Moda Operandi

Moda Operandi is a luxury online fashion retailer founded in 2010 by Lauren Santo Domingo and Áslaug Magnúsdóttir. It is known for pioneering an innovative business model that allows customers to preorder runway looks directly from designers immediately after fashion shows through online trunk shows.

Customers place a 50% deposit on pieces from full designer collections months before traditional retail availability, enabling access to exclusive and often boutique-only fashion items.

Short history of Moda Operandi

Moda Operandi was founded in 2010 with the revolutionary idea to offer customers the ability to pre-order designer collections directly after runway shows—a concept that transformed access to high-end fashion. This approach bridged the gap between exclusive runway fashion and consumer access while helping designers reduce overproduction by manufacturing based on actual demand.

Lauren Santo Domingo, a former Vogue editor deeply embedded in the New York fashion scene, leveraged her industry knowledge and connections to build Moda Operandi as a platform that empowers consumers to access the full spectrum of designer collections, beyond what traditional stores usually offer.

The company is headquartered in New York and now serves customers globally (shipping to over 125 countries), employing more than 400 people and featuring hundreds of designers across womenswear, beauty, fine jewellery and home goods.

What is Moda Operandi all about?

Moda Operandi curates hundreds of established and emerging designers worldwide, offering women’s ready-to-wear, fine jewelry, accessories, and home collections. Moda Operandi’s approach democratises access to high fashion by letting customers shop entire collections, including less commercial and unique pieces that are typically unavailable in retail stores.

Moda Operandi’s name reflects its innovative “mode of operating”, underscoring a new way of shopping luxury fashion that emphasises discovery, exclusivity, and sustainability by reducing waste through made-to-order production sparked by pre-orders.

The company relies primarily on a commission-based revenue model, earning from the deposits and final sales of pre-ordered items, as well as from direct sales of in-season items through its boutique. This reduces inventory risk by producing items only when orders are confirmed.

What do they have to offer?

Moda Operandi offers a wide product range across several luxury categories, and the platform includes over 50,000 pieces from more than 1,300 luxury brands such as Prada, Gucci, Valentino, Oscar de la Renta, Balenciaga, and more.

Customers can shop new season collections, preorder runway looks, and find exclusive and emerging designers only available on the site.

There are over 7,900 items in the women’s clothing section, including dresses (2,270), tops (2,238), skirts (887), jackets (452), swimwear (523), coats (204), jeans (246), and more, covering styles such as activewear, suiting, lingerie and shapewear.

The beauty products section offers more than 1,400 items spanning skincare, makeup, fragrance, haircare, body care, and tools. Their beauty selection includes over 300 products from 55 brands like 111Skin, Augustinus Bader, Sisley Paris, Dr Lara Devgan Scientific Beauty, La Mer, and Crown Affair, emphasising editorial storytelling and educational content.

The accessories and jewellery collection includes handbags, fashion jewellery, and fine jewellery, with a total of over 800 jewellery items and nearly 180 accessories.

The shoes section features a variety of luxury footwear with around 200 items available.

They also offer a curated selection of home products, although this is a smaller part of their assortment, comprising around 230 items.

What is the user experience like?

Moda Operandi’s site focuses on delivering an immersive luxury shopping experience that seamlessly integrates runway fashion, high-quality imagery, editorial content, and e-commerce.

Bolder imagery and exclusive videos highlight designer collections and runway shows, providing a rich, visual, storytelling-driven shopping environment aimed at replicating the excitement of fashion week online.

There are features such as enhanced personalisation options, ability to save favourites and preferences, multi-currency shopping, and improved site search functionality for easier navigation among brands and styles.

Styling services are available directly on the site, enabled by the acquisition of ModeWalk, allowing personal stylists to offer tailored recommendations in an intuitive, high-touch manner.

High-fidelity, image-heavy content is optimised for fast load times across all devices, including mobile and tablet, with images automatically adapted for different screen sizes using advanced technologies like machine learning and computer vision.

Moda Operandi is active on several key social networks, prominently including Instagram, with a substantial presence of 3 million followers, where they post fashion-related photos and videos showcasing their curated luxury collections and runway pre-orders.

What are the prices like?

Moda Operandi pricing reflects its positioning as a luxury fashion retailer offering designer pieces with prices ranging from modest luxury accessory levels to high-end couture.

Designer dresses and gowns are commonly priced between $900 and $3,000+, often with significant sale discounts of up to 70% off.

Accessories and jewellery items range from under $300 for simpler pieces (earrings and necklaces are around $150-$300 after discounts) to several thousand dollars for exclusive fine jewellery.

Shoes generally cost between $300 and $1,200, with many sale items available at roughly 40-60% off their original prices.

New arrivals and exclusive preorder items often start around $450 and can exceed $4,000 for statement luxury pieces such as 18K gold diamond earrings or silk-satin maxi dresses.

Promotions include first-time shopping discounts (10% off first purchase), sale events with discounts ranging from 30% to 70% or more, and occasional cashback offers.

What are their shipping options?

Moda Operandi ships all orders to US addresses primarily via FedEx, offering three shipping options: standard shipping for $10, second-day shipping for $20, and overnight shipping for $30, selectable at checkout. Orders are generally processed within 1-2 business days, with typical delivery times ranging from 3 to 10 business days depending on the chosen shipping method and location. Tracking information is provided via FedEx once the order ships.

Moda Operandi also ships internationally to many countries worldwide, offering a broad luxury fashion selection accessible globally. Shipping fees vary by region and currency, and are shown at checkout.

Conclusion

Moda Operandi is a pioneering luxury fashion e-commerce site offering a unique preorder model that links high-end designers directly with fashion consumers worldwide, providing early access to complete runway collections and exclusive designer pieces.

Moda Operandi’s site design philosophy combines high-end visual storytelling, seamless commerce, and technical optimisation to create a sophisticated and romantic online luxury retail experience that mirrors the exclusivity and immediacy of runway fashion.

Moda Operandi is highly valued for its exclusive, luxury fashion access and personalised services, but has notable drawbacks in customer service, pricing, return policies and limited product scope. Potential shoppers should weigh these factors based on their priorities.