“I quit my job last year and thought: this is the time to do it,” says fashion designer and founder of By Stefanis, Stefanis Téa. “It’s time to go all in.”
Stef emerged from the corporate Australian fashion industry to launch her own label, By Stefanis, in 2024 — though the brand had been in the works since 2020. She explains: “I didn’t want to put anything out that wasn’t to my high standards, so it was a long process of making sure I had the right manufacturer, right fabric suppliers, right finishes and trims.”
Inspired by her grandma’s eclectically chic sense of style, and interwoven with heritage, craftsmanship and talents that run in the family, By Stefanis has developed a unique approach to digital-meets-physical experiential marketing. Not only does Stef get her products in the hands of loyal fans through online channels — she has established a distinct face-to-face marketing approach that has paid off in spades, generating loyalty and word-of-mouth sales.
We spoke to Stef Téa to uncover the brand’s multifaceted marketing approach and where unexpected results have shown up.
An experiential brand since day one
Though By Stefanis finds success in its ecommerce and social media channels, the brand had always planned to create its own real-world footprint. “From the start, I wanted to create this organic community for the brand. I wanted By Stefanis to be a place where we’ve got community backing us, and they come to us for quality and longevity, because we are Australian-made. I wanted to show people you’re actually buying into the craftsmanship.”
The brand launched with an in-store experience on day one: “When we launched, we did an opening night in my studio. We had photos up, clothes up, everything hanging like a gallery. We had a concept store at the front, so people could feel the fabrics, touch them and try them on. Having that opening helped us showcase the quality and details of each piece,” explains Stef.
The Melbourne-based concept store was built to create a permanent touchpoint that extends beyond the screen: “Customers can book an appointment at our concept store, or we might say: we’re here from 10 to 5 on Saturday. When we open our doors, we normally get people popping in. It’s great because we can pour you a glass of champagne, bring you a tea, really give that Louis Vuitton experience — because, unfortunately, some retailers don’t give you the time of day.”
Becoming more than a space to buy clothing, the storefront gives customers a reason to return time and time again. Stef explains: “If customers have an event coming up, or they need to update their wardrobe, they can come in and try the clothes, see what fits well. We also offer alterations which is a big thing for our customers, because women’s bodies vary in different areas. They can say, hey, I need this hemmed. Or if they have a button that falls off or a zip that breaks, we can say, please bring it back to us. Our mission is that everything will last, because it’s Australian made — to us, that means craftsmanship, tailoring and quality.”
“Rather than things going to waste, we’re trying really hard to create that closed loop cycle. If we can repair something, we will. So they get the experience, the store, the alterations, the history and the values.”
A call-out for brand fans turns into something special
By Stefanis is an intriguing brand — they do more than talk the talk. As mentioned on the website: ‘Our vision extends beyond clothing; we strive to cultivate a vibrant community where every woman who adorns herself in By Stefanis feels empowered, bold, and inspired’. They proved this to be true when they posted a social media call-out to gather loyal brand fans.
“We did a call-out on Instagram that we were doing a community photoshoot with our customers, and if you were interested, let us know. We had quite a few people message and say, I’d love to do it.”
Multiple customers showed up wearing their favourite By Stefanis pieces to be featured in a brand photoshoot. Stef explains: “Customers that buy our products came in. We had two gorgeous ladies with kids, girls in their mid and late 20s. One was an architect, one was in marketing. There were these gorgeous 50-year-olds; one was a stylist and the other was a real estate agent. And they all just felt amazing, confident. You could really see that in the photos.”
How was a new label able to cut through the noise — to the point customers would take time from their day to pay homage to the brand? Stef has a theory: “I think people want to support Australian Made and support small businesses. Having that sort of rawness and vulnerability saying, we’re a small business, I’m a young designer. I think people love celebrating that.”
Beyond the brand’s values, the in-person interaction has been continuously fostered in a multitude of ways: “We also do community events. We’re hoping, in the future, we can do interstate events and pop-ups. We’re currently planning a style night where we’ll give people a glass of champagne, serve nibbles, have a stylist come in and show how you can style your clothing. We’re trying to build that aspect of buying into a community — you’re not just buying into a brand.”
Encouraging the first purchase from behind the screen
While the IRL interaction has been foundational to the brand, By Stefanis places just as much importance on their social media channels, sharing the same inside-level look that customers get in the concept store. Stef shares: “Getting content is a bit hard when you’re in the middle of doing everything — but we want to bring people on our journey to evoke emotion.”
“I have so much respect and love for my team and factory. I’ve got an amazing pattern maker that works closely with me. I see them as my business partners, so showcasing them and their craftsmanship is a big part. We take photos and videos of us picking fabrics, sketching designs, going to our manufacturers in Brunswick, speaking to them. I also showcase my inspiration: my family. We look at the clothes in my grandma’s living room, where the brand started back in 2020. We share snippets of fabrics, or my grandma’s gorgeous costume jewelry, while choosing pearls to put on our buttons. There’s little nods, like our buckles, inspired by the tortoise buckles my grandma wore like a hair clip. We carry that throughout our brand and show our customers. If you are a new follower, you come into this brand and can see a real connection to family, community, transparency.”
Once eyes are on the brand, Stef explains how she turns new viewers into first-time customers: “We did a Reel yesterday with the first influencer we’ve worked with. We had a meeting this morning to talk about, ‘Okay, we’ve got all these new followers, how do we take them to the next level? Like, this is why you’re following our brand.’”
“We continuously create beautiful collections that are timeless, elevated and beautifully made — and we bring people on that journey. Our strategy is to evoke emotion and share the values from my family, and have a fun element as well. We are starting a lifestyle series, wearing our clothing in everyday life. We interview people, get them to feel the quality, and put ourselves out there in an organic way that makes everyone go, ‘Oh that’s really cool, I didn’t know that about the brand.’ We talk about being Australian made, why we chose to be Australian made, and why we use certain fabrics. So we’re educating our customers and audience on how we’re doing things and why we make the decisions we do.”
“So you have all these beautiful touch points that bring people into the brand, and they’re watching, following and purchasing.”
Organic experimentation to nail paid ads
With the brand’s organic presence extending in many physical and digital ways, will paid advertising enter the equation? Stef shares her plans: “Paid ads are just inevitable. Eventually we will do them, so we can reach a wider community or go more interstate — and get into wholesale in boutiques across Australia. Ideally we’d use paid ads to get that audience organic marketing won’t reach.”
Luckily, the groundwork has already been laid: “What’s cool is by that point, we’ll have had so many conversations with our customers that we know exactly what to say to them through those paid advertisements. With organic marketing, you can make mistakes and learn what works and what doesn’t work. So when it comes to paid ads — I know what to say. I know my business and community really well.”
A movement towards the IRL influencer reality
While By Stefanis collaborates with online influencers and ‘everyday people’ alike, Stef shares her approach to treating customers as the most important influencers of them all.
“I come from the corporate fashion world, having worked for two big Australian fashion labels. I saw how they give big opportunities to influencers. As much as influencers are great, we’re moving into a period where people are a bit sick of seeing influencers get another free product. Or maybe they’re seeing how that influencer has showcased, say, four different cleansers in the last month — where most people have one cleanser and stick to it. So I think people are more aware of whether they really trust that influencer and trust what they’re saying is authentic.”
Reflecting on word-of-mouth marketing results, Stef shares: “I think people want to hear from those who actually go out of their way to support the brand and buy it with their own money. They want to hear: ‘I love their product, or actually I don’t, these are the downfalls.’ Because at the end of the day, my friends and I sit at a dinner table and go, I tried this product and I do or don’t love it because of these reasons. I think community is becoming the new influencer.”
The proof is in the unexpected orders that arise: “We got an order the other day, and her name looked familiar. It was one of my childhood friend’s friends. My girlfriend had bought the Mediterranean top, and she wore it to work. She was telling her work friends about it, like ‘Oh, I love it’. She posted on her story saying, ‘This top is amazing’. Then her girlfriend bought a couple of things from the brand.”
By Stefanis continues to turn customers into influential word-of-mouth advocates within their own circles: “Having someone who bought something tell their friends, ‘Hey, I bought this’ and ‘You should buy their small business; they’re an Australian-made one’ — and then having one of their friends buy a top — is incredible. It might only be one sale, but she might tell ten other friends. That’s authentic, organic marketing. It’s a slow burn, but it pays off in the long run. And that’s what we are trying to do: build something that is really in people’s hearts and minds.”
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Based on an interview with Stefanis Téa, Founder of By Stefanis
Written by Taryn Rapp of Lovenote
