Gen Z had something from their range in their wardrobes - sported by Love Island stars, YouTubers and everyone in between.
PrettyLittleThing relied heavily on influencer marketing to sell its products. It almost became a rite of passage for the new it-girl to become a brand ambassador with the company. Once you saw your favourite influencer wearing an outfit, it would be in your basket and at your door the following day. Quick, cheap, and popular clothing was the basis of the brand.
The use of influencer marketing to drive sales seemed like a faultless system, so why did the company make the decision to overhaul its branding?
Inside the PrettyLittleThing rebrand
PrettyLittleThing was instantly identifiable by its neon colours, daring outfits and a unicorn for its logo. Since its drastic rebrand, it echoes the more sophisticated, clean style of many of its competitors. It certainly doesn’t align with any of its previous values.
In an exclusive interview with DrapersOnline, PrettyLittleThing founder Umar Kamani, who came back to run the business last September, said: “What made us so successful in the early days was we listened to what our customers wanted. I think what happened with the brand for a couple of years is we stopped listening. And that’s where the brand lost its identity. In coming back, what I’ve tried to do is to clean everything up and redefine ourselves.”
As a part of the rebrand, PrettyLittleThing has stopped utilising its most recognisable asset: influencers.
What did PrettyLittleThing’s influencer marketing look like before?
PrettyLittleThing influencer marketing used to look like this: An influencer rocking a PrettyLittleThing outfit out and about in her daily life. It was relatable, it was inspiring, and most importantly, it was consistent.
Molly-Mae, an ex-Love Island star, was the most famous influencer associated with the brand. She even took on the role of Creative Director which saw her reportedly earn £5 million annually. Molly-Mae often shared photos of herself in PrettyLittleThing outfits which amassed millions of likes. However, she parted ways with the brand in 2023 to launch her own clothing line.
PrettyLittleThing has now switched up its content to high-quality professional content using models rather than influencers.
Freddie Paxton, founder of Ingrained Digital spoke to Hello Partner about how PrettyLittleThing used to be a brand people could trust.
“Everybody knew it was a fast fashion brand, but they weren’t trying to be something that they’re not,” he said.
“PrettyLittleThing revolved around an influencer that you were very familiar with, so in this case it was Molly-Mae. Obviously massive in the UK, her whole brand is about being as relatable as possible with vlogs.
“She became famous from Love Island but she did a really good job of moving away from the show and building her own community. Having her as the face of the brand enabled them to tap into that community and have some sort of relatability to make it seem a little bit more premium.”
He explained how the brand was able to bring an “authenticity” by using influencer marketing, which encouraged people to buy from them.
What other directions could PrettyLittleThing have taken?
While Molly-Mae was a huge part of the brand, Paxton reiterated that there were other influencers who could have become its new face.
“There’s no shortage of up-and-coming influencers like Molly-Mae building a big audience that they could have collaborated with and helped plug that gap. To go from such a heavily personal brand influencer-driven strategy to completely faceless feels counterintuitive.
“What they could have done instead is looked at other influencers that had similar audiences. Even if they wanted to appeal to a different audience, they could have based their strategy around an influencer with that appeal.”
Meanwhile, influencers are set to lose ‘millions’
Influencers who marketed themselves similarly to the PrettyLittleThing brand are set to miss out on huge cash deals. A source told The Sun: “This will be a huge blow to some of the Islanders who go on these shows with the aim of coming out with a fashion deal. Without these deals, they’ll be losing out on thousands of pounds, even millions after the villa.”
We can only anxiously wait and see what the PrettyLittleThing rebrand will mean for influencers.
