The Cara Santana Collection - DTC

Originally developed as the second season of Cara’s partnership with Kohl’s, the collection had already been produced when COVID changed the plan entirely.

I worked alongside Cara from the earliest stages of developing the collection through its eventual pivot into an independent DTC brand. My role spanned collection development, campaign creative, social strategy and channel management, content creation, styling, creator gifting, and cause-partnership research.

Role: Collection Development Support • DTC Launch Support • Social + Content Ownership • Influencer Seeding • Styling

Responsibilities:

• Contributed to the collection-development and fit process alongside Cara and the manufacturing team

• Supported the team’s pivot from a planned Kohl’s launch to an independent DTC brand

• Independently built and operated @TheCaraSantanaCollection, including the feed, content strategy, asset selection, posting, and day-to-day management

• Produced, styled, photographed, and appeared in original social content for the collection

• Independently developed and managed the influencer seeding program, apart from the physical packing and shipping of product

• Participated in the brainstorm for the original “seven versions of Cara” campaign concept

• Recommended Kelsey Kinsel for the fall campaign and served as the on-set stylist for Cara, Kelsey, and Nichelle Hines

• Captured behind-the-scenes content during both campaign shoots

• Researched potential charitable partners and helped carry the Step Up and #PayItFashionForward initiatives across social

DEVELOPING THE COLLECTION

My involvement started long before this became a DTC launch. Just as we had with the first collection, Cara and I worked together to pull inspiration, narrow down what she liked, and build out the creative direction we would bring to the manufacturing team.

I was deeply involved throughout the development process- from organizing inspiration and communicating Cara’s vision to participating in fit meetings and giving feedback as the collection came together.

WHEN THE PLAN CHANGED

On March 1, 2020, Cara and I were supposed to take a red-eye to New York the following night for a fit meeting. We were already hearing from our contacts in Europe about how quickly COVID was spreading, and Cara asked me whether I thought we should still go.

Once we learned that we could attend the fitting virtually, I told her I didn’t think we should fly. We canceled the trip and joined remotely instead… and as we all know, less than two weeks later, the world shut down.

At that point, the collection had already been developed and produced for another season with Kohl’s. When the retailer could no longer move forward with the launch, we had to figure out what came next. Rather than walk away from a collection we had spent months creating, the team decided to take it directly to consumers and build an independent brand around it.

BUILDING + OPERATING THE BRAND’S SOCIAL PRESENCE

I independently built and operated @TheCaraSantanaCollection, taking ownership of the feed, content strategy, day-to-day channel management, and everything required to keep the brand visually cohesive and active.

I planned the content mix and rollout, selected and organized assets, managed posting, and coordinated the collection’s messaging with Cara’s personal social channels so the two accounts supported one another.

The feed combined formal campaign imagery with original product, lifestyle, creator, behind-the-scenes, and social-first content- giving the collection a much broader visual identity than the primary campaign alone could provide.

CREATING WITH WHAT WE HAD

Launching during COVID required us to be especially resourceful about content. I photographed and styled original in-feed content featuring Cara, friends, hired models, and myself, often putting together smaller, guerrilla-style shoots that gave us new ways to show the collection without relying on large productions.

My role moved between coming up with the idea, selecting and styling the pieces, photographing or directing the content, and stepping in front of the camera when it made sense.

CREATING THE CAMPAIGNS

The first campaign came together during the earliest stage of COVID, when it wasn’t safe to bring in a full cast of models. I was part of the brainstorm for what the campaign could look like within those limitations, and we landed on featuring seven different versions of Cara in one image.

It gave us a creative way to show the different sides of both Cara and the collection while still working safely. I was also on set capturing behind-the-scenes content and thinking about how we could carry the campaign across social.

Once we moved into fall, we needed an entirely new set of assets. COVID was still very much a factor, but it had become safer to bring in a small number of additional models. I recommended Kelsey Kinsel after seeing how genuinely she had supported the original launch, and she joined Cara and Nichelle Hines for the fall campaign.

I acted as the stylist for that shoot, mapping out the shot list of looks and planning the outfit combinations across all three women. I also captured behind-the-scenes content throughout the day to give us more material for the ongoing social rollout.