Much has been manufactured from Sarah Staudinger’s proximity to superstar.
The Staud founder is a well-connected Los Angeles native. Her husband is Hollywood superagent Ari Emanuel, the chief government of Endeavor. Larry David officiated their wedding ceremony, and Cher is her godmother. It’s the kind of background that may immediate eye rolls, if not outright scorn, within the trade: a privileged younger girl (she was 26 years previous when she launched her model in 2015) with an eponymous style label.
“I hate that narrative,” she instructed The Business of Fashionearlier than softening her tone. “It doesn’t make the brand, and I’ve made a very concerted effort from day one to not put myself before the product.”
After almost 10 years, Staudinger has definitely proved that Staud is greater than a pet undertaking. If within the early years the model was primarily identified for its baggage, ubiquitous on the arms of Selena Gomez, Bella Hadid and different “it” women, a lot of Staud’s success at present comes from its capacity to do a number of issues effectively.
Revenue is drawn equally from attire, equipment and footwear, and the model regularly produces hits in every. Once it sees an merchandise taking off, it creates new iterations, from providing a number of heel heights and hues in its Wally boot or new prints and patterns for its beaded Tommy bag. The aesthetic additionally has vary, from the sensible — stable cashmere sweaters in staple colors like gray and navy and A-line attire that flatter a wide range of physique varieties — to the daring, like a rainbow-striped rugby sweater or a beaded bag formed like a mushroom.
“You’ve got your boot that goes with everything and then your fun novelty bag. … It’s that balance of a silhouette that’s quite digestible, but also an animation that makes it feel exciting and new,” stated Rickie De Sole, style director at Nordstrom, which shares Staud. “There’s a confidence to the Staud woman.”
And there are actually legions of Staud girls. Sales are quickly anticipated to cross $250 million yearly, rising 30 % from final yr and sixfold over the previous 5 years. The model is worthwhile, with earnings earlier than curiosity, taxes, depreciation and amortisation margins in double digits. While it’s taken in outdoors capital previously (early traders embrace Burch Creative Capital and Jaws Estates Capital), the model has not raised any cash in 2025, and has no upcoming plans to take action, regardless of studies of a fundraise earlier this yr. (Augusto and Staudinger instructed BoF that an current investor offered half of his fairness for property planning functions.)
Countless designers and entrepreneurs dream of constructing a model with these numbers. But Staud can also be within the zone the place many rising manufacturers stall out; too large to be underground cool or a cult favorite, too small to compete with better-capitalised international powerhouses.
Staudinger and co-founder and inventive director George Augusto have a plan to take Staud to the following degree. Category growth will play a giant function: This yr noticed the launch of denim, in addition to Staud Sport, a line of exercise units, jackets and attire. The model is utilizing collaborations to get in entrance of all kinds of potential clients, from St. Regis inns to Wrangler and Keds. Homewares are on the horizon, as are new shops. A flagship just lately opened on Melrose Avenue’s storied procuring strip in Los Angeles, on the identical block as hot-spot eatery Craig’s.
One factor Staudinger stated she doesn’t want is trade approval. She final confirmed at New York Fashion Week in September 2023. (Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, then newly engaged, have been within the celebrity-packed entrance row.) The model not often levels its personal occasions; the Los Angeles headquarters offers one other buffer.
“We’re not involved in the politics of [the industry],” stated Staudinger. “It’s nice when we’re noticed and honoured, but that’s not what we’re here for.”
Doing It All
When Staud launched, Staudinger stated she was “just begging people to wear” the garments. Instead of operating adverts, the model gave merchandise to influencers like Leandra Medine, and received followers in style tastemakers like Alexa Chung and Kendall Jenner, each of whom have been photographed carrying Staud baggage.
Unlike most it baggage carried by it women, Staud’s have been comparatively reasonably priced. (Even at present, none retail for over $1,000; one latest hit, the Ollie, prices $250.) Unique designs drew consideration. (Its first main success was a leather-based bag made to appear like a terracotta plant pot nestled in a web.) In the logo-heavy late 2010s, Staud had none.
Most early-stage style manufacturers stick to 1 class, however Staudinger stated that placing equal concentrate on ready-to-wear and footwear from the get-go is a significant motive why no class outshines one other at present.
That versatility has turn into the driving precept behind Staud’s enterprise, with hit merchandise inspiring hit merchandise. For instance, the Wells gown, a sleeveless midi with a full skirt, has been a buyer favorite because it was launched in 2017. Over the years it’s been reintroduced in a brief, spandex athletic model and because the Wylie, a spaghetti-strap frock with a barely much less full skirt, amongst different iterations.
“Not everyone is the same person every single day. I might be wearing a cashmere turtleneck today, but next week I might want to wear a fun beaded dress,” stated Staudinger. “You can’t pigeonhole yourself into anything. I am a firm believer in fluidity.”
She’s needed to defend the technique. When the model first dreamed up its beaded Tommy Bag, individuals instructed her that introducing a non-leather fashion would diminish her credibility. Now the $295 bag just isn’t solely one in every of Staud’s best-selling gadgets, however presently sells in 29 variations, that includes beaded illustrations of every part from zebra print to a tin of sardines to the I Heart NY emblem, plus alternate designs, resembling a wristlet clutch or the “Timmy” bag, with a unique strap.
“There’s something very joyful about those bags,” stated De Sole.
From Upstart to Established
Staud’s value level — $245 for a pair of denims, $395 for Wally ankle boots, $450 for a thick cashmere crewneck sweater — has helped the model choose up new clients who stopped procuring luxurious labels after their post-pandemic value hikes.
“She’ll spend maybe $1,000 on a piece from us if she feels like it should cost three times as much,” stated Augusto. “As long as we do the job of figuring out a solid price that makes sense for the brand from a value perception, she seems to come along with us.”
For all Staud’s well-known followers, the model doesn’t overtly lean into its Hollywood-adjacent picture. Its Instagram web page, comparatively devoid of recognisable faces, is stuffed with marketing campaign and product imagery.
And if Staud’s first decade was about constructing a basis, from forging a community of wholesale companions to making a line-up of hero merchandise throughout classes, its second will concentrate on sharpening its identification.
Much of that can come from doubling down on the direct-to-consumer enterprise, so the staff can higher management merchandising. Last yr, DTC surpassed wholesale as its major gross sales channel; at present, 55 % of gross sales are direct. Recent efforts have been made to proceed to gas that transition: Denim, as an example, is simply offered by Staud’s personal channels.
Increasing its brick-and-mortar presence can also be a significant precedence. Staud presently operates 10 outlets, together with its new 4,600-square-foot-plus Los Angeles flagship. The plan is so as to add 5 extra by the top of 2026. This month, too, it’ll open a pop-up on the St. Regis Aspen, a continuation of its ongoing collaboration with the luxurious resort chain — a winter capsule assortment additionally dropped final month. Though traditionally a bit uncomfortable with public occasions, Augusto stated they’re open to doing extra as a way to have extra areas for purchasers to attach with each other in individual.
“We are interested in scale,” stated Augusto. “We want to grow and have additional product categories, but maintain the DNA of the brand, because that has not changed from day one.”
In that sense, it helps that the model’s two co-founders are nonetheless on the helm. They credit score their profitable partnership to complementary ability units and the truth that they don’t attempt to change each other. Plus, Augusto stated, “We may be partners, but I recognise that at the end of the day, it says Staud.”
It’s a partnership they plan to proceed for a few years to come back. Both Staudinger and Augusto stated that as of now, they haven’t any need to promote — and will by no means.
“We didn’t build this to exit,” stated Staudinger. “The financials have given us that opportunity to take risks and do what we want. We’re trying to build something that outlives us.”