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Decode 1.8 is a fashion company focusing in the prom and evening wear sections. The company advertises itself as a provider of luxury, yet affordable dresses to women anywhere from their prom day to their wedding day. In addition to prom and wedding dresses, Decode 1.8 is known for an abundance of evening wear gowns, cocktail dresses, Mother of the Bride and bridesmaids. These collections are available at specialty stores, boutiques, and select department stores worldwide.

History and Background Decode 1.8 was founded in 2009 by designer Hyuan Jung Kim. The company initially started as a very small company, designing and manufacturing dresses for mainly specialty boutiques.

Kim selected associate designer Lindsay Cook to work with her, and the company slowly began to expand; Lindsay and Kim are both still with the company today. Decode 1.8 remains relatively small, with 15 employees at the headquarters in New York City. It serves to three department stores, Lord and Taylor, Dillard’s and Bloomingdales; nine E-Commerce stores, and over 2,000 specialty boutiques throughout the world. Some of its other main accounts include David’s Bridal, JC Penney, Kohl’s, TJ Maxx, Amazon, Modcloth, and Group USA.

Decode 1.8 produces about 500 new designs annually and they are one of the top selling brands among its many retailers. The company began largely as an evening wear brand; however, with its very diverse collections, it has expanded by miles. Their designs range from dresses that are short, and can be worn to a party, or long, perfect for any formal occasion or bridesmaids.

From a young age, Decode 1.8 founder and head designer, Hyun Jung Kim, had always gravitated toward fashion. Kim pursued a degree in fashion design at a university in her native South Korea. This set her up for her first job in the industry as a stylist. Kim then went on to utilize her skills, and became a costume designer. At the age of 25, Kim relocated to New York City. Following her graduation from the Parson’s The New School for Design, Kim was able to work with many well-known design firms to successfully launch a broad spectrum of collections ranging from sportswear to evening dresses. In February 2009, all on her own, Kim finally launched her own contemporary dress line. The company was to be named Decode 1.8.

For Decode 1.8 associate designer, Lindsay Cook, fashion design always came natural. Lindsay studied fashion at the International Academy of Design and Technology majoring in Fashion Design. After graduation, Lindsay landed a desired internship at a NYC leading fashion house where she was able to perfect her technical skills, while also developing her own signature design style. Lindsay then met Hyun Jung Kim at a successful evening dress company in 2007. When Hung Jung Kim left to open contemporary dress line, Decode 1.8, Lindsay came to mind as her choice for a design collaborator. Their first collection was a success.

Operations & Company Organization Decode 1.8 currently operates out of an office at 526 7th Avenue, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10018. This is where their showroom is located, and where the small office of 15 employees do their work.

Kim mass produces her dresses in China. This is where she has multiple factories, which she visits a few times a year. The company consists of the designers, sales team, production team and seamstresses.

Sales Team The sales team consists of only two members. Sarah Massopust, Decode 1.8’s newest employee, and Lori Cannon-Barry. The sales department is responsible for sending out the newest look books for the season to all of Decode 1.8’s accounts, emailing and contacting companies, updating and staying on top of inventory, sending sample dresses to buyers, and sending line sheets to buyers.

A look book is a book with all of the pictures of the latest seasons styles. This gets mailed to all buyers, and companies who have bought from Decode 1.8 in the past. They also choose which dresses they think will best fit a specific company. The buyers then come to the show room to see these styles, and decide what they will purchase, and how many.

Sarah is responsible for handling all of the specialty boutiques (over 2,000), international accounts, and a few other accounts such as Overstock. Lori is mainly responsible for handling the bigger department stores such as Dillard’s, JC Penney, Kohl’s, David’s Bridal, and many more.

Production/Design The production and design department is responsible for not only the designs of the dresses, but the textiles and fabrics as well. This department is the most important to any design company. Not only do they design the dresses, the choose the fabric that is used to make the dresses, choose which dresses will be cut, and lead all of the fitting and the photoshoots of the upcoming styles.

Intern and Internship Opportunities Decode 1.8 also offers an internship program. They allow their interns to get a hands on experience, and throw them right into the industry. The intern is responsible for maintaining showroom appearance, steaming and photographing dresses, changing hangers, market preparations, creating photo packages, maintaining all social media accounts (Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter), update inventory reports, manage sample dress send out packages, provide overall support with operations in the office, and research prospective new accounts and press opportunities.

Celebrity and Editorial Appearances Magazines Decode 1.8 has been featured in many popular magazines. Their dresses have been seen in Life & Style, Lucky, People, and Teen Prom. The dresses are recognized as a compatible, yet more affordable version of higher end designer brand dresses.

Modern Family’s star, Sofia Vergara was wearing a Dolce and Gabbana dress, and next to her, a Decode 1.8 dress was photographed. The dress was extremely similar in looks, yet only priced at $159.

Websites Articles about Decode 1.8 have been written for many Fashion websites. Hollywood Life, Examiner, BettyConfidential, The Luxury Spot and Access Hollywood have all displayed Decode 1.8 designs and information about the company on their websites.

TV Shows A Decode 1.8 dress was spotted on Lifetime’s TV show UnREAL. Also, one of Decode’s dresses was featured in Jimmy Fallon Tonight.

Events Decode 18 holds a Sample Sale once a year. A Sample Sale is when a company sells previous seasons styles, for an extremely discounted rate. There is only usually one, to a few dresses of each style. This a strategy used by many companies because it gets rid of older inventory, while generating revenue, while also exposing the customer to the kind of product this company sells. Hopefully brining this customer back to repurchase another dress at a later time.

Each year, Decode 1.8 participates in the New York City Coterie. Coterie is a three-day event held at the Jacob Javits Center in NYC. This event showcases product from Apparel & Clothing and Accessories industries. This event showcases products like exclusive shopping experiences so that designers and buyers can promote their businesses. Coterie is a platform for generating revenue and inspiring trends in the Fashion industries. Decode 1.8 introduced its new line Rouge at Coterie 2016.

New Line Launching for Spring 2017, Decode 1.8 is introducing its new line, Rouge. This line is slightly more expensive, and higher end quality. It also is exclusive to just boutiques. Although similar to the regular Decode line, Rouge is geared more toward the prom occasion. There is a lot of attention to detail on these dresses; meticulous beading, and quality fabrics. This collection was created and is specifically tailored to boutiques so that these dresses will only be available at small stores. As opposed to be able to get in anywhere, in a large well-known department store. Boutiques like to have a different, unique, selection, and that is exactly what Rouge accomplishes.