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Not to mention, retail landscape in general. The only brands I can think of that have developed an international presence without major backing have been brands that started as denim and streetwear, not designer, brands. The way that the fashion industry has developed in the internet age has developed is not unlike many other industries. The amount of capital needed to start a business has gone down to essentially nil (see kickstarter, blogs, etc...), but at the same time, getting a significant amount of the pie is also harder and harder, and I don't think that the fashion industry has figured out how to "make winners" consistently yet, same as many other industries.I'm not sure using Raf Simons or DVN as a point of comparison makes much sense here. They're both much older labels that were launched in a fashion industry landscape dramatically different from that of 2005. By the time KVA went solo Raf and Dries already had 10 and 20 years of experience with their company, respectively. They're also based in Antwerp whereas KVA was Paris-based from the beginning. KVA has probably more in common with a label like Damir Doma (hah) than with the other Belgian designers.