Richard Forté, the third generation of the Forté family leaders and one of the most respected innovators and traders in the world of this luxury fiber, was interested in disrupting the luxury segment by creating an e-commerce experience for Forté to make their cashmere garments, of unparalleled luxury and quality, available online. He called Korn and cashmere.com was born.

In keeping with the family tradition of producing only the finest cashmere, spun and knit to the highest standard, Richard was determined to use the site as a place to educate his luxury customers about the Forté difference, sharing the origins and care of the luxurious cashmere garments they were famous for.

Korn took a user-centered approach to introducing the brand online with the highest touch and user experience possible to capture the essence of the “feel” through the website and again through the packaging and information included with each delivery. This was truly the new frontier, and foretold a future of buying all kinds of luxury goods online!

Our first innovative touchpoint inadvertently created a noteworthy moment in the Korn history. With a laser-focus on transmitting the “high touch” of this luxe fiber without an in-store experience, we created a beautifully customized package to send out to the press that included a piece of raw cashmere fiber and a booklet titled “Cashmere 101” that offered a history of the fiber and simple care instructions for these luxury garments. These were shipped in cellophane envelopes so the fiber was visible in the post – a brilliant effort thwarted by the anthrax scare in 2001 when shipping white fluffy stuff through the U.S. post was not positively greeted! The mailing was confiscated and resent inside opaque shipping envelopes . . .

The product packaging was however incredibly well-received. Each garment was shipped in a sweater bag that could be re-used for safe storage. Arriving to the comfort of one’s home, the delivery was crafted to tip its hat to the most world-class luxe packaging as possible. Kudos for Richard for having the foresight to make luxury accessible online – as the world has evolved we look back at this game-changing moment in time and smile.

We are excited to share 25 pivotal projects, partnerships and creative moments with you over the next six months. Subscribe to our Newsletter to get monthly updates of our 25 years of projects. Follow us on Instagram to see more behind the scenes at Korn over the last 25 years!