If you’d asked Social Media Coordinator Jordan Torris where she would end up in the fashion industry, you might have heard anything—draping models in couture or styling for magazines—but you probably wouldn’t have heard her say ‘menswear.’ Which, is in fact, exactly where she did end up!
Driven by a desire to get a foot in the Vancouver fashion industry anywhere she could, Jordan found the perfect company culture to call home and a corporate ladder to climb where she’s experienced success at every level. Jordan has risen through the ranks of Vancouver-born menswear brand Indochino, the world’s largest online retailer of custom apparel. Catering to men who are looking to get a suit for their first job, expand their wardrobe, attend an event or get married, Indochino allows a generation of customers to create their own style with one-of-a-kind garments made specifically for them. From her starting in the role in Customer Service, to now being their Marketing and Social Media Coordinator, Jordan’s days could see her do anything from shipping suits to photoshoots in New York and LA, to coordinating red carpet looks, to drafting media pitches. And yes, she gets to work with celebrities!
Tell us–what does a day in your life at Indochino look like?
My days are quite intense! I could definitely get a few more words into my title. On any given day, I can be doing anything from drafting a pitch for the media, planning a wedding show, attending a wedding show, planning events in our showroom, packing suits and shipping them to New York and LA for various shoots and events, or other internal company things. And then social media is another big chunk of my day. We have a copywriter and a whole team but I manage and oversee our content and make sure it all gets out. Social listening is another big thing whenever you’re working with a brand’s social platforms or with influencers. I’m always making sure I know what people are saying, who is replying, and what our stats are!
My fashion journey has taken me unexpected places and I’ve been fully prepared with all the knowledge I need to succeed because of the time I spent in the Fashion Marketing program!
What made you choose Indochino? How did you find out about the position?
Honestly, a Google search! When I saw it I thought it was an interesting and unique company but I’d never pictured myself in men’s fashion, you know? When you think fashion you think womenswear! But, as it turned out, I love the details in menswear and how sharp suits look on men. There’s also a high demand for menswear right now and the industry is growing like crazy. I’m totally drawn to it now and it’s been incredible to see the company grow. I still learn something new every day!
You’ve forged a successful career path within the company since you started five years ago. Walk us through your Indochino journey! What position did you start in?
I started in 2014 in the Customer Service department when there were only about five of us. It was a pretty intimate team at that time. I got promoted to Retail Operations and Retail Support about a year after that and then two years ago I got promoted as the Marketing Coordinator and then Marketing and Social Media Coordinator. Working up from the Customer Service level has been really great for my understanding of the Indochino customer—especially when I started contributing to our marketing campaigns and social media.
Blanche Macdonald’s Fashion Marketing program was such a great experience. Each and every class was so interesting and the program gave you such good insight into every aspect of the fashion industry. I really enjoyed my time there and I highly recommend this course for anyone trying to break into the industry.
How did Blanche Macdonald’s Fashion Marketing program help prepare you for this?
So much! There are quite a few courses that I’ve pulled from throughout my career here. Fashion history was so awesome and is so important. Textiles, Fashion Awareness, PR, Styling… I use all of those on the daily! Oh, buying too! For me, having the Fashion Marketing program behind me has made me so prepared for this industry and really set me up for success in any area of fashion I could potentially find myself in.
And was social media always something you saw yourself working in?
That was another thing that seemed to find me! I’m very visual and I love taking photos so it just works. Before this, I interned with Eco Fashion Week for two years and that’s where I really started to understand social media. And obviously, working with celebs and influencers is a lot more enjoyable than emails and paperwork! It’s a lot of work and you have to be on it and timely but it’s a lot of fun.
There are quite a few courses that I’ve pulled from throughout my career here. Fashion history was so awesome and is so important. Textiles, Fashion Awareness, PR, Styling... I use all of those on the daily! Oh, buying too!
Can you dish on the celebs your team has worked with?!
Mainly it’s a lot of sports celebs like RJ Barrett, recently drafted to the Knicks; Didi Gregorius, he plays for the Yankees; and Xander Bogarets, he plays for the Boston Red Sox. I’m trying to get 50 Cent in right now too! His rep emailed us wanting a suit but we didn’t have his size so I’m trying to get him in the showroom so we can make him one. It’s so interesting to see how much the right partnership can build a brand. When we dressed RJ Barrett, our socials were on fire! We’ve also done a couple of partnerships with people who align well with our brand like David Henrie, Jerry O’Connell, Jake T. Austen from Wizards of Waverly Place. We’ve also sent suits to Hugh Jackman, Jack Black, Common, and a couple of the guys from The Bachelor (Ben Higgins, Chase McNary, and Colton Underwood)!
What’s more important—posting time or hashtags?
Combination of both but I’ve noticed that time of day is a big one for us. I’ve noticed that makes a huge difference for us. Hashtags are also important, though, for sure. We’re still a growing brand so we need those! I do a little search on Instagram before I post of trending, topical hashtags and use those along with my usual set of hashtags and that seems to work really well for us.
A good social platform is key for managing multiple channels at once so you can schedule, listen and report on all content (we currently upgraded to Sprout Social!).
Do you have different goals for different platforms?
Overall, the goal on each platform is to grow our following, educate, increase brand awareness and sales. Every channel definitely has a pattern. Instagram is where our strong fashion shots go. Shots that aren’t as strong but still cool go on Twitter and Facebook. Our Linkedin is for corporate, branded posts. We always try and capitalize on our partnerships, though. It’s our influencer culture, those posts make all the difference!
Having the Fashion Marketing program behind me has made me so prepared for this industry and really set me up for success in any area of fashion I could potentially find myself in.
