Retail Relates
'Retail Relates' is not just a podcast; it's a journey into the heart of retail and commerce. Our episodes traverse the path from traditional marketplaces to digital platforms, highlighting the successes, trials, and invaluable lessons learned along the way. We're conversing with those shaping the industry—from the front lines to behind the scenes, the creative minds to the global strategists - offering a diverse 360-degree perspective. We're revealing the relationships and personal narratives that make retail engaging and accessible. 'Retail Relates' is an invitation to explore the world's interconnectedness through the lens of retail, encouraging listeners to discover the personal journeys and stories of those who drive innovation and unite us across cultures and continents.
Retail Relates
Fashion Collaborations and Global Impact: A Conversation with Stacy Igel
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Stacy Igel, the visionary behind the brand Boy Meets Girl, takes us on an exhilarating journey through her impressive career in fashion. Discover how Stacey's entrepreneurial spirit was kindled at a young age, from helping her mother at trade shows to achieving top seller status at the Gap while still in school. With resilience and a mission-driven approach, she discusses how the events of 9/11 influenced her decision to champion diversity and sustainability, offering listeners a glimpse into the balance of professionalism and personal connection that fueled her brand's success.
As fashion trends shift and evolve, Stacy reveals the power of platforms like TikTok in rekindling nostalgia and bringing vintage vibes back into the spotlight. Her brand has navigated the ebbs and flows of digital technology, maintaining authenticity through a clear vision and adapting to trends like Web3. We delve into the fascinating intersection of online gaming and fashion, exploring how Boy Meets Girl is connecting with young audiences on platforms like Roblox, and partnering internationally, such as with Finland's Prisma SOK, to spread its core values globally.
Join us for tales from the entrepreneurial frontlines, where Stacy shares her experiences from a successful book tour, and reflects on meaningful collaborations with industry icons such as Wyclef Jean. From a serendipitous encounter in the park to a memorable performance with Natasha Beddingfield, Stacy's journey is filled with gratitude and innovation. This episode promises to inspire, offering a blend of professional triumphs and personal stories, and providing rich insights into the world of fashion entrepreneurship.
Biography:
Stacy Igel is the founder and creative director of Boy Meets Girl®, a global fashion brand known for its iconic double-silhouette logo and contemporary athleisure wear. With over 20 years of experience in the fashion industry, her journey began with internships at top designers like Donna Karan and Elie Tahari, eventually leading her to launch Boy Meets Girl in 2001. Stacy’s designs have graced celebrities like Rosario Dawson and Kendall Jenner and are sold at major retailers such as Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue and at retailers globally.
A proud alumna of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she majored in retailing with concentrations in design and merchandising, Stacy credits her education with providing the foundation for her success. Her brand, Boy Meets Girl, carries a strong message that confidence and courage are trends that never go out of style.
Stacy is an accomplished author. Her book, "Embracing the Calm in the Chaos," published in 2023, offers insights into building a successful business while navigating life's challenges. Her book tour has taken her across the globe, sharing her journey and inspiring others. Stacy is also the co-creator and co-host of the podcast #MOMSGOTTHIS, recognized by Forbes as a must-listen women-created podcast. She has collaborated with organizations like the Young Survival Coalition, Human Rights Watch, and BullyBust to make a positive impact through her work.
Stacy’s contributions to fashion and philanthropy have been featured in numerous publications, including InStyle, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Allure, PEOPLE, Teen Vogue, Seventeen, Women’s Wear Daily, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. Her partnerships extend to exclusive fashion collaborations with Paris’s Colette, Roots Canada, and NBA’s Chicago Bulls, among others. Stacy continues to influence and inspire through her innovative work and commitment to positive social impact.
Contact/Profile:
Thank you. Thank you, we are thrilled to welcome Stacey Eagle to the program today. Stacey is the founder and creative director of the global fashion brand Boy Meets Girl, known for its iconic double silhouette logo and contemporary athleisure wear Sounds comfortable. Her extensive career in fashion spans over two decades, during which she has built an impactful brand that champions confidence and courage. Stacey has collaborated with major retailers like Saks, fifth Avenue and Target, and her designs have been worn by celebrities across the globe. She's the author of Embracing the Calm and the Chaos, a book that offers a realistic look at balancing entrepreneurship and personal life For those interested in Stacey's inspiring journey and contributions to fashion, her full biography is available on our show list. Stacey welcome to Retail Relates, so excited to have you.
Speaker 2:I'm so excited to be here. Thank you so much, and I know Rich from way back when, so thank you for having me, and nice to meet Gotham and Paula.
Speaker 3:You've got an impressive background, and Paula gave just a little hint of it. But what we'd like to start with is if you think back through your entire career, what would you say are three of the most pivotal moments that have led you to where you are today?
Speaker 2:There's many pivotal moments, but I would say that there's three that are top of mind. Which is growing up? My mom was an entrepreneur. She was a physician assistant and she created a lumbar support called the back machine. So I went in Chicago to the merchandise market and all the places that she had trade shows and I was selling and learning the art of selling with her. And the lumbar support had one colorway, one price point. But I learned that you know, here's this product, here's how to sell, here's how to work with the buyer at a really young age. And then I was fascinated by fashion. So that led me to my second piece of grind through that and I worked at the Gap when I was in middle school, which everyone's like you sure, that was that age that I say. Yes, it was like seventh grade, which I don't think is legal, but I did and I was like I loved working with the customer. Again, this is now in retail and not at a trade show with the buyer, but the same kind of idea of working and selling and styling the customer. That came in.
Speaker 2:And one day I was in the cafe area, the small little room, and every week they would have the top dog seller on the wall and I just really wanted it. And one day I just looked up and there was my name. My maiden name is Stacey Morgenstern. So it was like up there, a top dog. And I was just like, oh my God, this is the most amazing moment. So that really like I remember that stuck with me like throughout my journey, and so that was like you know, the beginning being with my mom working in retail which I've worked in many retail stores throughout my career and then starting my brand.
Speaker 2:So I was supposed to have my first trade show the week of 9-11. As we know, you know, this was a terrorist attack that happened to New York City. I was a young girl who was about to have my first trade show, surrounded by friends in the city, friends who lost their friends, and you know, we just wanted to help and we just wanted to be on the ground floor for people at that time, and so I thought about if I were to actually go into fashion after that. You know I mentioned that my mom was a physician assistant and no family members in fashion. I just didn't know how I could then be in fashion after this had happened in our city after this had happened in our city. And so when I did have that first trade show, which was at the Chelsea Market with 60 other designers me, peter Sam, gary Graham, some of the greats, rebecca Minkoff I ended up proceeding to do that show. But I said I will only do that show if I lead with impact. I knew that I would want to be an impactful brand and a mission led brand over time. But out of the box, I donated to the Miracle Miracross from victims of 9-11 and their families and that was how I could continue to sell whatever I was selling.
Speaker 2:If I was selling a pencil, you know my Boy Meets Girl logo t-shirts, my streetwear vibes it was my first show was like everything was like out of my head. They're hippie, flowy tops with embroidery, like ribbon cinched. That had americana happened to be that I had americana in my line because I was designing for july delivery. I had this product that resonated with the consumer who was coming to the store, the buyers who were coming to the store, because the spirit at that time was everyone wanting to be there to participate, from all over the world to support New York City. So I was like a booming booth amongst my designers in that show. So that was a very pivotal of deciding to actually do this in the midst of a really hard time in our world. Clearly the past 20 years it hasn't changed much.
Speaker 1:You know you talked a lot on a bunch of different themes and thank you for taking us through that journey because it's absolutely fascinating. Right and looking back, you know hindsight is 2020. What would you say if you'd like to share? What would you say is your biggest failure and what lesson did you learn from that?
Speaker 2:I would say it happened more starting the business. I started the business at 23 years old. I was a manager of employees who are my age and also a lot older, like my pattern makers, my sample makers. And being a manager at a young age and taking classes business classes in college doesn't necessarily prepare you to be this boss, and so I learned over time how to be a better manager and effective boss. But at the early onset I wanted to be their friend which I have a lot of friends who are ex-employees and some who are employees but not to be going to concerts with them. You know, this is like I was 23, just graduated college like two years after, so being a manager was really difficult for me, and then also like finding financing for the company. So if you think about talking about being a manager, oh, why didn't she have a CEO or CCO right away? I was a lot of times wanting to find it so that I could keep going and sustain, and so rushing into a partnership because of that financial position was.
Speaker 2:I learned a lot from what not to do and what to do. I'm on partner D. In my brand that I've had for 20 years, I say there's series A, b, c and D, which you do in VC and private equity. I did partner A, b, c and D, which is my version of that, which is more industry players that are my partners, and so that was a very lonely, difficult road to be on when you are a creative and you have a business savviness. But you, you're up against.
Speaker 2:You know, when I talk about that first show, I, my first buyer, was Erdrich Goodman, so I was put on the map in the eyes of the fashion industry and the press right away out of the box. And then I'm, you know, like scrambling to produce and find and finance. And so you're in this position where you have to really make, do the best you can and find the right things as you go. So I was learning much more as I was going, and which was my way of learning. We look at some of the best entrepreneurs out there and that's how they created incredible companies, right, they didn't have all the tools at the beginning. Would I have liked to have that partner, that business partner, right away? Maybe, but maybe I wouldn't be where I am today. So those are two main big pieces for me of the highs and lows. I definitely failed on both of those accounts.
Speaker 1:The main thing of our audience is that age and something you talked about was managing up or managing not managing up, but managing people that are decades. You're senior and I've had to do that. I've talked to other people that've had to do that and I feel like we all fail.
Speaker 2:I mean I remember my pattern maker, sample maker was invited to my now husband's birthday party, like you know, and like was partying with us in the dance floor. I mean like it's just like mind boggling to me. You know certain things you just wouldn't, you can't do, right? I mean you can have a holiday party and I can't. I'm not saying to be like a sergeant, and, but it is really hard. If we look at young entrepreneurs today and designers, it's like they're in the same spot. I was in right In terms of like networking and going out and schmoozing and like wanting to connect and and and having that cocktail or that event with your colleague and. But there's certain, I think, places and ways you can be and I think, as a young entrepreneur, you don't know that. You learn that over time. I have some of my best employees who might not work for me anymore or freelance for me. I have such a great relationship, knowing that boundary now and understand they respect me more, and that was the question too, is how do you know that boundary Right?
Speaker 1:So there are some things, and the hard rules are, like you know don't drink with them until 4 am. If you've got to manage them the next day, learn the hard way. But what are some more boundaries you think we should also suggest for people that have to manage people older than them?
Speaker 2:I think the boundaries come like with an employee manual. I talk about that in my book. You know, having a like the guidelines of your office, your, your holiday schedule, your paid leave, your non, you know all that like being really structured in within a small business, like having that so that you're protected. You know you don't have to have a huge HR team but you are protected in how you set the course of what you do, from vacation to sick days. All that, I think, creates an aura of oh, I'm coming into this smaller team and they actually have a structure to what they do. They're acting professional in those pieces of how they run their and conduct their business and I think that is seen from whether you're 23 and you have a 25-year-old employee or a 19-year-old intern, like they see that they respect you for that.
Speaker 4:Stacey, let me ask you a question that relates to the growth of your brands, right? So when you talk about what needs to be a successful entrepreneur, you talk about financing, you talk about social, effective management. But to grow, your customer base is critical, and I see many companies as they build their brands, they reposition themselves many times. So what's the secret to attracting customers and keeping them with you? So what's the secret to attracting customers and keeping them with you, especially given that you have umpteen different companies trying to start a brand, especially a fashion brand? Right, and I know my students. If you ask them, oh, I want to be a fashion entrepreneur, that's the first thing they'll say, but how do you know what it is for? What's the secret?
Speaker 2:It's a big loaded question. I actually had a conversation with someone today about that. I continually to become popular again because of tiktok. Um, because you know, the 90s fashion is very cool now, and vintage and thrifting and all the things that I did in 2000, in the 2000s like when I started to grow the brand that I didn't have the digital piece to showcase that the human side of growing a brand in those factories in Union City, in the Garmin Center, vintage shopping to make my vintage bags out of denim, you know, like re-recycled denim and upcycling, like all the things that you see now. So it's funny because I've been on a lot of TV shows that were very popular, that are back in like 2000 to 2015, that there was no social media and now everybody's tick tocking it, like Gilmore Girls, nina Dobrev who's wearing my shirt and a mugshot before she gets on Vampire Diaries Everyone loves that those mugshots, you know. So they make me relevant again.
Speaker 2:But you know, to go back to what you said about a mission-led brand, I think for any fashion entrepreneur to have an idea you have to really stick with the idea and so a lot of times you know, talk about partner A, b, c and D and maybe partner A, didn't believe in where I was going with that mission and I stuck with no, I'm going to have diversity in my runway. I'm going to have it in the sizes that we offer. I want to do recycled, you know, tensile fabric with urban outfitters when they didn't even think about it, like all these things. But and I'd be questioned so there's a lot of naysayers why, why, why, why do you want to do that? That doesn't make sense. Let's produce here. It's cheaper, you know, let's make this so. But if you don't continue to believe in the mission you set out, you're going to fail. And you're going to fail too when there's naysayers. But if you have, like, there's 100 people and 30 people believe in what you're doing, you're going to succeed. But you have to have, there's got to be value to what you're offering. It has to resonate with someone. What's the why?
Speaker 2:You know, for me it's Boy Meets Girls logo is about bringing people together and sharing stories. We continued, continually did that from the day I started, and that was through impact and through working with nonprofits and organizations and bringing stories to the forefront, working with activists and designers and artists and musicians and sharing stories, and we kept to that vision. If anyone is to start a brand and wants to, you know as a student who's really excited about it, you have to think about how is that going to resonate with my consumer? Is 30 out of the 100 people really like it? It's OK if 70 people don't like it, but they'll talk about it then and you know. So those are the things that I think kept me relevant over 20 plus years. I started in 2001,. So we're at almost 25 years.
Speaker 2:But the change and the working with the different audience and working being attuned to digital media that was coming in, or gaming, or Web3, like all the different things that you have to think about as a brand and you don't have to be in it but you have to be aware of it. So you know, I look at myself as a working with retailers, licensing, you know, direct consumer on our website. We have many pillars of. We're not just working one way. You can't work one way anymore in this world in retail.
Speaker 2:I mean, we looked, what do we see? Recently we talked about I think it's Amazon wants to buy Sachs, who buy Neiman's. Like you know, I said this, I think, on another podcast recently is that there would always be one bank, one retailer, one designer. That's where the world's going, and so how are we going to differentiate ourselves from all of that and not be in that, so that the future entrepreneurs can succeed? The youth culture has such a great place to be in because of digital, even though we look at it sometimes not as a great thing, but for business, it could be really great for them. But by having that point of view and I think that's how we'll see new designers and new great entrepreneurs succeed and we're seeing that along and to a very big question.
Speaker 3:But it's a great answer and actually it made me think of something and you talked about. Your brand is seeing somewhat of a resurrection, or I don't know if that's the right word. If you think about when you were starting and what you were doing and what you were experiencing, and then take it to, if you were starting that brand today with the technology and the instant communication, how different do you think it would be?
Speaker 2:like millions more because they were. The content that I had then was is what we see like everyone doing now, right, like it's so good. I love seeing young designers in the factory, you know, in the beginning stages, and people love that storytelling. So I think that I'm in such a great place but like digitally or in social platforms would have been like so much bigger. You know I can share those stories and go back in time. But I now have factories around the world and I'm not just in a factory like I was in 2001 to 2004,.
Speaker 2:Like cutting the main labels, my mom was picking and packing. You know we brought in other people to pick up the fabric, to drive. They're like that is great content for a young designer to see that you're doing that. I am bringing that content now with a collective I've hired in Chicago with young students to be showing exactly what I'm talking about, to bring that like full circle as a brand. It's just a different, you know, place from when I first started and really like grassroots doing it all Stacey just following up on that question that you answered that you were just giving.
Speaker 4:On technology, there are quite a few winds of change and your brand has thrived for 20 years, right? How do you see Web3 elements changing? How are you going to incorporate it? And related to that, in my opinion, is how do you bring about co-creation, right? So as consumer trends change faster, you have to rely more on the consumer to help build a brand. Can you share your perspectives on both of these?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I have a partnership with Roblox, with a company called Blueberry, so we brought Boy Meets Girls through their programming to Roblox, which is part of, I think, like Web3, has many components, right, so gaming is one of them. What's fascinating about this, that world and that consumer they're buying, like, a Boy Meets Girls t-shirt for 80 robux right, it was essentially like less than a dollar. Then they're learning about the brand, like they're going to boy meets girls website and then they're taking it to youtube and they're talking about how great this brand is, that they've researched, but they are sharing and I have to send you guys some of these youtubes that they're sharing that this brand does anti-bullying. It's like they've researched the brand and they found it on Roblox but didn't know about that. So it's like this other vehicle where they're just liking what they see, but they're actually coming this other way to come to the website to learn about the brand or Google it, and then I have this new consumer that's coming, you know, so it's amazing from like online gaming to the website, to offline, and then they're sharing also that their product can be worn on many sizes on an avatar, like they're actually resonating with what we've done on an avatar. So that's just mind boggling and there's a lot of YouTubes on that.
Speaker 2:And then Web3, I think is fascinating, considering I've been part of being a young designer and the struggles of getting the product out there and understanding every step from like the rolling my bag on the Lower East Side getting it into a store to going to L LA doing the same thing, to then building it with bigger retailers and all those steps and what it means and hiring a sales rep and the percentage that they have to take. And then this person and that person and all that stuff that comes with being a entrepreneur artist. And so in Web3, I find it fascinating that artists can have ownership of their designs, illustrations, graphic art, products they make. There's so many things in this other world that we're seeing and the collaborative piece of it is amazing. And so, over COVID I was, 12 different artists design their photography, their illustration within the Boy Meets Girl logo. I always have collaborated with an artist or a brand or a company with the logo, but I never put an artist meeting an artist within the logo and that to me, is Web3. It's collaborative and that's how you build in a whole other community. And so the artists that I worked with on this are people from all over the world. They met through the collaboration, so their artwork is paired with each other and they got to fuse it together and it was just team building and amazing.
Speaker 2:So I think the Web3 piece of where we're going AI AI is a whole nother tier that I am learning, but I'm not fully. I understand AI for chat, gpt, which Rich and I have talked about on a while, and now fully understand much more AI fashion I have a lot of friends in. I think it's fascinating. I think what's really great about certain pieces of this is that I'm all about how can we be more sustainable? And so the fact that you can show a piece of clothing on an AI figure before you actually go to produce it maybe sell it beforehand and then go to production I think all those pieces are so helpful for our future. You know, it's all. It's like the beginning of. I talked about having social media for the first time and Facebook pages and Instagram and Twitter and how. Look where we are now with that, and so I think that where we're headed with Web3 and AI and gaming, it's all.
Speaker 3:Surrey and AI and gaming. It's all. We're all. It's on our radar for all of us to be in it. So I'm going to take you to a more global perspective and I have two questions in one. The first part is your brand has been, you've collaborated with retailers across the world. How is building a brand, developing a brand, promoting a brand different in global markets as compared to the US market? And the second part is in your travels, have you seen global retailers that you think are just really absolutely doing a great job that we should be paying attention to?
Speaker 2:Okay, I'll give you a piece. I have a director retailer licensing deal in Finland with a company. So my last year on the deal it was a three-year licensing deal that went into a seven-year deal with a company called Prisma SOK which is the biggest retailer in Finland. And so they I think I guess to answer your question on an international retailer bringing an American brand I find that they're following what you've done and built Right. So I don't see an American brand that's not an established brand going to license direct to retailer. Like when we think about direct retailer, it's like Massimo to Target, right. So I, I, boy Meets Girl. They have the rights in Finland for seven years of the Boy Meets Girl brand in different categories and so they came in to do the commercial and to do all the collateral with their teams from Finland with mood boards of what I'd done for 15 years, like. The stylist came in and it was all my models on her mood board. So did they create a new look for the brand? No, they followed what Boy Meets Girl has been building and doing and bringing the message of what we stood for to that retailer. So anti-bullying, pride, cancer, awareness, like all these things they brought to their store for the first time through Boy Meets Girl. So did they do it differently for their market? I think they followed our lead to bring it to market which was so exciting for me on a massive scale. Like they had billboards on farmlands of Boy Meets Girl with our FBully shirts, which was like a huge deal for them to come out with a statement like that within Finland. But then there's leaders like Colette, who was around for 20 years, who I did partnerships with. They closed in 2019 or 18. It's where Karl Lagerfeld and I mean the greats like I mean so many designers like partnered with Sarah, from Collette and she has been, her and her mother were like leaders to trinkets in the middle of the store, so sort of like a.
Speaker 2:I guess my first store I launched in, which was Bergdorf Goodman, which had like high-end and mid-tier price point and then like jewelry on the bottom, and then they have a restaurant. Not necessarily as she could like Colette got a little bit cheaper in her products like erasers and tote bags, but so it was. I think that model has been adapted in America for a lot of stores to have different things in the store whether you have a. I was just in a store on bleaker two days ago. That is this cute little store that has masks, has dresses, has, you know, tote bags, has, um, you know, like your cell phone cover. So it's more this idea of high to low, and I think that the stores need that, um, and they and, and the consumer wants to come in and find little things that, like, make them happy, but also might buy a more expensive dress or a sneaker. So I think that concepting we're seeing more and more in America, modeled from, I think, colette in Paris.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I want to pivot a little bit and talk about community and being a woman. So in your book you talk a lot about collaboration and community, and on your website it's very apparent and you've said it too that these are things, values that you've held from the beginning and are very passionate about. I am a first time mom, I'm also an entrepreneur and I my kid, is just one, and I just don't know how I'm going to do it.
Speaker 2:I do. So how did you find that community as an entrepreneur and a mom and how?
Speaker 2:how did you make that work? It's a great question and congratulations to your one year. I struggled in the beginning because I wasn't a mother who could go in the mom groups and meet for lunches and breakfasts and walk in the park and it was so beautiful and I applaud all mothers of all types. And I don't know if I was at that time like that. I was like a little jealous, but I loved what I did and so when I had Dylan you know, the minute he was born, I was like working on a project with Nordstrom's and but I made sure that I was remote at that time, like for at least those three months before I went back to office. But I think, similar to like being a manager at a young age, like learning that over time you can give yourself that as an entrepreneur and a mother and you can step away and take your child to a class, and then that meeting will always be there, that fashion show like there's. There's pockets of times where you have to be all hands on deck, but I made sure that I was always present when I wasn't working and so that I can be there for those milestones. Covid, to be honest, like you know I feel very privileged that I was in a place where I can be remote.
Speaker 2:My business was 20 years.
Speaker 2:I had set up the models to be licensing my brand, having low inventory levels at a factory.
Speaker 2:I was in a place as a company and a designer to be remote and not needed to be somewhere else so I could be there for my child in homeschool and in that time period I really learned that you have to give yourself like time for you, and so it's.
Speaker 2:You know there's so many layers of it, but you have to step back and I think that tribe, whether it's mothers, whether it's entrepreneurs, whether you know it's a, you know, a male friend. In business like that, you have those that tried to help you in times that you really need it and feel a little lonely in being a mother and entrepreneur. And so I found that I found a lot of those people along the way as I was building and as I was a mother. I also started a podcast during the time that I was feeling all these things called Moms Got this and like a year or two after I had Dylan, so I could talk to fellow mothers and entrepreneurs about being a parent while running aid while running SACS, while running Target, while building your company, and that was also like therapy for me in the process.
Speaker 3:When did you decide to embrace writing a book? What inspired you to write it? I'll ask one more. You've been doing a book tour. Is there one interaction that you've had that just has blown you away?
Speaker 2:Okay, so I've journaled my whole life, I journaled my whole career.
Speaker 2:It was my form of really understanding that meeting that person, that great person, that napkin on the subway, like getting all the notes out, and I knew that eventually I wanted to share how a woman in business, a mother, can build something, stay, be in business, give back and be there for their family.
Speaker 2:And I think that over time I built Boy Meets Girl University, where I have students around the world come to sit with us and talk about the business and help underprivileged students from the Lower East Side Girls Club shadow us during New York Fashion Week and give these opportunities. And I love helping the next wave of entrepreneurs. So I knew that, that that combination I was, it was time to do it. And it was the only time that I wasn't on a plane at a trade show doing a fashion week show. You know, being in a hundred meetings was, you know, during lockdown. And so at that point I decided I think it's time, as I'm homeschooling, as I'm still running a business, keeping it afloat, let's write a book. And so that's when I really decided to put it all together and do it.
Speaker 3:And the second question what has been the most engaging reaction that you've had, as you've done the book tour, something that's just blown you away.
Speaker 2:I think what blows me away is the first book event I did was at Bloomingdale's, so I brought it back to a retailer. It was for Women's History Month and I think like my back went out because I was like, is anyone going to come and buy my book? Like I know I've had a brand and I've launched in stores and they come for that. But I was like you know, this is like a whole new world for me.
Speaker 2:That first book event was, I remember the CEO or the CMO of Bloomingdale's came and they're like you can do an event here anytime you want. It was like around the corner People are there to buy the book and I didn't know if, like those people would come, whether it's friends, family, your New York Fashion Week clients, like buyers, all of it. They all came and I've been on like 20 different places on this tour or 30 over the course of the year and people show up and there's a lot of authors I've met on this road who say sometimes they don't, sometimes they're sitting there with three of their family members, some famous authors, and I just feel really fortunate that people are interested and they're supporting on this journey.
Speaker 4:And I feel like there's so much gratitude for that, and you don't always get that as an author, but there are also people along the way who got you to come to that powerful advice. Who do you think are those people? The mentors who got you to where you are and what stands out to you?
Speaker 2:I've been a woman. Her name's Kathy Savitt. She was the CMO of Yahoo. She owned a business called Lockers. She raised $500 know, $500 million from Kleiner, perkins and many other people VCs and private equity and at the time we met she was like the first big leader female woman, like powerhouse, that I had met in my business or around my. She was more in tech that truly believed in me, because I was always in meetings surrounded by lots of men and not many high powered women, and so she ended up ultimately licensing my brand for her company called Lockers at the time, which is where you would watch a video, you would get earned points and you can buy product. She ended up selling it to a Chinese company a few years after.
Speaker 2:But what I noticed about her is that she created concepts and can go to places, whether it was working as a CEO of a plane company that's going to be the fastest plane to Europe soon, or being the CMO of Yahoo, to running this company that she built on her own. How she sort of ran through things in a certain like a way with authority and also giving me confidence as a woman in my business. I remember leaving her leading, leaving the meeting we already talked about licensing the brand for her website and she said I believe in you, I've got you because she knew, like sort of where I was or who was in my orbit and could feel like, okay, this will work. So, as she was someone who I remember like being like do you know what Instagram is? Because I was like you've got to do this. You know, it was the beginning of so many things. We did a great fashion week show together. Wyclef Schaum performed with other artists. I created it, I co-created it with him, and then we had Buy Now Wear Now off the runway through her platform. We had Tumblr come in. It was before we had this to Buy Now, wear Now. There was no Instagram.
Speaker 2:So I did some really cool things with her in the very beginning of all of this and she believed in what I wanted to do, which is, you know, half the battle to have someone who really believes in what you do. He has believed in the brand, has the validity to license globally, that it stands for something and that it can be an international success, and so that belief also. We have the same vision. It took me many partners to get aligned with someone who understood really where I wanted to grow the brand. He is someone who takes a lot of walks in the park that I do now too and takes care of himself, but has a global sourcing company and so having again that belief and letting me do my thing, whatever I do, and who I partner with, believing that's the right thing and doing the other piece of the business that I talked about in the very beginning of the podcast, that I didn't have in the beginning, which is great.
Speaker 1:There's so many good nuggets in there, and especially for anybody entrepreneurs, minority people, first-time moms, people with all stages. Let's do the fun part here. We're gonna do a rapid fire. First thing that comes into your mind. It's gonna to be three questions Are you ready? I'm ready. Number one what is your go-to comfort food?
Speaker 2:Doritos, why I'll have to send you a picture of me holding a Doritos bag when I was like four. I don't know. I just love the taste and it's so bad for you.
Speaker 4:The ingredients are so bad, but there is like a nostalgia and since we're revealing our go-to foods, I will say strawberry shortcake is my weakness I'll have to send you a strawberry shortcake collaborative tweet which, by the way, I just have to throw this in.
Speaker 2:This is really fascinating. What happened to me this morning? I did not have my phone. I have a dog.
Speaker 2:I was walking my dog last night very late at night. I had shown my sister and one of my best friends who was in town, some new concepting I'm doing for a new drop for back to school at Strawberry Shortcake and I'm walking down in the park I'm the only one there and this guy walks towards me and he's in a strawberry shortcake old vintage tee and I was like no way, this is not like cause. I was like this is unisex, guys can wear it for sure. And he fully had like the vintage look. And I stopped him and I said, oh my God, I I'm working on some new collab designs with them and he is a advert.
Speaker 2:He sold his advertising company. It was 200 people people. Now it's 900 people. I said look me up. I like had to go, but it was so sorry. Strawberry sugar cake. I have a great collaboration with them right now, but I was like fascinated that this guy was wearing a strawberry sugar cake sure, so it's a good thing, as in very, very good for let me tell you I eat it every week.
Speaker 4:Let me ask you something related to rapid fire what's your walk-on music or theme song?
Speaker 2:Train Nix. It's a Beautiful Day, featuring some other people in that. I just think there's not a lot of times we are thankful and have gratitude for what we've built and the people around us, and so I just that's one of my, my favorites right now. I do also have one more Roar by Katy Perry. I won't play it right now, but you know, it's so good. It's so good. I have so many genres. My son is named after Bob Dylan. Like you know, I go from like reggae, hip hop, rap, old school, but there's my mix.
Speaker 3:All right, so I'm going to have to do this. What is the best lip sync performance you have seen ever?
Speaker 2:It's Rich, honnable.
Speaker 3:We do have to at least get on record that I should have won that competition.
Speaker 2:We met at a CMO club with Pete Kranich. I was a judge, you were very good and I don't remember who won, but I remember your performance, so you should have won.
Speaker 3:Full on Sandra Dee blonde wig I still have it and maybe for the last podcast episode I'll wear it. So I will ask the last question If you could immediately transport yourself to anywhere in the world for one day, instantly get there, instantly come back, where would you go?
Speaker 2:I've never been to Portland Oregon. Phil Knight, nike collaboration 2029.
Speaker 4:So amongst the musicians you work with, who was the one that stands out to you?
Speaker 2:Wyclef was really cool because I went into the studio with him three months before the show and I came in and I played Joe Baez's slowest rendition of Forever Young and there was a whole group of people in the studio. I was like, oh my God, this is like so embarrassing, this is so slow. But the idea of that show was Forever Young. It's a young story of Joe Baez and Bob Dylan and how Joan was really the famous one but Bob sort of went under coattails and became more famous. But so that was the whole show premise and so he goes, got it, and I was like, well, he's like come on in, so we go back to this other, like other part of the studio and he's like, okay.
Speaker 2:And then we had two artists Chris Cab and Drana DeMarco were younger artists who we collaborated on this and he's like, okay, we're going to do this or do this. And he's like, okay, we're gonna do this or do this because he was the musical genius here. But it was just like he just understood me. So that was fascinating. And I also love like the comeback, like Natasha Benefield performed with me in my show, I think like 2011. And she had like sort of been around and had her high. Like you know, her song was known in different things, no-transcript, but how they work and think and how fast it is for them to think it's like cool, only because they saw it in like a random movie. It's so interesting.
Speaker 3:Stacey. Thank you, that was awesome. I am going to have to have you send me one of the clips so we can play it on the podcast. This has been phenomenal. I appreciate you taking the time to spend with us. Thank you so much.
