![]() ![]() ![]() And I said, “It would be great to do something that could change some of this.” And at the end of the dinner he said, “We should do something together.”īack in New York, tryingon shoes at Bergdorf Goodman I bumped into my other partner, designer Jean-Michel Cazabat, who had done a project at Theory. He was explaining all of this to me and I chimed in and said, “You know my industry is one of the most disruptive,” and got into some of the facts around the fashion industry. At dinner he explained that he had set up a fund called Humble Holdings, which solely invested in socially and environmentally responsible companies. A former Georgetown classmate who was living in Athens on holiday in LA saw it, messaged me, and we met for dinner. And ironically, while I was out there, I put a picture on Instagram. But the first consulting I did was for a company called CO out in LA, which Andrew was an investor. I set up a consulting company and consulted for Kendra Scott, Yves Salomon in Paris and Augustinus Bader. So I took a leap of faith and decided to go out on my own, which was honestly a little bit scary, but also it felt right. I did that for two years, but ultimately it was not where I saw myself long-term. ![]() I wanted another challenge and I received an offer to run Dolce & Gabbana North America. But after 14 years I really wanted to do something different. We became a global company and I also helped with Helmut Lang when our parent company acquired that, and then worked with him also on some of his other investments, usually on business development or global strategy. We started really slowly and ultimately set up offices and had partnerships throughout the world. I stayed with him for 14 years and my main focus was on global expansion of the brand and business development. I think your concept is great” having had this international experience, I said, “I think your brand should be everywhere.” And he said, “You can start tomorrow.” I met the founder of Theory, Andrew Rosen. Then after two years of being in London I wanted to move back to New York. I was in my late twenties and in hindsight it was a big responsibility, but it was an amazing experience–I was traveling all over Europe and the Middle East. She said, “You should give your resume to the VP of the international division because I know they’re looking for people at DKNY.” So I did and got a job there.Īfter a few years in New York, I was tasked with the responsibility to open a company office in London. Luckily I met an alumni from my university who was working with Donna Karan in the beauty division when the fragrances were done in-house. I studied finance and marketing in university and I almost took a job upon graduating at Lehman brothers an analyst program, but wasn’t quite convinced and continued interviewing. What was your career path up to launching AERA? I’ve always loved fashion like even as a young girl. Going forward we all need to be thoughtful about what we bring into our lives, and it’s good to know that something this chic fits the bill. Tina is not new to fashion, she was the President North America at Dolce & Gabbana and SVP Global Business Development at Theory, and I have no doubt her deep understanding of the business side of fashion, paired with the aesthetic of shoe designer Jean-Michel Cazabat (who designs and is an AERA co-founder) will change how we think about designer shoes. ![]() To understand the rest of the brand’s ethos, the woman behind the brand, Tina Bhojwani, explains it below. I have the Audrey slingback–a perfect wear-with-everything flat. How is that? For one, they are vegan, and since I have a vegan daughter and know how hard it is to find a good-looking vegan shoe, AERA shoes are at once modern and classic. So it was exciting to learn that a new shoe company, AERA, is built around the tenant of being 110% sustainable. It’s Earth Day, and we all know fashion has a long way to go in terms of sustainability. ![]()
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