Moda Operandi Raises $100M To Invest In Upscale Fashion Marketplace

Online fashion marketplace Moda Operandi announced a $1 million funding boost that it will use to invest in its technology and bolster business overall.

Moda Operandi, which specializes in luxury fashion “right off the runway,” raised the money from a mix of equity and debt, according to a report in TechCrunch. CEO Ganesh Srivats said in a statement that the investment would allow the company to continue its mission of “disrupting the way people shop for luxury fashion.”

He said the funding would help the firm invest more in its clients and platform.

Financing is being co-led by NEA and Apex Partners, both of which have invested in Moda before. There was also participation by the Santo Domingo family, which is connected to Moda Operandi Co-Founder Lauren Santo Domingo.

Comerica Bank and TriplePoint Capital were also named, and there were more investors that were not named.

While the company’s current value wasn’t disclosed, it had post-money valuation of $650 million in 2017, according to data from PitchBook, and has raised $345 million to date.

High-end fashion has been a bountiful market for the eCommerce industry. Those who don’t have the time to attend high-dollar catwalk shows in person, or who live in out-of-the-way places, have taken to the internet to get their fix of fashion items. And they have the income to buy what they want, too.

For that type of market, websites, apps and platforms like Instagram have been helpful. Moda has been reaping the rewards of the trend. But some fashion retailers have begun riding new trends, such as relying more on third party messaging apps to reach those interested, rather than traditional websites.

Moda started in 2010 as the brainchild of Santo Domingo, who is a socialite, former model and former Vogue editor. Her idea, as someone immersed in the fashion world, was to offer a way to expand the access people had to a designer’s runway collection — previously something only a small circle of people would’ve had access to.

With Moda Operandi, that circle has been expanded to a wider audience and revenues have improved for designers and brands.