Bianca Latorre is the founder and designer of Melbourne based loungewear label Third Boi.
After having her first baby boy, Bianca left her 10 year career as Homeware Designer at iconic Australian company Country Road to pursue freelance opportunities within local and international markets.
After the birth of her second child, Bianca decided it was time to conceive her ‘third boy’ which led to her launching her label. Launching in 2018, Third Boi was born from a desire to create stylish, comfortable and adorable loungewear and leisurewear for a slightly older demographic.
Tell us about Third Boi.
Third Boi is an Australian loungewear label with a purpose to provide the easiest of wardrobe solutions for stress free everyday dressing. Third Boi is seriously perfect for anyone who wears their casual gear on high rotation and who only has five minutes to put together an outfit in the mornings (and let’s face it who has longer than that?!). It’s especially popular with busy mums or those working from home, who need to experience comfort on another level but retain an optimum sense of effortless laid-back style.
What inspired you to start Third Boi?
I started Third Boi as a busy Mum who suddenly found herself working from home and needing quick and curated options for everyday dressing. Until then, I had worked in an office for 10 years and then began freelancing at which time I was still getting out to meet clients and scout for work. However, after my second child was born, I streamlined my freelance client base to a select few with whom I rarely had face to face contact, who trusted me to work remotely 95% of the time. To that end, I had little need for jeans and blazers and suddenly found myself struggling to find wardrobe solutions between the thriving activewear market and the high-end loungewear available at that time. My usual go-to casual labels for weekend wear were not the most financially viable options for weekday park hangs with two grubby active boys or for kinder drop-offs! So, it was then I decided to get started on my own range which would provide all the key pieces I needed for my casual-cool-work-from-home mum style!
Tell us about your career and background.
I grew up loving art and fashion equally. I fused these two passions together by pursuing a qualification in Textile Design which would allow me to put art on fashion whilst cementing a key understanding of fabric construction. During my study I worked part time at Country Road where I started as a Christmas casual wrapping gifts in the Homewares department (I have a secret and potentially odd obsession with gift wrapping) and after years of dedication I worked my way up the ranks (yes kids, it took years of hard work and loyalty) to Sales Assistant, Production Co-ordinator, Design Assistant and later Designer in the Country Road Home Head Office where I spent most of my career.
My Mother and Grandmother were also keen sewers and would make everything from aprons and bedding to kid’s clothes and evening dresses for friends and family. They taught me to love making clothes, especially for others to enjoy.
Describe a typical workday for you (if there is such a thing).
There is definitely no such thing as a typical workday for me with two kids, multiple drop offs and other activities. However, I do like to consistently start my day with a run whilst listening to an inspirational podcast. My favourite ones are anything by Lady Brains or Brand-New World by Russell Howcroft (he’s my favourite marketing guru!). I use this time to think and attempt to plan out my day. I am a sole trader and have no employees so a day could entail anything from packing orders to researching ways to increase growth and engagement on Instagram. It’s tough to stay focused and gain a sense of achievement when I am pulled in many different directions, but it’s all about putting one foot in front of the other and not being afraid of a late night or two!
Has COVID-19 affected your business? How are you navigating that?
COVID-19 has actually affected my business in a mostly positive way. During the initial phase of lockdown when people started working from home, I found more customers entering the loungewear market. At the same time, many other larger players were bringing out loungewear lines to meet the demand, so finding a voice amongst all that new competition has been crucial. I was also lucky enough to be able to provide my customers with a much-needed product in face masks during the second wave of COVID-19 in Victoria. It was nice to be useful at such a confusing time and to see Third Boi servicing a broader group of people.
What advice do you have for those wanting to start a business?
The usual advice I hear people giving is to ‘just start!’ or don’t wait until you know everything because you never will. Whilst I completely agree with this level of eyes wide shut confidence, I would also encourage anyone to try to cement a presence in your chosen market and start to build your community BEFORE you have invested too much money in a product or any fancy equipment. You don’t want to get stuck in a situation where you’ve poured lots of time and start-up funding into something without concurrently planning how you will sell your product or service. I recommend taking a good marketing course as early on as possible (especially in social media marketing).
What’s next for you, and Third Boi?
I have recently transitioned all my production from offshore to local manufacturing. I made this decision to slow the constant cycle of high volume purchasing required from offshore vendors, to support slow fashion whilst also backing the Australian manufacturing industry. Unfortunately, COVID-19 shutdowns meant that streamlining this process has taken longer than expected, so my focus is now to perfect these processes so that I can continuously improve the output and relevancy of my product offering.
