by A new app promises to offer the ultimate in convenience and will deliver your new purchases in less than 90 minutes. NIFT (an acronym for Need It For Tonight) connects users with local independent brands across London, allowing for fast delivery – perfect for solving any last-minute sartorial dilemma.
While we’re all for conscious spending, especially during the holiday season, sometimes busy schedules and late invitations mean you’re left with nothing appropriate to wear. Maybe an order didn’t arrive on time or didn’t fit right, leaving you back at square one with outfit planning.
NIFT stocks much-loved brands such as Gucci, Miu Miu, Ganni, Rixo and Jimmy Choo, as well as many other smaller boutique brands, all of which can be delivered straight to your door within an hour and a half.
It’s this love for independent brands that prompted sisters Simone and Roxanne Oloman to launch their app. “Our passion lies in showcasing these hidden gems and promoting the stores, encouraging customers to explore the offerings available locally rather than always opting for mainstream brands,” says Roxanne, one half of NIFT. The app is also using its presence to promote sustainable shopping against the fast fashion giants that dominate the online experience. “We have carefully curated our app to include conscious and luxury brands; we want to include only quality labels that extend the life of your products, unlike fast fashion brands that often prove disposable after minimal use,” he says Simone.
We spoke to the co-founders to find out more about the concept behind their app, misconceptions about the trend, and the future of NIFT.
How did you come up with the concept of NIFT?
SO: “Roxanne had experienced a delay in delivery of an item she had planned to wear to an event later that day. This led to a conversation about how faulty deliveries are in London: late and long deliveries, missed deliveries, inability to track We both realized that while the city has many amazing on-demand delivery apps, there was no equivalent service for fashion, where people could access quality brands and stores without fear of missing a delivery. With the incredible variety of local and independent shops across London, there didn’t seem to be a way for customers to discover what was in their area like they can with food delivery apps. That’s why we created our app, which allows “Customers get access to boutiques and brands in less than 90 minutes.”
Its app connects consumers to local stores and boutiques, as well as luxury brands. Why was that important to you?
RO: “There are so many amazing boutiques and independent stores in London that people often overlook, especially when it comes to online shopping. Our passion lies in showcasing these hidden gems and promoting the stores, encouraging customers to explore the offerings available locally for them. Instead of just opting for mainstream brands. Helping boutiques and brands achieve deliveries in under 90 minutes means they can also keep up with larger retailers. With the unfortunate closure of so many stores, our goal “is attracting new customers to smaller stores, serving as a digital extension of their physical presence.”
How does your app help us shop greener?
SO: “We have carefully curated our app to include conscious and luxury brands; we want to include only quality labels that extend the life of your products, unlike fast fashion brands that often prove disposable after minimal use. Central to The essence of NIFT is the promotion of local shopping, where we encourage users to explore what is in their area and we will deliver it in less than 90 minutes. By facilitating fulfillment at local stores, last mile deliveries reduce the emissions between 17 and 26 percent.
RO: “Our commitment extends to prioritizing sustainable transportation methods, along with efficient routing and integrated real-time delivery tracking. Our approach aims to minimize the likelihood of missed or delayed deliveries, ensuring a seamless and reliable customer experience.”
What do you think needs to change in the industry to make it more sustainable?
RO: “Consumer education. If more consumers were educated about the environmental impacts of their choices, it would help a lot. Having transparency in the supply chain would help contribute to this, as it ensures that consumers have access to information about how produce and distribute the products, which will allow them to Support companies that truly align with their values.”
What do you wish people knew more about when it comes to the fashion industry?
SO: “It is crucial that people become more aware of the significant environmental consequences associated with fast fashion. The rapid production of one-off, low-quality clothing contributes substantially to pollution, resource depletion and increased waste. People is not always educated enough “We don’t know where these clothes come from and they are often produced through unethical labor practices. By understanding these aspects, customers can make more informed decisions about their clothing purchases, opting for quality and ethical alternatives.”
What is the smallest change a consumer could make to be more environmentally conscious?
SO: “Buying quality clothing that they really like and will wear again, rather than buying a sale item just for the sake of it and never wearing it. It’s something we were both guilty of growing up and are very aware of now. We really want to Encourage all NIFT users to buy what they really love and will use again.”
What do you think is the biggest misconception about sustainable fashion?
RO: “One of the biggest misconceptions about sustainable fashion is that it is always expensive. While it is true that some sustainable fashion items can be more expensive due to the use of quality materials, this is not the case for everyone. There are affordable options and available, and Many conscious brands are working to make their products more accessible.
What’s next for NIFT?
RO: “We have many exciting plans for the future, including launching a web version of our app and also many exciting new brands and boutiques in the pipeline. We would love to continue growing and expand to other cities in the future.”
NIFT is currently only available to customers living in London.
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