There are many brands whose Instagram presence have seen them hit the big time, but very few elicit a “Gah!” like Lisa. The online shopping market has become so saturated that leaders in clothing curation have earned the industry respect traditionally only afforded to designers. It’s an art form, and Lisa Bühler is one of the masters.
In the four years since its inception, Lisa Says Gah! has become the mood board of every 20-something trendsetter—except all the covetable looks could be your own. It makes sense—what Bühler originally intended to be a blog featuring images that made her say, well, “Gah!,” quickly transformed as more, and industry insiders quickly hit follow. Soon, Bühler realized she was creating not merely a shoppable site, but a mecca for like-minded women with a penchant for aesthetics.
“I wanted a shop that used fashion to build a community of creative, insightful women,” Bühler explains. The point is that “Gah” is anything you want it to be. To me, it derives from the interest and excitement of the unknown or undiscovered.”
Over time, Bühler began discovering more independent designers who could benefit from her steadily growing platform. It became a quick-fix solution to those subverting fast fashion, the page’s first tagline reading, “Say no to fast-fashion, say gah to independent designers!” Soon, Lisa Says Gah! became a blog-turned-shop-turned-media-outlet, interviewing designers so potential customers can understand from whom they’re buying. Now, you can shop Lisa Says Gah!, literally, with the brand producing its own sustainable line.
“The design aspect allows us to start from an idea, and if we can’t find something in the marketplace, we now have the option to develop it locally. The two balance each other out…More recently, we started to wholesale our collection so the curation of LSG elsewhere has been a real treat. ”
And it’s only getting better. There’s no limit to Bühler’s enthusiasm—or ambition—and Instagram has given her the platform to propel her Gah!-worthy pieces to stratospheric heights. Consumers, she claims, have come to realize their capacity to change the industry and have created a “buyers market” demanding diversity across sizes, models, practices, and prices. As a result, “brands are listening,” says Bühler, even the big ones, and through it all, her motivation has remained the same: connecting consumers with clothes they love.
“A closet that gives you joy and makes you feel good and inspired is a powerful thing. I personally am finding a few key pieces each season that I absolutely love and pull constantly and pair with older items. A few new fresh pieces each season makes for a happy closet.”