Arianna Ajtar is the founder and designer behind British fashion house Mars the Label.
Since launching the brand from her family home in Manchester back in 2016, Mars the Label has become a ‘multi-mullion’ pound business.
Appearing at Miami Swim Week 2024, the brand uses the power of fashion to ‘redefine’ confidence for women of all shapes and sizes offering swimwear to dresses, and loungewear to accessories.
With a fan base stretching across the US and Australia, the brand has also become a household favourite with the likes of Sophie Kasaei, Chloe Burrows, Mary Bedford, Ellie Joslin and Rach Leary to name a few.
Beyond the garments, Arianna Ajtar takes us behind the brand…
What does your brand do in a nutshell?
Mars the Label is a British luxe label selling affordable luxury pieces, specialising in swimwear, loungewear and partywear.
Can you bring us up to date with the company’s latest performance and headcount numbers?
We started primarily selling swimwear and party wear from 2016 up until the pandemic in 2020, when our only factory was in complete lockdown, we were forced to look at how we can grow in other ways. After a lot of lessons and meetings and a few hires, our loungewear came to life. Little did we know it would become our best selling line to date.
Forcing us to reflect on our areas to grow allowed us to come back from the pandemic, stronger than ever and adapt Mars into the brand it is today by introducing a wider range of pieces whilst thriving on our existing strengths of party wear and swimwear. Now, we are currently into our US growth expansion from our globalisation strategy and our team has over doubled over the past year into a team of over 30, and are currently moving into our new warehouse and HQ which is over 35,000 sq ft, very surreal!
What key factors have contributed to your recent growth?
Strong product – always ensuring we are delivering the foundation of the brand to the very best of our ability. Styles that feel and look premium (without the heavy price tag) as well as unique pieces that will make our customers stand out and feel like the main character.
Socials gifting – a way for us to expand and reach new audiences that may have never come across us before. Having influencers come into our studio to wear Mars their way and put their own spin on our pieces.
Unique activations – hosting outside of the box influencer and customer events so it is not just a standard sit down dinner and a fun way to interact with the brand and relate it to the collection we are celebrating.
Creative content – always looking at ways to put our own spin on trends as well as unique ideas to push our campaigns within new shoot concepts as well as creative direction on socials.
How do you differentiate your brand from competitors in the market?
Mars the Label is not and will never be fast fashion. We sit in the middle and we are affordable luxury and we want every piece from Mars to be like an investment into staple and stand out pieces you will love in your wardrobe for years to come.
Because our consumers invest in us, equally, we want to invest back into them as a thank you for our customers’ support. This is why we love to host “Friends with Mars” – our new, intimate customer events taking place in different cities where we invite our top spenders for an evening with us with flowing food, drinks and fun activities, to really treat them and give back to the women who mean the most to the brand. It is always such an empowering and fulfilling event as our customers get a chance to get to know the brand on a more personal level, meeting the people behind it, as well as meeting like-minded people who are also within the Mars community. Seeing them leave with new friends from this is always such an amazing feeling!
From the rapid growth Mars has experienced over the past 36 months, it is fundamental we don’t lose touch in our impact on the planet and our CSR. This is why we have pledged to plant a tree with every single order made from Mars with “Switch to Zero” in our long-term strategy to reduce our carbon footprint.
How do you cultivate a positive and productive company culture?
We create a positive work environment and space that Mars employees want to come into and work in – morning coffee runs / regular paid lunch treats at the teams favourite spots / and a fun, relaxed working space and open plan layout, offering work from home and flexible working hours when needed.
- Genuine trust in employees and always being open to try new ideas – this gives staff a safe creative space where they can flourish within their roles. We always celebrate team wins and recognise and reward employee achievements, ideas and successes big or small (on a monetary level with bonuses etc or more personal).
- Good career progression and regular check-ins to listen, adjust and offer new responsibilities to suit employees personal goals wherever possible.
- Strong work culture with fun team-building trips and events big and small to truly make Mars feel like a family (Portugal / Soho FarmHouse / dinners and events), full transparency and always open and honest conversations as well as creating a safe space and relationships for them to happen.
What’s the most important part of the company’s marketing mix?
Product 100%. We are so grateful for our customer community we have built over the years however are also hyper aware this starts with the first try and experience of the product as it is an introduction into what the brand is all about.
Affordable luxury is crucial to our ethos and when we give customers exactly that, every single time and ensures trust to begin that relationship with the consumer. From how strong and loyal our existing customers are, we believe that for further growth in the company, lies within new consumers getting their hands on Mars to experience it and (hopefully) fall in love with the brand.
To what extent does the company use the support of external agencies?
We work with Emily Blair Media who support external PR to further our horizons, the agency promotes opportunities across Europe and the States.
Where do you hope the brand will be in two years’ time?
We are currently working on one of our bigger, long term goals which is to really break into the US market, so I hope after two years all the noise we make has paid off and we really put our mark on the US so Mars the Label becomes as much of a household fashion name to our target market there, like it is in the UK.
