Los Angeles · 2022
TTSWTRS is a Ukrainian fashion brand built on a single, instantly recognizable idea: tattoo as second skin — mesh garments and bodysuits with anatomically placed tattoo artwork that makes the body itself the canvas. Worn by Nicki Minaj, Kourtney Kardashian, and Anya Taylor-Joy, the brand had cultural traction and global recognition. What it didn't have was a US commercial engine to match.
I joined as Brand & Growth Lead to shape the US expansion story. One early finding: a ~10x conversion opportunity the existing business hadn't yet captured.
TTSWTRS had built a globally recognized brand with strong editorial presence and celebrity traction — but the US business was still early. The founders were exploring whether venture funding was the right path for expansion, and what US growth could realistically look like: what would investors need to see? What infrastructure — agencies, retail, talent — would it take on the ground? And was the commercial engine ready?
I was brought in to answer those questions.
Context
Role & Scope
Brand & growth strategy · Investor materials & pitch
E-commerce UX/UI redesign · Mobile-first rebuild
Channel mix & customer acquisition · Creative direction
Hiring & team management · Retail / wholesale exploration
The opportunity
On arrival I sized the upside in the existing US business. The numbers told a clear story — not of a brand in trouble, but of a brand whose commercial engine was running well below where its cultural traction could carry it.
C O N V E R S I O N
~10x improvement opportunity against apparel-industry benchmarks
P A I D S P E N D
Re-allocatable. A meaningful share of paid spend could be redirected toward conversion-driving channels and creative.
INVESTOR READINESS
Strong brand story, no investor-facing narrative yet. Pitch materials, business plan, and growth thesis needed to be built from scratch.
M O B I L E
~90% of traffic was already mobile, with the path-to-purchase yet to be designed mobile first.
US FOOTPRINT
No local infrastructure. Retail and wholesale opportunities, LA agency partners.
B R A N D
Cultural traction and editorial presence already established — the brand wasn't the gap, the engine was.
TALENT
No US-based team. E-commerce operators, developers, and creative partners all needed to be found, vetted, and onboarded.
The Deliverables
Brand & Growth Strategy
Co-developed the brand and growth strategy that became the company's investor-facing narrative. Positioning, channel mix, creative direction, and customer acquisition aligned into a single operating thesis — not parallel streams. Adopted into pitch deck + revised business plan.
E-Commerce Rebuild
Led the full redesign across home, mobile, checkout, menu structure, and product surfaces — with the founders, the e-commerce team, and the creative team. The ~10x conversion gap identified on arrival became the design brief: mobile-first, matched to the audience already there. Conversion became the throughline every page had to earn.
Investor Readiness
Pitch + business plan prepared, beta outreach planned. Co-developed the pitch materials and revised business plan, prepared the founders for beta investor conversations, and structured the outreach plan. The growth thesis on the wall became the growth thesis in the room.
Operator Scope
Talent hired, developers sourced, retail + wholesale surfaced. The mandate widened with the work. Recruited and managed e-commerce talent, sourced developers to support the rebuild, and explored LA retail and wholesale expansion in parallel with strategy and fundraise. The role became fractional COO in everything but the title.
