On July 31, influencers and brand managers gathered in Los Angeles for the third edition of Glossy’s Beauty Pop event, which featured a fashion-related discussion for the first time. In the hot seat was supermodel and former Victoria’s Secret Angel Elsa Hosk, who founded the brand Helsa in 2022, which is sold on Revolve and FWRD.
Below are key takeaways from her keynote discussion, where she talked about transitioning from modeling to designing, leading and operating a brand, launching the brand with a key partner, and leveraging her Instagram following to grow the business.
Modelling was just a starting point
Hosk always knew fashion was her future — modeling was just a path to it, she said. “I was thrown into my modeling career, and that was a detour from what I was supposed to be doing,” she said, noting that she grew up with a love of fashion and made her own clothes at home. “My mom was a good amateur seamstress and my grandmother was a knitter. So I was really into fashion. From a young age, I was constructing all these crazy things and showing up to school in homemade blazers. … Fashion was always my passion, but I never had the confidence to put anything out there.”
Modeling, she said, was a kind of non-traditional education. “I didn’t go to business school or design school, but I was in fashion for almost 25 years and I soaked up everything and knew that one day I would use that knowledge to launch a brand. Every set I was on, I paid attention to: What are the stylists doing? What is the photographer doing? How does this dress move? What fabrics feel good? I talked to the CEO. And I think that was crucial (to starting a brand).”
To build a brand with a partner
Hosk said there were pros and cons to working with Revolve as a partner at Helsa. “I was approached by Revolve and thought about it. I had worked with them a lot. (Their clothing) isn’t really my taste, but I saw the value in them as a billion-dollar company — I want my company to be worth a billion dollars one day. So I thought, ‘What can I learn from them?'” At the start, she made sure the deal was “foolproof,” she said. That meant sitting down with a lawyer and talking to countless people and hearing all about “their mistakes and what worked.” After that, “I came up with my dream scenario and presented it to them. I said, ‘I want to own 100% of this and I want to test it (with you) for three years.'”
“A brand partner can be incredibly valuable because they already have infrastructure and connections to factories and come with financing,” she said. “You have to stay true to yourself and your aesthetic and really fight for it.”
She added: “When we launched the collection, it was very different from what Revolve normally offers because they’re more known for their party aesthetic. Everything was oversized. Everything had super long sleeves. I think everyone was a little nervous – but then it worked out. I think they’re learning from me as I’m learning from them. So it’s been a really great partnership.”
Using Instagram with an entrepreneurial perspective
“We all know our followers. I’ve been analyzing (my 8.6 Instagram followers) all the time. We also do little surveys. (I’ve asked them) how much they’re willing to spend – I’m pretty strategic about it,” Hosk said. “If you have followers on Instagram, you already have business acumen. (My advice is to) get to know your followers and focus on what you believe in.”
For Hosk, that meant posting more than just bikini photos, despite her reputation as a Victoria’s Secret model. “I’m not going to post bikini photos and photos of my body every day because that’s not my thing. I thought, ‘If I build a following specifically for fashion and if I post the things that I love, which is fashion, then one day I could do something with that.’… And then I just kept doing it.”
