Retail Diary Confidential: Hill House Home

Hill House Home's game-changing approach to retail. Drop models, early Line Sheet previews, and how Nell Diamond turned customers into a community of besties. Tie on a bow and grab your notebook.

Ever since I saw the Nap Room and Hill House Home share their Line Sheets early on social media I noticed they were writing their own rules for how to run a fashion brand. Line Sheet was never a customer facing term but always shown by vendors to wholesale lines and collections to Retailers and Buyers. Hill House Home has mixed it up and uses the Line Sheet to help customers get excited for new deliveries and plan their buy ahead of time. To celebrate HHH Fall Drop 2 let’s study the drop model, community live-stream shopping and line sheet previews.

Hill House Home & the Drop Model

Hill House Home's Fall Drop 2, launching September 10th, is a love letter to Americana, woven with threads of Western charm and Equestrian elegance. Nell Diamond, the brand's Founder and CEO, has crafted a collection that feels both fresh and familiar. The tease on social media has shown it to be very on trend for Fall in both colors and prints.

At the heart of the collection is the much-anticipated revival of the Equestrian Toile print. Last year, this print made waves in a single dress and skirt, leaving customers clamoring for more. Diamond, ever attuned to her community's desires, took note. But rather than rushing to meet demand, she chose patience, allowing time for the perfect execution. The result? A stunning navy colorway that's set to steal the show, especially in the Vivi and Ellie Nap Dresses.

Vivi Nap Dress in the Navy Equestrian Toile

The collection's spirit is beautifully captured in its campaign, shot at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, New Mexico. Here, against a backdrop of warm, earthy tones, photographer Emma Craft has brought Diamond's vision of modern Americana to life. The landscape seems to embrace the collection, its hues harmonizing with the prints in a visual symphony.

But this collection is more than just pretty pictures. True to Hill House Home's ethos, each piece is designed with real life in mind. These are clothes meant to transition seamlessly from season to season, comfortable enough for daily wear yet stylish enough to make a statement. Diamond hints at an enhanced focus on jackets this season, suggesting layers of sophistication to come.

What sets this collection apart is how it embodies Hill House Home's unique approach to fashion. It's a perfect blend of trend-awareness and customer responsiveness, all wrapped up in the brand's signature drop model. By previewing line sheets and hosting interactive "Nap Room" events, Hill House Home has rewritten the rules of fashion retail, creating a community-centric approach that feels refreshingly modern.

In essence, Fall Drop 2 is a testament to Hill House Home's evolution. It's a collection that honors traditional Americana while pushing fashion forward, all guided by the voices of the very people who'll wear these clothes. It's not just fashion; it's a conversation, a community, a reimagining of what fall style can be.

Entering the Nap Room

The first time I attended a Hill House Home “Nap Room” drop I wasn’t expecting much. I figured it would be a blank website that would refresh to the e-commerce site when the countdown finished. Wow! I was in for a treat. (If you are curious about the experience and some vintage retail news, read here from Retail Diary in 2021.) I get so excited when I see innovative retail experiences and this was unlike anything I had seen before. Founder Nell Diamond was showing live her favorite products they were launching. Customers were commenting asking on size/fit questions and if certain prints were offered in the style they were looking for. Diamond was responding live to questions over video and the team was feverishly responding to the questions directly in the comments too. This felt exciting. Music was playing, bagel orders were being recommended, it was a whole vibe that felt so specific to this community. It was engaging and it was working.

Review of Drop Model

The drop model has emerged as a shift in how brands engage with their clientele. This approach eschews the traditional seasonal calendar in favor of a more dynamic, anticipation-driven release strategy. Some brands do weekly on monthly drops (I talked about La Ligne’s drop model here)

Traditional retail deliveries:

• Spring: Usually arrives in stores in January/February

• Summer: Typically hits stores in April/May

• Pre-Fall July

• Fall: Arrives in stores around July/August

• Holiday/Resort: Delivered to stores in October/November

• Pre-Spring (or Cruise) December/January

The drop model revolutionizes fashion retail by releasing limited, curated pieces at irregular intervals. It creates buzz through exclusivity and urgency, often amplified by strategic PR.

This approach offers constant newness, driving traffic both online and in-store. For brands, it allows nimble responses to market trends and cultural shifts. It's a playground for design experimentation with lower production risks.

Crucially, drops align sales with in-season merchandise, breaking free from the traditional retail calendar. It caters to the modern consumer's appetite for immediacy, exclusivity, and perpetual renewal.

Listening to your customers

After dropping limited dresses in Equestrian Toile during Fall 2023 the comments were pretty clear (see a collection of the comments here) that customers were looking for even more equestrian prints in a dress. I love that HHH took the insight that while they couldn’t react fast or in an appropriate manner to make an impact for Fall 2023 they could certainly surprise and delight the customer for future seasons. And for Fall 2024 we are still loving western and equestrian themes and the colors work so well.

Being able to share with your customers that 1) you are listening AND 2) you will make decisions that utilize this feedback is such a win for building a brand with a community feel. Bring the customer in. In this particular example you can almost hear the team championing the customers feedback in the design conversations.

Hill House Home Fall Drop 2 - What to Shop

I asked CEO and Founder Nell Diamond for her favorites from this drop.

Nell Diamond: I’m obsessed with matching sets – our Nap Skirt and Nap Top sets are always best sellers every summer – and I'm so excited to wear their fall sisters. I love to pair a mini with a matching boxy jacket. My favorites are the Blake Jacket + the Inola Skirt (Taylor Swift wore hers to the Chiefs Game on Christmas Day), the Rennie Dress + the Thayer Jacket and the Birdie Top + the Hallie Skirt.

Fall Drop 2 Campaign Imagery and snaps from content creator Eva Meloche shared on .@hillhousehome instagram

Retail Diary favorites

Here is how I shop the edit. I love The Pia Top in black lace because I can think of a million ways to style this for Fall and Winter. I would wear under a buttoned up blazer or under my black lace Ellie Nap Dress™ (I have worn this dress to so many events! It is so easy to wear.)

Personally, I love the darker moody floral prints, specifically the Fuchsia Lucky Charm Shadow Stripe. It is fantastic and comes in the Ellie Nap Dress™, the Rae (such a great transitional dress) and long sleeve dress, the Viviana Nap Dress™.

Rae in the Fuchsia Lucky Charm Shadow Stripe

Dropping Insights and an Interview with Nell Diamond

Ever wondered how a brand turns shopping into a community event? Let’s go deeper with strategies and insights with Hill House Home CEO & Founder Nell Diamond. From well planned drop days to full-blown "Nap Room" parties, Diamond spills the tea on how they've turned fashion launches into must-attend happenings. Keep reading for an insider's look at how this brand is rewriting the rules of retail, one Nap Dress at a time!