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Yet another reason to go custom and forgo the off-the-rack shopping experience? PIOL, a bespoke dress conceit conceived last year by artist Anne Dayton, who’s got some serious retail roots (her family founded Target, NBD) and an innovative new way to find your next favorite frock. Wonder what your color aura is? PIOL’s got that down pat. Dayton filled us in on all the details…
How did you cook up the concept for PIOL?
How did you cook up the concept for PIOL?
It literally fell into my lap. I came across Edith Head’s book, Dress for Success, and became intrigued with her understanding of how the right clothes can enhance a woman’s beauty. As a costume designer during Hollywood’s Golden Age, she dressed women of all shapes, ages and sizes. Her goal was to make each actress look and feel more beautiful and confident: The color, style and fit of the dress was based solely on a woman’s individual features. I realized that she’d created the perfect system for a custom-made dress and thus began the seed that started PIOL.
What were you doing prior to launching PIOL?
I come from the contemporary art world, first professionally and then as a painter. As a painter, I gained knowledge of how color works. The principle behind color theory is that the potency of a color depends on the colors surrounding it. Edith Head understood this relationship and used it to a woman’s advantage. According to the color of a woman’s hair, eyes, and skin, certain colors make her “pop.” She created 34 color palettes depending on a woman’s natural coloring. These palettes became the foundation for the PIOL system.
What’s the story behind the brand’s name?
I wanted the name to be a metaphor for what we are doing as a company. PIOL is a unique make-to-measure system, by which a woman can design a perfect, go-to dress. We’re taking bespoke to the digital age! So I wanted our name to suggest the revolutionary aspect of the company and the only way to do it was to use a word that no one had ever heard. From a marketing perspective, this can be challenging, but that mirrors our process, too!
What was the process like to develop the technology that go into PIOL?
Three important pieces go into the PIOL make-to-measure system: color, style, and fit. Our design team developed fabrics and prints in a wide range of colors to cover our 66 color palettes, and identified five basic dress silhouettes with necklines, skirts and sleeves for each. Our production team used the Gerber MTM software system, designed primarily for men’s bespoke tailoring, and took it to a whole new level. The dress is then cut and sewn in NYC’s garment district. The PIOL website is also very advanced; it’s designed and maintained by Makeable in NYC.
You’ve got some major retail roots! Did your family’s Target legacy help you develop PIOL at all?
I was very lucky to have watched my father and his brothers take a family department store and turn it into a national retail chain. They had a very strong vision of what they wanted to accomplish and how it would benefit their community. I also saw how building a business is a very creative process. The power and excitement of new ideas are the fuel to its success. That’s certainly given me the confidence to do what I’m doing today.
What’s the most memorable feedback you’ve gotten from customers so far?
An older woman took her PIOL dress on a business trip, and she told us how often she wore her dress, dressing it up and down, and all the compliments she received. Over 60 percent of women do not fit into standard sizing, nor are they proportional from top to bottom. Many of our happiest comments are from women who are thrilled to have found a dress that fits their particular figure.
What’s Your PIOL dress of choice?
I realize I have broad shoulders and a relatively slim waistline to show off, and wider hips that I want to camouflage. My perfect go-to dress is the tailored silhouette to accent my waist paired with the A-line skirt to camouflage my hips. Having a rectangular face, I choose a V-neck, which frames the face.
What happens when someone isn’t fond of the silhouettes or color palette PIOL recommends?
PIOL is a little like going to from a PC to an Apple computer. There is a bit of a learning curve to our system. We expect that women might make mistakes in her choices the first time round, so we offer a full refund on all dresses. We do hope that the dress will be close enough to her liking that she will give us another try! All returns are donated to Women In Need, a wonderful nonprofit in NYC.
How can you see PIOL paving the way for other bespoke businesses?
I truly believe that our make-to-measure system could help create a whole new sector in the fashion industry: We’re incredibly streamlined and efficient in our production and business models. Our only inventory is fabric. We don’t make a dress until we have an order. We’re not making dresses and then convincing someone that this is the dress for her. Our system also supports local production. Not only are we Made in USA, we’re made in New York City. Our make-to-measure model has the potential to create new business in local manufacturing companies.
What is PIOL’s competition currently?
There are other make-to-measure sites, but customization is still at its nascent stage, and no one has either the scale or the niche that we do. We offer very high quality dresses: our fabrics are from top mills in Italy, France, and Japan, and our construction and sewing are excellent. While our prices are higher than your basic dress, with an average price of $550, the dress is a bespoke piece. If affordable luxury is the new trend, then PIOL lies right at the heart of it.
Do you have any plans to do a men’s version of PIOL?
I often tell my male friends that a men’s line is next! In fact, when we first began to look at bespoke online, most of which were sites for men’s shirts and suits, we realized that men need our system of color and style as much as women. How do they know which color shirt print to choose, or which cut of the lapel will best compliment their figure? The principles of our system work just as well for men.
What else might you offer for ladies down the line?
We’ve just begun to scratch the surface! Women wear so many separates because of the difficulty in finding a dress that fits both the top and bottom. My guess is that dresses will be the mainstay of our business. However, if we find that our customer wants bespoke tailoring for her shirts, skirts, and pants, we’ll pursue those items, too. Also, our make-to-measure model could allow young designers to enter the field at far less financial risk.
We’ve just begun to scratch the surface! Women wear so many separates because of the difficulty in finding a dress that fits both the top and bottom. My guess is that dresses will be the mainstay of our business. However, if we find that our customer wants bespoke tailoring for her shirts, skirts, and pants, we’ll pursue those items, too. Also, our make-to-measure model could allow young designers to enter the field at far less financial risk.
