Guest Lecture — Natalia Corre (Advance Copy)

Natalia Corre is the founder of Advance Copy, a consultancy and editorial platform focused on the growth of independent fashion brands. With experience at Dries Van Noten and Erdem, she developed a pragmatic approach to brand building that combines commercial clarity, community thinking and long-term vision.

Her work with labels such as Cecilie Bahnsen and Neous, together with her book Growing Independent Fashion Brands, offers a sharp and valuable perspective on how contemporary brands can grow while remaining culturally relevant, financially grounded and authentic.

• Introduction: background and reference to the book Growing Independent Fashion Brands.
• Why conventional brand-building models no longer apply.
• Definition of purpose and why it matters.
• Examples of purpose-driven brands and how these values are applied in practice:
  • Kowtow — 360° commitment to sustainability.
  • Extreme Cashmere — representation (“For everybody, and every body”).
  • Sincerely Tommy — community building.
  • Story Mfg. — transparency.
• Wrap up / Key learnings.
• Q&A.

The lecture explored purpose-driven communication and the role of authenticity and transparency in building sustainable fashion brands.

Through the experience of Advance Copy and selected case studies, it showed how clear values can be translated into consistent choices across design, communication, and production, balancing independence and scalability.

The talk emphasised the importance of long-term thinking, proposing communication strategies that evolve over time and remain both commercially grounded and culturally conscious.

I personally find Natalia’s approach pragmatic, well-informed, and genuinely inspiring. Her book is a valuable resource for gaining a deeper understanding of many contemporary fashion brands, as well as the strategies and people behind them.