Thanks for tuning in to the Glossy Podcast! I'm your host Jill Manauk, and today I sit down with Ohad Saroya, co-founder and creative director of the six-year-old fashion brand RetroFET. With an Instagram bio that reads "Welcome to the Party," RetroFET is best known for its sexy statement and going-out looks that have been worn by Taylor Swift and Paris Hilton, and that focus is working to fuel its growth. RetroFET has been hosting New York Fashion Week shows since September, it opened physical retail in late 2022, and it's expanded to categories including swimwear, shoes, and denim. So I wanted to ask Ohad about the brand's growth to date and plans from here. I also wanted to ask him how social media trends are impacting the business. I would think the Night Luxe trend served RetroFET well. Welcome, Ohad! Hi, I'm Jin, nice to meet you. I'm so happy to meet you. Yes, you have an interesting story, I want to hear the whole darn thing, but tell me, you started this brand with a partner. This is a romantic partner as well. My husband, my gorgeous husband, is at Clean. We are together for 17 years. Wow! Yes, for the gays, it's like ancient, then we are together, and it's amazing partner, and I'm very lucky, you know, we didn't even plan on removing New York to be a partner with something. Everything happened so organically with our life and everything. I always walk in a fashion with a very young age, from age of 16, love fashion from, you know, kids at like 12, 14, 13 years old, you know, about the Chigabana, about the house, about the old. We're talking about, you know, I'm 39 years old, so we're talking about a long time ago, and it was really starting to discover the world from Vogue, and there was a TV channel called Runway. I don't know if you remember the Donta Fashion TV. Oh, I know, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. And you know, also, to be honest, also, as a gay guy, it was great to see also the men's and Runways, you know, it was like, but also love the women. So I got two for one and really got addicted to fashion in a different level. You know, just as a kid also discovered my sexuality and pushing the boundaries of creating my own stuff and wanted to go to the big city. I lived in a small town. It's an army town, very quiet, very like, you know, lucky, great people, but it wasn't for me. So I was lucky and was able to get a job at the age of 16 in Diesel, you know, Diesel back then. It still, again, it did its comeback, but we're talking about the diesel of like, you know, the pickup of the fashion on the denim. And I got so lucky because I think this is the best experience. I also recommend to anyone in the fashion go and work for a good brand on the floor, you know, dressing up people, doing the buying, being involved in the window, creating like a relationship, understand our feet actually look over the denim while I'm dressing up people. And, you know, I'm very, I'm not just a salesperson. I really like communication and connection and relationship till today I have people that they recognize me when I come to visit my parents and they call me Diesel because it wasn't for me just a job. I really got addicted for every season and then I start to work as a buyer for the company, but still being in the store and then start to be very creative by, you know, taking two diesel pairs of jeans and combine them together, cut and bleach and doing a lot of technique, just learning and coming to the diesel stores because I want to look cooler than the people that buy now even diesel. And people used to buy the stuff for me and I just thought it's cool. Like, you know, just have a special technique of bleaching, of cutting and learning like that and experience taking a sweatpants with a denim, combine them together, something that today you will see in Saroya, we always have the mixed media. And it's something that it's like, you know, what I did as a very young boy. And this is how I started like design, but didn't plan to be a designer. Then at age of twenty, I moved twenty one, I moved to Milan for one year, for that I'm going to be in the fashion world and all the doors, you know, in my face. Nobody want to hire me, it's super fun because Milan today is one of our biggest markets and we're doing extremely well over there. So when I go there today, I'm like proud because I see, you know, in the best roles that I use as a kid that live in Milan, go there. So I try my luck in Italy and I couldn't find the job and I used to do, I was an air dresser and washing woman and doing massage just to get the money and, you know, just do something after one year I came back to Israel and opened my boutique with a very low budget and just, you know, start to roll over at a big dream and was not an easy place, you know, to develop a business and in the fashion industry and five years after I came to my husband and I told them that I don't feel like I'm, I'll do a set in a sort of, I'm not feeling this is my place to discover myself and show my skills. You know, I didn't come like that. I said I don't, I just don't feel like it's, it's for me, I want to do something bigger and special. Yeah. Exactly. I think this is the right word and I got lucky because my husband actually believed in me because, you know, many people said right now you're going to move to American. Sorry for the world. Who are you? Like, you know, you barely have a good English. You like, okay, so you had some good taste and like, and I just did it. I didn't listen to anyone. I work for a company for one year, learn about the market, understood what to do, open a showroom because I came from a showroom before everything, start to consult many brands, just be very involved with the showroom, you know, you tell to the brand, we need this delivery, we need this collection, we need this color, we need this silhouette, start to travel in the world, doing private label to many, many brands with their brand, but I will do the design and just, you know, just need a living. We didn't plan to be a designer, retrofit or like me design and be, I want to be a designer. I never had this ambition. I just had ambition to do stuff in fashion and to show what I'm able to do and help brands because I had a showroom and, you know, as the sales are getting better, I'm making a better business and then after three years, my husband saw how much the brands in the show must go so much and then he pushed me and he said, let's open our own brand and the silhouette of that came and I said no in the beginning, just to let you know, I keep saying to people and everyone asking why did you say no because I didn't want the responsibility of, you know, you have to keep it up and I didn't, I was not prepared yet emotionally and mentally to make this move. When I said yes, I said, okay, let's take this train. Let's like, let's do it, let's jump in all the things, jump in, but I also told my husband, get ready because it's my way and I'm going to do it the way I feel like and I'm going to put like, you know, all my stories now and everything, you know, I have inside, it's going to be like a fireworks and he said, just like, do it, just do it. And you know, I was not afraid, I had the support and I was at the courage to create this beautiful product, this beautiful sequence versus again, it just organically and you know, it's not only me, my husband, it's amazing team that support. You know, when I see designer that everyone give him so much credit, I'm like, it's not a one man show, it's a fully great team that love you, that support you, that push you, that sea of vision, that, you know, it's not a village, it's a town, it's a town with a great people, you know, I come and I'm so proud of my people because they make me be a better designer and a better person. And this is why retrofit is such a beautiful brand. Nice. We don't often have the creative side speaking on this podcast. First of all, your, your husband is he, he's more the business mind, yeah. And what was his background coming in? My husband came from actually, from IT and then he moved to finance and, and when he came in, you know, he's always next to me. So fashion, it into the choice to understand fashion and learn about fashion and see all the stuff I did in my person from the first moment. So for him was very organically. So when we start, you know, from home building the showroom and the private level, I just add project that to me logistic wise, I do not have the mindset to do it. I do not have the mindset to go to the factories and the PO, follow up on logistic, all the vendor set up and all these big, big for me, let me go design, work on, understand what the market needs, meet the buyer and evolve the brand from this perspective. It took the other side that, you know, without that you can't have a brand, you know, a brand it's not only the design part that people always forget. They said, oh, you the designer said, yeah, but it's more than just a design. It's a big house today. Tell me about the role, your role as the creative director, like you were saying, you have a team of designers behind under you, like you're setting, you're overseeing all the creative that goes out across social, across every channel. Are you really setting the theme that the tone, the mood board, the direction? Are you signing off on every design that goes out? Like how does it work? And many people asking this question and it's a great question to ask. So in the beginning, it was like 95% of my like completely total just to get the DNA. Of course, when the brand is growing, you have to hire designers to help you. I do bring the creative director, I come with the direction of the brand and where I see from trend point of view, the silhouette, to color, et cetera. Instagram, I have an amazing team, but I'm very involved. Like you know, I will go for a shoot day and I will give them the freedom because for me, it's very important to express what they feel. If I don't feel it's a match for the company, it won't be upload. And it happened a few times with all my love, with the amazing work they are doing that I said, no. And I've had many times that I'm like screaming in a good run like, oh my God. But then when we do a shoot, I will have my two or three shots that I'm very involved in my own video that it's like, I don't know if you've seen the video that she's walking on the street with the cigarettes in New York in the red dress. Oh, there's a famous video. I will send you. It's insane. And they were in a day shooting a house for the early day collection. I came, I try to take the model outside. I want to like give her a cigarette. She was wearing this crazy dress. And I know the one that just walk like you're in a runway in the street of New York. And it's a collaboration. And they get me and I get them and we walk together and we have the same vision, same as you know, when we design. I come but have a great team that you know, we have also from a logistic point of view, from sales point of view, from merchandise point of view, my CMO that is one of my best friends. Like, you know, we are like understanding each other. We walk together because we are created something beautiful, but we want also to create a product that people will buy and enjoy and remember and will create a great feeling and not just a product. It's more than that. There's a story where she's going, what she's wearing, where, you know, that of her celebrate the best moment of your life. It's a wedding. It's a wedding. It's a birthday. It's a celebration of new year. It's a best vacation. It's literally, this is a brand DNA. When you need something special, you come into us and we're going to give you something special. Oh my gosh. Well, doing, having this brand that's for special occasions, first of all, no doubt a headache during the pandemic when everybody's locked down. I want to hear about that a little bit, but before we jump into that, you're designing for, you talked about the events, but she is confident. She's walking on the street with her cigarette. She is cool. As I'll get out, she is a sexy thing. Am I describing her correctly? You're a shopter. You are confident, sexy, on, I don't want to say the on, our own, you know, she's, she have a great job. She know what she want. She's like, you know, she's a woman power. She said, woman words, you know, 95, 98% of our company are women. I'm addicted to women. I admire women, a woman that walk between the money that create our own, you know, connection energy. And she's not afraid to dress up, you know, she's still elevated, but sexy. It's not a world world. It's actually, you know, she's confident she can afford it. Nice. Well, during the pit, first of all, pre pandemic, you guys, did you self fund this business? Does financing come in? Were you working with investors? No, one by one, me and my husband, we did, we come from a very mid-class family. Like we start from, for me, you know, we start from home with a small wreck. I used to travel to London, to do private level to many companies, sleeping on my friend couches. Like till today, there are mainly like you see, it's really start, you know, we didn't, we don't mind to sweat and get our hand dirty and everyone that knows me from the industry, they know how much, how we started from like one by one by step. It did grow a lot, but we still don't forget how we started. Yes. And did you start? I would assume direct to consumer, but you worked in a showroom. So did you immediately hook up with some great retailers and where were you selling early on and going into the pandemic? So when we launched RetroFET and this is our, we understood we had something amazing. We actually launched with Barney's, that Barney's wasn't my client before, just to be completely honest. Fantastic. And forward. And they saw the potential of the brand and they went crazy with the marketing, like forward when they took the brand, they did a huge Ibiza trip with all the top influencer wearing RetroFET, you know, this was already like, you know, welcome to the party. Oh, it's such a fit for forward. Yeah. Yes. And forward, we are like so thankful for Becky, the buyer that she's a, or so a friend. But you know, it's, they believed in us and we make sure not to disappoint them. If you know, winning a new collection, be a great partner. It's not only the relationship that we count in, oh, she's my friend. No, I make sure that they are making a great business and we love working with them and we are lucky to have them. And you know, it's a win-win. Yes. Well, I know that the Revolve company is scooping up brands. Are you in this for the long haul? Are you looking to sell the brand someday? You know, we have some people now come in and wander in. It's not something I can say yes or no. We are always looking for a great opportunity to expand. We are expanding, but you know, let's see what the future will bring. I'm always open enough to hear people because I meet a lot of people and no, yes, no, no. We should see. Yeah. Right on. Well, tell me about fashion week, September, big leap, big investment. Why go there? Why is it important to, I don't know, relevance for this, this in this day and age? Well, good question. You know, first of all, when we did our first one, we show was such, I was a dancer, as a kid. And I was also an actress, as a kid. And I did a lot of stuff and I was like, it's kind of like, you know, take it to the next level. From not thinking to be a designer, to now doing a fashion show, God Lord, what will be the next thing that, you know, would come to my life. And it was, you know, we all felt like, how can we show to people the retrofit world? The shoes, it's all the stuff, the bags, the vibe, the music, you know, walking with the DJ, walking with the team, we really enjoy from this experience. I don't know if you've been in the last fashion show. I was at September show. It was, I think Jessica Stan walked, anyway, I was like in awe, it was fantastic. And now we did in the plaza that again, you know, with the light and the color and the models and Carolina, the teeny open the show and the air and the drama. And, you know, to see it after going viral on Instagram, the people, because I literally go and talk with the model, I said, I need you to live fire on the runway. I need you to be this girl that walk in and people are like, oh, sorry, I don't know if I can say the well, the fact she is like, what? And if you go and see on TikTok and they, we had a connection with the model. They felt the vibe, they sold the energy. It's not even about the clothing. It's an energy. The moment she entered, you're like, and the only thing that I'm so said, that I can not be in the show, and I'm behind the scene. People will never, you know, people are like, I'm like crying, but the one I want this energy to feel what they feel, but I know that I do everything for them to understand who we are. I mean, you're doing something right. We want to be her. You want to be her. We all want to be her. Why can't you walk the show? I'm going to put you with you. I'm going to nominate you for your own show. I don't know if you know or so before the show, we did something or so that was so great. We had this idea to add like a bar before with your music, but all the idea, I'm sure you've been in a fashion show, when you go to a fashion show, for you to get the drink, it's like a nightmare. We made sure that we tripled the bartender and the waiters. Nobody will wait for a drink. Everyone have a great drink and the best drink, if it's Litchy Martini, spicy margarita, it's the way I go to bar and have my drink and everyone will have a drink in their hand and nobody needs to feel like, excuse me, it's a vibe, it's an energy. We care about the people. We care about everyone that come into their show and we want them to understand that we think about them. I mean, it's so brand, it fits the brand. You're wearing it to a party, your fashion shows a party. It makes good sense. Do you, hmm, social media, you talked about virality, like talk to me about obviously the shows are a big marketing moment. How do you think about social media on a day-to-day basis? What are you putting out there? How is what's happening on social media impacting the brand? It's kind of everything this day and age, yeah. Yes, because when we started the brand, we didn't even understood how the connection between retrofit and Instagram was so like, it was in and young in a good way, it got really together. The brand is very sparkling, get a lot of great picture, again, great moment. It's a birthday, it's a wedding, she's wearing the Gabriel dress, she gets a great shine, she doesn't need to filter, if she's in the right light, everyone will see her. And it become like a heat will become a social media brand in the beginning. We just want to make sure we're not becoming like a one-trick pony. And this was very important because we got so much attention on social media, we keep evolving and bring them something very emotional and unique that they are stopping. Now we did the shooting in Mexico and we went with the model to the water. I don't know if you saw the video and the way she's like, something you need to see and understand is like, you want to see this video, you want to, oh my God, like, and yeah, we will always do something that connected to the people because this is our place to show where we are. If they come to the store or if they are in social media, I will make sure to surprise them and there's more surprise to come. And it started like, oh, we get more like, oh, we get more emotional, oh, they feel out, they said, oh my God, this is so, it's so your girl and exactly what you want to do. We'll be right back after this quick break. Nice, when you do have that perfect video, those perfect images, where is it important to kind of spray them out? Like, what channels are you investing in? Are you, where are you advertising, how are you getting that in front of people? So the advertising and all the marketing, like, you know, I create, it's more my husband and we have a great team of marketing. I create a contact with my team and they are every more target marketing and target planning. We have a specific great market, we are really well known, it's New York, LA and Miami, it's like, you know, in Australia and Italy. So we are expanding over there and yeah, I can't give you all the secrets. No, but that's good to know, global expansion, very cool. So Australia, Italy, any other markets where you guys are hot or you're targeting? You are targeting, you know, the dream is Asia, to be completely honest with you. Really, really, it will take time, we know it's not taking a day, but now we are focusing on Europe, I was now in Paris and we are really expanding in the Europe market, working with agent, understanding their, you know, their buying and the strategy that are different than America and yeah, we are now going into the European market because after that, the Asia market will come. Yes, well, this is largely happening through international shipping on your website and also retail partners, kind of a collaborative effort. Yes, so we have a warehouse in Europe. And as you said, we have a great partner in the UK and we have also our own warehouse. So it's easy to, you know, to manage the logistic. So yeah, it's exactly the two channels we are going and, you know, my dream is also to open a store in Paris or Milan, it's something that I, yeah, it will happen in one here, I'm guessing. Yes. Oh, good. Just selling now in the States, I'm obviously not Barney's. We are selling to Neiman Marcus, Saks dot com, bad of good man, revolving forward, blooming delts. I'm trying to think if I missed anyone else. Yeah, we are, I think we are like with the top accounts and, you know, I have to be very honest. Every account we work with them, it's such a great relationship. And we are going and going. And yeah, we have, we have the top retailer in the US and UK, we work with Netaporte, I'm sure you know, La Recente in Italy, the department store, Geomorati. And we add now a lot of great interest from a top, top department store in the UK. When we're going to close the deal, I promise to let you know, but, you know, I believe that till you don't close, you don't say maybe we're going, no. I agree. Don't count your chickens. No, but what are your thoughts about direct sales and the importance of like bumping up that percentage being direct through your own channels? Is that important right now? We were really lucky and very smart to do it during the pandemic. To be honest, I think this is what give to the retrofit, the DNA of, you know, what we need. Talk with other retailers, they can shift your image and your vision of the brand because they are creating their own demand, their own client, and they are requesting from you. This is what our client want and you need to provide them before because you have to bring sales for the company. What happened in the retrofit that, you know, with my amazing team, we were able to analyze who is the retrofit girl and bring her what she want. But many other stores, like I don't know if you know what happened in the past two years, are closing and don't pay to the vendors. Something that it's, you know, something that people don't talk about that I know many of my friend in the fashion industry had to close their business or to fire 50% of their team because they trust to work with, don't want to mention a name, but they work with big names of their stores and they just didn't pay them and they closed because they want to be over there and they still shift their brand to their own vision. We were focusing on the direct-to-consumer and the studio potential, give them a great, you know, experience and really expand, like, in the numbers that you cannot even imagine how well we are doing. Now we are focusing on our self-partner and give them with our knowledge and with our reading and understanding with the retrofit girl, telling them this is what we should buy, this is what she is looking for in you. And it's actually give us more confidence to come, hey, we sold 1000 units from this dress, you should also buy it because you will make a great business. So we come for that to them from a business perspective because we have the information and we have all the database from our D2C. You've got the control there, that's really the way to do it. I would definitely, definitely what I'm hearing is working for France. You opened a store, I thought, launched as a pop-up in late 2022. Is it a permanent location? Is it still there? What's happening in Soho? Where did you visit in the store? No, I haven't been there yet, I've got to hear all about it in kind of your approach. Is it more than just clothes? Is it, what's your approach? Listen, I really believe that things are happening the way they should happen. So we wanted to open a store, Minma's been going to see a store and so I didn't fill the store or the location. Then we said we're going to do a pop-up and then we found the store that we didn't know the location is that good, to be completely honest with you. We are still like, so we did a pop-up and the pop-up did extremely well. Amazing. Then we did a sample set and funny thing that my parents were in the city and they're not efficient people. So for them everything is still like what he's doing and we went to the store and there was a line of 400 people to the sector. I have the video, first of all I cried like a baby, I brought the coronavirus on to everyone on the line and I gave them the cookies because I'm like dude, this is like insane and my father didn't even believe and realize that people are waiting in the line to buy your product. I'll thankful and appreciate for people doing it. Then we realized that we should really have our own store and I go to the store, I'm trying to go every two weeks and on the weekend and walk sometime with clients and just to see all the collection spread out. I always called to my CMMO and my head of merchandise and I'm like oh my God, it's so beautiful like we're doing stuff because you don't see the product when you ship, see the product when you walk and listen, it's experience and we make sure that the store is experience. We're going to renovate it in three weeks so she would look even more beautiful and it's great to see the people come and buy your product and love the product and come with a picture of the style. I want the misdressed, I want the Gabriella, I want the editor jacket, do you have this? I'm like wow guys, I'm like people know the product so you can tell, I'm very emotional about that. I love it. So like your passion for what you do, even from a young age when you were saying you worked at Diesel in the store and like you came home and people called you Diesel, like how you will live and breed the brand, I'm sure it's a challenge, this day and age to find people who are equally as passionate in terms of working in your store. Tell me about like how you find the right people to represent the brand for you. So I'm actually the one to do the training to the store. Oh great. Oh wow. You know, I can't, I just and I try to explain them, you know, how much is important for them. It's not only a job, take this job very seriously, be a great person, no matter who is entering into the door. If it's a five years old, if it's a guy, if it's a woman, if it's a giraffe, whatever, you being very kind and nice because you don't know who they are and what they want and just be and give them a good feeling. You know, I'm a shopper, but you know, sometimes I like to dress very casual and I go to these stores and the way they treat you and the way they look at you. Why should I spend my money, doesn't work like that. I will spend my money in a place that I feel like that I get a smile and then tell me, if you need help, let me know. And if not next time, I will know that I feel comfortable to shop in the store. And it's very important in our store that everyone are coming, are welcome to the party and welcome to feel at home. And you can also browse and if we can be nice and we can be respectful because we are entering new to our home and to our life and you don't have to shop, but just have a smile and say hi and be kind to each other. Oh my gosh, I feel like that's the easiest advice that any shop owner should tell their employees. Like, welcome people with a smile, say you're there, if you need anything and let them do their thing. Like, that's what people want, that you very rarely get that. And people are asking why Rital is doing so bad, I'm like, did you check, you know, all the big companies, all the big ones, did you go and send somebody to check out the treat people? Did you ever go to a store, I'm not going to like, did you guys really see how people are acting? Like, you know, if somebody will be just nice and take my phone number and tell me if you need something, I will for you, it got me, that's it. I so agree, I'm with you, amazing. Did having the store kind of prompt some of your category expansion, because I would think like having the full look head to toe within a store is really compelling to a shopper and you as somebody just like walking the store. Did they have anything to do with it? And where are you in terms of like the cadence of new categories? So we're launching the spring, the shoes. And again, was a big success, you know, they love the shoes and I'm like, there's sexy shoes. There are sexy shoes, but we made also the mules. We were very smart with my team to take the denim factory and the denim shoe and combine them together. And we made this beautiful denim wash shoes that nobody is doing denim wash. You can do denim wash on a shoe, it's very complicated. So you know, we kind of collaborate and like, mix the technique. And the categories are growing, we have bags, handbags, we have accessories, we have shoes, we have denim that, you know, it's been for a long time, we have vacation. We just like, we have the fully wall today in a very retrofit way. We're not just doing a product. We really think, okay, this is sitting on the retrofit wall. And the store, you know, just give another push up because it's much more easy to see a shoe in the store than online. Yes, no doubt. What does growth look like from here international and also more stores in the States? Yes, so we, you know, finish the renovation. And then I think in one year, I hope that we're going to open in specific market that we feel like there's a great opportunity for us. But we still want to take it slow this year. The brand has been going a lot and it's really amazing. We have also Saroya, the other one that also doing great. I have to talk about that quickly. Hold up. So you opened, you launched another brand, mid pandemic, 2020, 2021, Saroya. It's more, am I correct? It's younger, a little more casual. It's like the day look, retro to retrofits night look. Yeah? The day look, day to night, easy, sharp price point, great quality, just, you know, what you need on your closet day to day. Like you want to like, you know, you want to go to the office, you want to go to go. It's very easy. And this was all the idea. I opened it during the pandemic that everyone fat that I lost my mind. But I decided to do it. It's my last name. I just divided between three, sero, yeah. And again, things are open the way they should happen. The brand is doing extremely well. We are selling Saroya product in the retrofit store. It's a sister brand, yes. And it's doing extremely well. Again, we have great partner and a great team, you know, it's another product that I'm obsessed. It's also men's, I did some men's, so I have something for me to wear. Nice. Will retrofit ever launch men's? I don't think so. I think it will launch maybe more like kind of like gen Z unisex vibe. I did to my luma one time a jacket of retrofit, especially, and many people ask us. So maybe, maybe, maybe, but it's not something, you know, we're going to expand the other categories that we have much more opportunities for us than men's. Yes. So we have a proven business model with retrofit and with Saroya, like base, it's maybe copy paste. Was there anything really that didn't work for this brand or that maybe surprised you when it came to launching a second? I don't think it's a copy pass. It's a different, you know, it's a different program where to like change some strategy and go in a different place. The website look completely different. The product is completely the end use of the girl of Saroya. She is different. There's more of the girl in the office when they come to the office. So we have to learn our needs than the girl that going to a party. It's the volume is different because, you know, the girl that buying a shirt or a denim or just like I don't want to say the word basic, but a nice linen shirt, it's not the girl that buying a embroidery dresses. So it's a completely different strategy and understand our mindset and thinking about the other girl. Yes. Are the same team members able to work on both in house? It's not the same team member. The design team are completely different. Only the head of the designer. I can give you a little gossip over here. You need some gossip. We need something, you know. I need this. So the out of design of Saroya that promoted to be the head of design of the two brands. Oh, wow. This is new. Yes. This append doing the, doing the full runway. Oh, nice. Okay. Exciting. Interesting. Yeah. She's insane. She's like a different level of like, you know, we had a great team before, but because we are going and revolving, you need to make a lot of move. And this is the challenge as a growing company. It's not always easy that, you know, people that build with you the company sometimes have to put to the side because you need to bring people with more experience to take you to the next level. And she took Saroya to the next level. And we decided also to put her at the head of the two brands. And the rest of the team are divide and marketing is the same team, sales team. It's also kind of divide. And yeah. And maybe that'll free up some of your head space to launch a third brand. No, no, no, no, not going to, I've also the show, you know, having the show seven brands that we are very responsibility like, you know, it's not like just to have the brand and we put them on the rack like we walk with them very closely. People say, how do we have time? We found the time. So we are involving the design of the brands on the marketing of everything. So we are no more brands. Right. Well, you talked about the challenge, growing pains when it comes to the talent in house. What else is challenging you and kind of weighing on your mind? Every day it's a challenge. Every day that's something when you decide to be a business owner and when your company is growing, the challenges are just coming. I think first and foremost, it's no how to adjust and accept the challenges and not take too hard in the, you know, in the way we are a human being. We don't save line. We don't save life. We are creating beautiful clothing. So I think this is the challenge out now to take things out, how to solve them, how to create a good energy between you and your team to understand that you need to be a boss, but you need also to be a friend. And this is something that, you know, I always try to, like, I'm very strict when I feel like something, but I also love my team so much. And it's always like, I don't want like, so same with my husband, you know, he's my partner. But when I feel like need to, to do the cut and being more aggressive, you have to like little be more aggressive. Got to be done a lot sometimes. Yes. So this is the challenge, are you become being always in a balance between being a boss? Friend, creative director, bring your vision, understand because sometimes people agree or disagree. So I think it's every day a challenge. We just, the main challenge is to accept the challenge and love them and, you know, keep going. Yes. What have you learned about all of the influencers and great celebrities that have worn your brand, like the power of who drives sales or what does that do for a brand? And where have you seen some good luck? You know, when we started with the brand one month after, when it plateau was wearing the brand, like, again, something that happened very organically and like, and it's, it's so like, and I also get excited and I always said to people, not only from celebrity wearing, when I walk on the street and I see somebody wearing my stuff, I run after him. I really, it's taking them time to understand my accent when I say I'm the designer, they're like, what? And you know, and it's a girl, so she thinks that I'm trying to get her a number. So this is my story every day, like I was in a visa and a girl was wearing in the party and the girl was thinking that I'm hitting with her and I'm like, no, this is my dress and you are wearing it and I just want to tell you, you look amazing. So it's amazing, but you know, very lucky with the celebrity, I'm happy they love the product and the stylist, we're going to make sure they have amazing product to wear, you know, for their shows or to their premiere. And again, we are creating a beautiful product and we are lucky and blessed to have the celebrity wearing it and it did impact their sales, but it wasn't like it's different today, it's not like, you know, I think it's different. I don't think it was, it used to be like five years ago, if the celebrity would wear something, it will sell out in a minute, not today. We sell out anyway, if the product is great, if the product is good, we are selling out. We have a celebrity or without a celebrity. I love that. Completely honest with you. Yeah. So sexy, always going to be in, do you look at trends and what's happening and everybody's doing minimalist now and what do we do? Like, do you even respond to that? Of course, love to respond, a big challenge, you know, and you can see already in the collection in fall, we did gave a little more, more soft in the more minimalist, but in a retro fat way. We did it also in summer, we already understand the shift of the market that they want more simple and a city vacation girl, it's a big trend, you know, when she go to the city and she wear this, but then she can go to vacation with that, we are thinking and analyze what you need. We are not a blind, you know, when I travel the world and if I show you my phone, we are literally taking screenshots of people because you need to understand the people. You can live in your design house and see I was now in Rome and I literally walking on the street as a toy, something that I do not like, but just see the girls what they are wearing and understand their end use and now they are like how the small bag, how is the linen shirt, how is the pants, how is easy to her to merchandise with what the designer accessories are doing now. So we are always very on top of the trend report and we are also trying to be a part of the trend and not just follow the trend between our own trend. Yes, it makes good sense to me, I'm taking up so much of your time, just tell me what's next for the brand, tell me who you are excited to dress, what is next to the brand, walking on two collection at the same time, all the day looks insane, doing some, I can't tell you, but doing some custom to big celebrities, I'm very happy, like one big wedding, you will see. Oh, and bridal. Yeah, yeah, we are with one for two big singers, we are doing something cool for them and, you know, always there is something, you know, travel the world, I just can't wait for Milan, Padova and Paris meet the buyer and, and yeah, like, and somebody's got me like, I'm going to get 10, I'm going to go to the beach. You're fabulous. Those girls should wish you're trying to track them down. Take me to Milan. Oh, oh, hot. Okay. Anyway. Oh, my goodness. This is so. This is so fun. I'm so glad we got the chance to catch up. I've been watching the brand and loving the brand and, like I said, loved the show. So you're doing all the right things. I wish you all the best from here. Thank you so much. Yeah, thank you. Nice to meet you. And next time we meet in person. Oh, yes, please. That sounds amazing. Yay. Thanks for being here. Thanks for being here. You too. Have a great time. Thank you so much. You too. That's all for this episode. Our theme music is by Otis McDonald. If you liked this episode, be sure to share it with someone else you think would. Thanks for listening to the glossy podcast. [music] (upbeat music)
