Rosie Assoulin

Grown up life doesn’t hold that many pure head-bursting-with-joy moments. When Rosie Assoulin agreed to an interview, we were strongly reminded of our childlike excitement of when her brand arrived to Beymen, a few months ago, and changed the way women dressed, forever. Fine, we might be exaggerating a tiny bit, but you’ll understand the reason for our buzz when you put a face to the voluminous, strikingly causal and feel-good designs.

Forgive our fanatic obsession with you, but could we start this off by getting to know you a little better? Not the brand of Rosie Assoulin but Rosie Assoulin herself. How did you grow up, what did you do for fun when you were in college, what is your go-to refreshment drink, etc? The usual stuff!

Ha! So nice of you to say. Here is some of the “usual stuff”: I grew up in Brooklyn, NY. I now I live in NYC. I started learning how to use a sewing machine in my early teens… But I’m still no expert! I was a career intern!!! Favourite refreshment is a good Thai coffee with a ton of milk and I love peach iced tea.

Most fashion brands target a certain audience considering the forms, styles, colors, fits etc. of their clothing, however your designs seem to look impeccable on every women. How do you do it?

Wow, thank you! That’s very good to hear because this is what we aim for! There are so many women in my life that inspire me and no two are the same. I don’t like to focus on one “type” of woman because there isn’t a single “type” of woman out there. We all have different body types and styles, but I hope that we design pieces that women want to wear and most importantly want to LIVE IN. I know our clothes might not be for everyone style-wise, but we want the people who do love our clothes to be able to wear them and feel incredible in them.

You seem so incredibly humble about your collections and the future of your brand, although Rosie Assoulin has become a world-wide-known name with extensions to cities like Istanbul. How did this all happen for you? What do you think was the turning point for your brand?

We are truly amazed and so grateful for the response that we have had in the US and in the international markets. Press and stores have been so supportive and accepting of us and we are just happy that people like the clothes and actually want to wear them. It’s so wonderful to hear when someone really loves the brand but it’s even better when I see people living in the clothes and celebrating in them. It’s extremely fulfilling and reminds us why we do what we do.

There’s just so much out there and we don’t want to contribute to the world of ‘stuff’ if it isn’t special or exciting to us.

It seems as if you have a couture-like approach to the most classical pieces such as pants or crisp white button-up shirts. Where does this attention to detail come from?

There’s just so much out there and we don’t want to contribute to the world of “stuff” if it isn’t special or exciting to us. Sometimes simplicity is the most important aspect of a garment and we try to bring out those special details as much as possible.

While celebrities have become too disposable, they are unavoidably a great source for fashion. How is your reaction to seeing women wearing your clothing; both every-day-gals and famous icons?

I love seeing all women in our clothes. Famous people are real people too and yes, they have stylists and beauty teams, but regardless they want to look and feel great in clothes just like anyone else does. It’s wonderful to see women (famous or not) look confident, happy and comfortable in what they are wearing. You can tell when someone is uncomfortable and that is what we try to avoid. There is nothing that I love more than seeing a woman wearing our clothes and they look and feel awesome. That is why we do what we do. We want to make women feel amazing.

How do you wind down after a busy fashion week presentation period?

We go straight into market week! It’s never ending! But taking my kids to the park and just throwing myself into home life for a week or two always counterbalances the mania of fashion week. The functionality of your clothing makes them so appealing for women – especially the working class that don’t necessarily have the time to step out of the clothing for a quick ironing session… We want to make clothing functional. Clothes need to be functional for women in New York. I try to put myself mentally and emotionally into each garment… perhaps to a fault. We strive to make them unique and cool, but also easy to wear.

Can you share one life lesson you learnt by starting your company?

Teamwork and partnership. Working with talented people only ups your game! It’s impossible to do this all alone. Also, follow your gut. Listen to people’s opinion and listen to your team, but if you feel strongly about something, always go with your gut.

Some New York Musts…

Best coffee? Laughing Man in Tribeca.
3am take-out? Pizza.
People watching? The west side highway!
Stylish women?

Women in NYC have their own style and they are proud of it. You can find stylish women everywhere you go.