It was a different time, for sure. Sales were driven by US Weekly and People Magazine, and any celebrity spotting would create a frenzy. Personally, I have a memory of traveling to Thailand with my best friend Rebecca around that time and seeing racks and racks of knockoffs of my gaucho pants for sale in the night markets. I was so excited — it made me feel like I had really made it! Funny to think of it that way but I had gotten so much exposure from those pants I joke that those pants bought me my first house that seeing the way they had trickled into a global economy was so crazy and exciting.
How has it changed and evolved over the years? RP: I started out using only one fabric: jersey. I had the market cornered, and I started using it and making a lane for myself before it was popular. It was exciting and challenging to come up with a new collection every season using the same fabric, but it also became stifling.
After about a decade in, I wanted to evolve the brand. It was expensive and frustrating to try time and time again to introduce something new, only to find that stores only wanted what they had learned to expect from me. I started to feel uninspired but had to continue to offer stores what they were asking for, and in addition, jersey was losing popularity in the market.
I was ripe for a change, and decided to take the risk to start steering my brand in a new direction. I still make jersey dresses but instead of an entire collection, I do a strong, tight group consisting ONLY of styles I love and believe in. Now I also focus on gauze, on linen, on canvas, on rayon.
It allows for me to create an exciting broad range - building a wardrobe, rather than just a piece to choose here and there. RP: I have always loved making things and expressing myself creatively. I grew up playing guitar, dancing, doing pottery, crocheting, embroidering, jewelry-making, block printing….. I am creative every day, but with a business, choices are also financially motivated. Last year I started taking a ceramics class again and it has completely changed my process.
I get to do art for art, not art for business. Sometimes the pieces come out great. Sometimes I throw three pots in a row and squish them all. I get to just be my authentic self! And now I have been bringing that confidence and that passion back to my clothing design and it is so fun. I also get that recharge from picking up my guitar and singing a song with my husband, or from salsa dancing with my girlfriends. Any exercise in self-expression and creativity comes back to me and my business tenfold!
RP: My favorite role is creative director. I have had the same designer for over 10 years, and we work beautifully together. My least favorite part is being a model - that is NOT what I signed up for when I decided to be a designer. Tell us more about that. RP: Of course they are. I make choices that make me feel good. I employ people mostly women fairly and generously, I would never settle for unhealthy working conditions for myself or anyone else.
I see the trend moving towards buying fewer, better things, and I love that. I even slip into a tight dress and put on lipstick very unusual for me!
I also put an ice cube in my cereal because I despise milk unless its ice cold or hot in my coffee. That way I can parent my ass off without distraction. Everything feels heavier and more important to me since having children. I have so much more to work for now. It makes me feel stretched thin, but it also makes me want to work hard and show my children just what I can do! Any tips on balancing all the things?
I have a ton of support, which makes our life work. Also, I cry a lot! That helps relieve the pressure! It is not easy doing it all. The goal is to also carve out more time for myself ie my weekly ceramics class and for my marriage, which I am trying to do.
What does your support system look like? Do you have mentors, community groups, etc that help you thrive? I am inspired by everything—by women I know, women I see on the street, movies, magazines, art, music, etc.
We are rarely ever working on only one season at a time. How long after you launched Rachel Pally did it take for your brand to really take off? They helped to introduce the collection to celebrities and, within several months, we started to get some great recognition.
Jessica Simpson is a longtime fan and client who wore a pair of my gaucho-style pants on MTV. After that my phone started ringing off the hook! I always laugh and say that Jessica Simpson bought me my house.
What resources were first on your list to hire i. PR, accountant, sales, etc. Tell us how you marketed Rachel Pally when you first started. I started out with sales and PR—the company I worked with had two divisions, so it was very integrated. You need sales to drive PR and you need PR to drive sales. In , you launched Rachel Pally White Label —your contemporary plus size line.
Tell us about the decision to expand your brand. How did you decide to expand to plus size vs. It seemed like a very obvious next step to add the plus size line, and I felt like there was a void in that demographic for great contemporary clothes. There was some resistance at the beginning, but I really pushed for it and eventually started an exclusive partnership with Nordstrom. Not to take it for granted! Everyone needs a break! How do you do it? Describe a typical day. I make time to exercise, to work, to meditate, to have time with my family.
There is rarely a day where I have to work late—nobody in my office works late. We are not in a life-or-death business, so nothing has to be done at p. What advice would give to aspiring designers? I think that having a niche is incredibly important. Designing is only half the battle! What skills are essential to work in the competitive fashion industry? What obstacles have you faced and how have you overcome them?
In what ways do you hope to see the Rachel Pally brand evolve? If you could pin your success down to one thing or one moment, what would that be? Every time I see someone in one of my designs.
It still floors me! I regularly approach women and ask if I can take a picture of them. I re-watched that moment times! Heather Caye Brown always knew she wanted to be a designer. When she found out she wanted to spend the remainder of her life in a bikini, her career as a swimwear designer took off.
On what working in fashion media is really like and why balance doesn't exactly exist.
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