Xcel Brands Announces Strategic Partnership with Global Fashion Icon Coco Rocha
- Partnership with globally recognized supermodel Coco Rocha brings significant industry expertise and brand visibility
- Strategic alignment with Xcel's focus on influencer-driven brands and social commerce
- Potential to tap into the professional women's fashion market with elevated essentials
- None.
Insights
Xcel Brands' partnership with Coco Rocha adds celebrity clout to its influencer-driven strategy, potentially expanding market reach and brand portfolio.
Xcel Brands has secured a strategic partnership with supermodel Coco Rocha to develop a new fashion brand targeting women seeking both elegance and practicality. This move aligns perfectly with Xcel's business model of building influencer-driven brands through social commerce and livestreaming.
The partnership leverages Rocha's significant fashion industry credentials - including appearances on over 100 magazine covers and runway experience with luxury brands like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Prada. Her two decades of high-fashion experience provides Xcel with authentic design credibility and potential consumer appeal.
This collaboration represents a strategic expansion of Xcel's brand portfolio through a celebrity partnership model. The company appears to be executing on its stated mission of "redefining modern fashion through innovative partnerships with authentic, visionary creators." The Rocha partnership brings a high-profile name to Xcel's roster that could enhance brand recognition and potentially attract a premium consumer segment.
While financial terms and revenue projections weren't disclosed, this deal demonstrates Xcel's continued investment in expanding its brand portfolio with recognizable fashion personalities. The emphasis on "elevated essentials" suggests a product positioning that balances luxury appeal with everyday wearability - a sweet spot in today's fashion market where consumers increasingly seek versatile, high-quality staples.
For Xcel, which specializes in social commerce and livestreaming, Rocha's established social media presence and recognizability could potentially accelerate customer acquisition and engagement across digital channels, aligning with their technology-forward distribution strategy.
NEW YORK, June 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Xcel Brands (NASDAQ: XELB), an industry leading media and consumer products company specializing in building influencer-driven brands through social commerce and livestreaming, is proud to announce a groundbreaking new partnership with supermodel, advocate, and founder of Coco Rocha Model Camp, Coco Rocha.
With more than two decades at the highest level of the fashion industry—having graced over 100 magazine covers, been shot by top photographers across the globe, and walked runways for luxury fashion houses ranging from Chanel, Louis Vuitton, John Galliano, Prada and Schiaparelli to Jean Paul Gaultier, Tom Ford, Moschino, and Marc Jacobs—Coco Rocha brings a rare depth of experience and insight to this collaboration. Rocha’s illustrious career has granted her a front-row seat to the inner workings of the world’s most legendary designers. Together, Coco Rocha and Xcel Brands will develop a bold, thoughtfully crafted fashion brand designed for women who lead with both strength and style.
“What excites me about partnering with Xcel is the opportunity to finally channel all of those unbelievable lived experiences into something of my own,” said Rocha. “This isn’t about chasing trends or putting my name on a label—it’s about designing elevated essentials that reflect the life I live now as a mother, businesswoman, and creative.”
This collaboration aims to speak to women seeking pieces that feel as powerful and dynamic as their daily lives. Coco Rocha’s collection will deliver runway-inspired elegance with everyday practicality.
Robert W. D’Loren, Chairman and CEO of Xcel Brands, said, “Coco Rocha is one of the most influential fashion figures of our time. Her perspective, creativity, and commitment to authenticity make her the perfect partner for our next brand launch. We are thrilled to work alongside her in building something empowering and extraordinary.”
This announcement further pushes Xcel’s commitment to redefining modern fashion through innovative partnerships with authentic, visionary creators. For more information, visit www.xcelbrands.com
About Xcel Brands
Xcel Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ: XELB) is a media and consumer products company engaged in the design, licensing, marketing, live streaming, and social commerce sales of branded apparel, footwear, accessories, fine jewelry, home goods and other consumer products, and the acquisition of dynamic consumer lifestyle brands. Xcel was founded in 2011 with a vision to reimagine shopping, entertainment, and social media as social commerce. Xcel owns the Halston, Judith Ripka, and C. Wonder brands, as well as the co-branded collaboration brands TowerHill by Christie Brinkley, LB70 by Lloyd Boston, Trust. Respect. Love. by Cesar Millan, and GemmaMade by Gemma Stafford, and also holds noncontrolling interests or long-term license agreements in the Isaac Mizrahi brand, Orme Live and Jenny Martinez Live brands. Xcel also owns and manages the Longaberger brand through its controlling interest in Longaberger Licensing, LLC. Xcel is pioneering a true modern consumer products sales strategy which includes the promotion and sale of products under its brands through interactive television, digital live-stream shopping, social commerce, brick-and-mortar retailers, and e-commerce channels to be everywhere its customers shop. The company’s brands have generated in excess of
About Coco Rocha
Coco Rocha is an internationally acclaimed supermodel, entrepreneur, and educator who has redefined the role of a model through two decades of innovation and influence. Named Model of the Year by Elle and Marie Claire, and hailed by Vogue Paris and Vogue Italia as one of the top models of all time, she has graced the runways of every major fashion house and appeared in countless international campaigns and covers.
Widely known as the "Queen of Pose", Coco is considered one of the most technically proficient and versatile models of her generation. In 2014, she authored Study of Pose, a 2,000-page visual encyclopedia that has become a go-to reference for models and photographers alike. A pioneer in digital influence, Coco was the first high-fashion model to fully embrace social media—amassing millions of followers and earning recognition from Time magazine and TikTok as a leading voice in fashion.
An outspoken advocate for model rights, she played a pivotal role in passing legislation in New York to protect underage models. In 2018, she launched the Coco Rocha Model Camp (CRMC), a first-of-its-kind program offering hands-on modeling training combined with career and business strategy. Nearly 5,000 students have trained under Coco—including Kendall Jenner, Alix Earle, Bryce Dallas Howard, Dixie D’Amelio, Tabria Majors, and more.
She has shared her expertise through guest lectures at Harvard, Brown, and SCAD, and co-founded Nomad MGMT, a boutique modeling agency with offices in three countries. Beyond fashion, Coco is an active investor and advisor to early-stage startups in tech, media, and commerce. She lives in New York with her husband and creative partner, James Conran, and their three children.
Coco Rocha is represented by The Lions Management.
For further information, please contact:
Seth Burroughs
Xcel Brands
sburroughs@xcelbrands.com
For press inquiries with Coco Rocha, please contact:
Bianca Bianconi
Bianca.Bianconi@42West.com
Devin Wolf
Devin.Wolf@42West.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d9ea093c-b36d-40db-a59d-54596ed22710
