#30 How Can Emerging Designers us Community to Compete with Fast Fashion? With Hillary France, CEO of Brand Assembly

Holy smokes, you guys, how did we get to episode 30 so fast? We're here, and this week we're talking to Hilary France, the founder and CEO of Brand Assembly. You guys are going to like this one. Let's talk about your business strategy and.

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Boutique Hub, and I can't wait to chat.

You know, guys, if there's one thing that Beth, our director of operations, does really well at the Boutique Hub, it's stalk people on Instagram. And I don't mean stalk them on Instagram in a creepy way, but I mean, she is always looking for new accounts to follow to be inspired, whether it's from graphic design or event layout or finding new companies and new accounts that we should know and collaborate with to help our community at the Boutique Hub. So I wasn't surprised when Beth found this great account on Instagram called Brand Assembly. Soon after she introduced me to follow Brand Assembly. She was so inspired by the design and the feel of this company and what they were accomplishing, but also the fact that though what they were doing is really similar to what we're doing at the Boutique Hub, connecting the boutique industry. They're connecting contemporary design space and emerging designers in the contemporary fashion world to one another and living in a spirit of community over competition, just like we are at the Boutique Hub. So, needless to say, we knew we needed to meet the team at Brand Assembly. Now, it wasn't long after this that we headed to Dallas for our second annual Boutique Summit. And wouldn't you know it, but Brand assembly was also showing at Dallas Market Center. So after we had chance to meet up with Hilary France, the founder and CEO of Brand assembly, we knew we wanted to collaborate more often with them. They had a beautiful setup where they were repping a number of brands, bringing them together under one roof to better serve their industry of emerging contemporary designers, but also helping make it easier for boutique owners in that space to connect with the right type of brands for their store. Now, guys, this is just the beginning. I wanted to introduce you to Hilary this week on the episode of on the Podcast because she's got a great view on where the fashion industry is headed. She spends her time between New York and LA and working with a number of great contemporary designers and stores throughout the country. So we sat down this week to talk about what is the contemporary market today and how is it different from what's happening in fast fashion? Also, how can emerging designers team up to better reach their ideal demographic of stores? And I think what she has to say is true, not just for contemporary designers, but designers makers and wholesale accounts of all time types. Plus, what's the future of ethical fashion? And why is it that education makes our industry come alive in a whole new way with the trends that we're seeing right now? Guys, Hillary is a visionary, super smart woman. I'm so excited to get to introduce you to her. And I know if you are a member inside of the Boutique Hub and you've been inside of our retail boot camp course, we're actually taking a trip to LA together this fall. Everyone inside of that course and we're going to get to meet Hillary in person as we attend one of her events at Brand assembly and hear from her panel of speaker speakers. So, guys, I can't wait for you to get to know her and hear her take on the industry. Meet Hilary France, the founder and CEO of Brand Assembly.

Hey guys, welcome back to Boutique Chat. This week I'm so excited to be talking to Hilary France, the founder and CEO of Brand assembly. And I think you're gonna find so many similarities in our mission at the Boutique Hub and what's happening at Brand Assembly. I can't wait bring this story to you and talk about the future of the wholesale industry and what it means to be an emerging brand and an emerging designer today. So, Hilary, welcome to the podcast.

Thank you, Ashley. I'm excited to be here.

Yes.

So I don't know if you and I have talked about this, but Beth on our team has silently been stalking Brand Assembly's Instagram for quite some time now.

That's good to know. Kara, my social media and content manager will be happy to know that.

Yes. So she was so excited when we finally had the chance chance to meet in Dallas, which was right after the Boutique Summit and you guys were set up there as well, having a show. That was so cool.

Yes. No, we're excited to be in Dallas.

Awesome. Well, for everyone listening, I'd love for you just to start by talking about what Brand assembly is and how they can learn more about your mission.

Of course. So I keep this part brief because I'm sure we'll get into a little bit more of the details of what Brand assembly does. But Bright Assembly Was founded a little over five years ago. I had been in the fashion industry for about 10 years before I came up with this concept on the sales side. And the premise was really just to create back office for emerging designers. Designers spend almost 80% of their time doing administrative tasks where they should be focusing on designing the product and move their business forward. Maybe editor meetings and things like that. That was really kind of the initial idea. Luckily, I also had been arranging a collective of brands in Los Angeles when I worked for Rachel Zoe and really wanted to kind of expand that when I had the platform to start my business. So simultaneously I was starting a back office business as well as a trade show. But realize that they kind of go hand in hand because we're starting the trade show. I really also wanted to help support emerging designers as well.

Absolutely. So your why is really to be almost like a central platform for all the emerging designers to help them leverage one another and yourself and your team so that they can scale and grow even faster.

Exactly. My why is really to see kind of the underdog succeed. I have always loved, I was a competitive tennis player, so always even loved, you know, when watching matches, wanting that underdog to really, you know, either have a strict competition with, you know, like a Serena Williams or at least, you know, even beat them. So I've always been passionate about that because they don't have necessarily all the resources that these large brands have. And I really want, you know, everybody to have the same kind of equal amount of success. Which is why when you go to our trade shows, you'll see that everybody's almost on the same playing field. There's no big boost, build outs or anything like that. So I guess that's my why is that I really do love kind of the underdog.

I love that it's so similar. I mean, everything that you say, I laugh because I could echo it at the boutique hub. That's our why as well. Like we want to change people's lives and we want to see the underdog succeed. The independent retailer versus the big box store.

So that's.

So you're typically working with more like advanced contemporary brands and designers. Is that right? Can you tell me about, you know, some of the. Some of the brands that people may or may not know that they can find a brand assembly?

Yeah, no, of course. So I mean, I. It's so nice to have in your own business where you can create a group of brands that you personally love. You know, I'm a die hard contemporary shopper, so that is at the moment our focus of the trade shows that we put together. And I really love finding brands that are undiscovered, seeing them on Instagram. One of my favorite designers of all time, Nikki Chasen, I found through Instagram and there was this coral printed top that I had to have. And I just reached out to her by email saying I loved the top personally, I wanted to buy it. And it kind of cultivated this relationship of then her eventually participating in some of our trade shows and being part of our community. So I really love finding those designers. Nikki Chasen is one of them. Where mountains meet wit. Some of these very up and coming, cute, quirky brands are kind of on my radar.

So do you find. Are they coming from all over the U.S. i know you guys have two office locations. Do you find that they're more local to New York and la?

It varies. You know, I've seen such a huge boom in Los Angeles over the past couple years, especially when I started my business out in la and also working with Rachel Zo out in la. You know, I've seen so many new designers pop up there or even designers move to Los Angeles recently. I think they're getting a little bit annoyed with the weather here in New York potentially. But they. Maria Stanley is one of my favorite ones out in. Out in Los Angeles. So they kind of come from all over. We've also been seeing designers that have lived in New York and moving to other cities in the country because of just like the accessibility with technology and not having to always be in a manufacturing hub all the time. Sylvie was one of them, moved to Seattle. Ashley Rowe is another one that lives in Martha, Texas, of all places. So it's really cool to see that they are popping up all over the place. Yeah.

And it makes it so easy. They probably are eliminating a great deal of overhead at the same time.

Exactly.

I want to back this train up for a second because you talked about working for Rachel Zoe. Can you tell us more about that experience? Because that's. That's goals for a lot of people, right?

Yeah. Working with Rachel was amazing. I came in to launch her collection. This had to be 10, maybe 10 years ago now when she launched her collection with an Aldor collaboration at Neiman Marcus. And I was the global sales director there, so helping build that strategy and that massive launch and kind of the marketing strategy behind that. It was. It was amazing. She had a great team. I had a great experience because it was at the time, it was a licensed relationship with Lian Fung, so really got to Learn the ropes of those types of relationships, but also working very intimately with the Rachel Zoe team.

Awesome. So that was 10 years ago. And then did you have another transitional, like a summer you were at before brand assembly, you said? Because that was about five years ago, you started this.

Yes. So after Rachel Zoe, I went to work for a brand called Kimberly Ovitz, which was a big post recession movement where people wanted to wear black all the time. So she was a little bit, obviously in an opposite direction of Rachel's, a little bit edgier. But I had the opportunity to oversee not just sales, but production, keeping design on calendar, then also running the finances of the business. It was financed, family financed. So to report the financials back to the family. So that's where I kind of saw the idea of brand assembly and her being able to luckily be able to have the capital to be able to have back office on staff. But then these emerging designers. So that's, that's where the idea started to pop up that this could be a need for a lot of emerging designers that don't have the capital to be able to bring on multiple staff.

So for anyone listening who still isn't like painting a picture in their mind of exactly how this works, it's basically two pieces, if I'm clear on this. The first is the trade show which we experienced in Dallas. And you go, how many other locations do you have, the physical trade shows?

So Los Angeles was our first. Then we launched in Dallas. In New York, we launched last September. So we're about to head into our third New York trade show in September.

Awesome. So there's the trade show piece of it, but then there's also the meetups and the spaces and then the physical support that you're able to provide these designers as well. Correct?

Exactly. So we created a space about two and a half years ago called the Square, which is almost like a co working community space for fashion professionals. So we have showing space. We also have production freelancers, stylists that are able to come in here, you know, graphic designers, anybody within the fashion community that needs a place to work. But also we do a lot of workshops and panel discussions that are educational tools or even just fun, you know, topics that we're talking about that are industry relevant or sometimes not even industry relevant, but really it's a place for people to network and, and work.

I love it. I love it. So basically you're building a community in an industry that was really pretty siloed previously. Right. So we live in this motto at the Hub of community over competition, which is exactly what you're building, too. Can you talk about what that mission means to you and has meant to some of the designers and industry professionals who have come in your path along the way?

Of course, you know, it's just something that has to happen nowadays. You know, the idea of community and, you know, not having to look over your shoulder every two seconds to, you know, see who's looking at your storyboard or your inspiration for this season, you know, it's really become a collaborative industry, and it's had to become that because so many more brands and, you know, there is, especially in the major department store world, and that's why boutiques are so important, that there's less market share. So, you know, tying those two together, the community of emerging designers and smaller designers, especially with, you know, the boutique community, is extremely important. So, you know, that is. That is definitely brand assembly's ethos. We have people working together all the time. We love collaborating with other, you know, industry businesses as well, even on. On our own company level. But we love to see when designers are working together or a designer recommends their pattern maker to another. Another designer. You know, that was like, not even fathomable 10 years ago, you know, to share contacts, but it's just, you know, it's just part of this day and age.

Yeah. And isn't it funny how your community, it's almost like they have to go through a transitional period to really latch onto it. You know, there's some in our community that are so tightly knit in community over competition, and then when someone new comes in, it's almost like, is this too good to be true? Like, are people really this genuine and really wanting to help me in this way? Kind of takes a minute for that feeling of competition to melt away. Do you see that, too?

Yeah, no, I definitely see that. And I think, you know, from. From your perspective and Batik's perspective, you know, the idea of, you know, competition and how that has. And collaboration has probably evolved on that end as well. You know, from a brand side, I think that the, you know, any kind of distribution is great distribution. It's only, you know, creates recognition within the consumer and only helps, you know, those boutiques succeed as well.

Definitely. Most definitely. I'm so curious your thoughts, and I want to talk more about this later in the show, but just as the industry is becoming so fast, like, fast fashion is like the fastest fashion right now, and it's changing the marketplace that we're in. And the way I look at boutiques is they typically in history were more brand focused and the consumer was more brand focused. And then the consumer shifted to become so much more trend focused and trend driven. Not really buying labels and boutiques are doing a lot, lot of private labeling. Well, today I feel like in order for boutiques to stand out again, they really have to go back to that brand centric model and bring in labels that people are looking for. I love to know kind of your thoughts if you're seeing that same thing because you have this group of emerging designers and you're trying to create that initial consumer demand for them.

Yeah, that's an interesting question, you know, because as a consumer myself, I definitely have bought into, into fast fashion, but it's not my go to. You know, I think that the consumer. Now what we're seeing, especially with emerging designers, is something that they're bringing to the table that's special. Even sometimes, regardless of the brand name, it's something that is on the rack that's standing out, that is almost like a conversation piece. That's what I'm seeing through our designers that honestly, maybe the brand does matter a little bit, but it's really like, here's this amazing off the shoulder ruffle top that I can go out in the street. Somebody's like, wow, what is that? And where is it from? And I think it makes the consumer proud to say that it's not a Zara or not an H and M or those types of fashion brands that they're like, this is a. I'm gonna use Nikki Chase again. This is a Nicky Chasen top. She's a Brooklyn based. Well, she's not a Brooklyn based, but she's a New York based designer. You know, that's, that's 28 years old and I really love her, you know, so it's, it's almost creating a moment that they can talk about it, that they are excited to talk about it and excited to even talk about an emerging design that maybe nobody knows. So that's. I've been seeing a lot of that necessarily not just talking about, oh, this is, you know, Crosby, Tim Crosby top. It's more of like, this is this cool emerging designer. You should totally check them out.

Yeah, that's a really good point. I think you're right. So the emerging designer piece and more so the statement piece I'm thinking about, and I was telling you earlier about the pieces of jewelry that I bought at your last show when we met up in Dallas. And they're so unique, these pieces of turquoise because I'm kind of a turquoise junkie. You couldn't. Yeah. So I think you're right. And not every. Not every store down the street are gonna have those pieces. You know, if you go this route, if you're supporting emerging designers, you truly do have something to be unique from a retailer's perspective.

Yeah. You know, like shopping and the consumer mentality, I feel, is you want to buy something that's going to make you feel good and feel special. And, you know, one of my favorite designers also at the moment, which is a little bit more widely distributed, is Caroline Constance. And she does just an amazing job at creating these statement pieces. And whenever I'm wearing one, I know that people are not that I. Not that I need that validation, but people are looking to be like, wow, that's an amazing top. Where did you get it?

What would you say as you look at all these new designers, which I'm sure are contacting you quite often, what is your best piece of advice for them as they take that first step to breaking into this industry?

Definitely, I get asked this question so, so much, and my constant answer is that emerging designers need to do their research. That, you know, we get a lot of brands that apply, and the ones in this seems very harsh, but the ones that say that their top store that they want to get into is Barney's, you know, that's. That's a brand that I have to, I think, question a lot more because that might mean that they have a little bit of unrealistic expectations of maybe their brand and, you know, where it could be distributed. You know, I love the brands that apply that actually list specialty stores only, you know, and don't necessarily have a major department store on there. That. That is their mentality, knowing that their business is going to grow from the distribution of specialty stores and in that kind of community. So we look for. We look for that, you know, especially the kind of target distribution that they want, but also just, like, a realistic point of view that how much are they going to actually book their first season? I always. I don't want to sound like doom and gloom, but, like, I always tell these designers that you might even not even get one order. Your first season out there, it's going to take 1, 2, 3 seasons for you potentially to have, you know, one order. And if you go in it with that mindset, you're probably going to be more successful than somebody that's expecting to walk away with 30 orders their first trade show ever. And that research of knowing what stores to target based upon your brand alignment or your brand ethos is extremely important as well, so that you're not blindly reaching out to stores that maybe don't even carry your product category. So that is something that is really. I kind of wax poetic that on that all the time.

Yeah. I love that we always say when you target everyone, you reach no one. Right. So. So how do you help when you have these trade shows? How are you helping line up the retailers who are coming to shop these shows? And do you feel like there's similarities in the specialty retailers that are coming to carry these emerging designers?

Yeah. So, I mean, we. We do our research on our end as well for boutiques that we want to attend our trade show. You know, we're doing the same research that I'm actually telling these brands to do. You know, what are the brands that we are targeting? Who are the brands that are already in our community and what are the stores that carry that product? Are there any new boutiques out there that should be carrying some of the brands that participate in our trade show? Who are they? How are we going to target them? We love to do fun initiatives when it comes to targeting buyers. You know, now that we're in Three Cities, it's really about that awareness in the buyer's mind of these three cities. When we launched the Three Cities this past year, we sent out Pinterel pins representing all the cities. An apple for the Big Apple, a cowboy for Dallas, and a palm tree for Los Angeles. So, you know, just by doing our own research too, you know, we want to make sure that we're targeting the right buyers and having them have access to these amazing brands that we put together.

I'm excited about that. And can we. Can we leak like, a secret that we're working on while we're chatting about this? So we are putting together an LA trip for Boutique Hub boutiques this fall. So we are definitely talking about how we can collaborate and not only have boutiques and some of the wholesale brands who are with the boutique hub come and experience brand assembly, but also have conversation about the industry itself. And some education.

Yes, no, we're all about the education. And I think that just the connection between the brands and the boutiques is so important. And it doesn't have to be of one of like, you know, that a brand is going to hound a buyer or something like that. It's a conversation this industry now has to open itself up to. A conversation on both sides. You know, there's no boutiques without brands and there's no brands without boutique. So it has to go both ways nowadays.

Absolutely. So let's talk about what do you see as some of the main problems that brands and designers are facing in the industry today and some opportunities for us as an industry to work together to solve them. Do you have any that stand out?

Yeah. I mean, for brands, I think the biggest challenge, because I see it from the business for my designers, is that the biggest challenge for them is getting product out there at a certain price point. This goes to working both ways as well, especially coming from major department stores. They're trying to squeeze the designer's margins all the time. And how can a brand and a buyer or boutique or even a major department store work together that, you know, this is, again, a conversation instead of, you know, I see when something doesn't perform or, you know, sales sell through is low, a brand's bookings aren't there anymore, and that can be detrimental to their business and almost go out of business. So it's. It's. I think it goes both ways. But, you know, I think designers are up against a challenge because they do want to be in these stores, but then it becomes a negotiation, you know, sometimes ends up being detrimental to their business. On the boutique side, you know, on the boutique side, I think that same thing, you know, like, they're taking. They're taking a chance on designers that they love, you know, and if it doesn't sell, it is like, what do I do with this? And it's just. It's hard. It's hard on both. Both ends. But I do see, see that the boutique and emerging brands, opportunities to be, you know, it could go on forever. You know, I feel like the honing in on small businesses and those possibilities there, everybody's kind of deterring from the big behemoths a little bit and wanting to shop mom and pop. And it's just that. It's just that experience and going back to those days that I think both sides will succeed and not have those as much of the challenges that we just were talking about.

Do you think there's, you know, through that conversation, there's an opportunity. You were talking about markdown, schedule and even just how fast, fast fashion has really become. And when, say, boutiques are bringing in a piece, a coat, a jacket, let's say in July, and they're marking it down by October, how do we begin to change that piece of the conversation and holding those pieces or maybe not allowing the boutique to take on such a huge risk by making that purchase and hoping it sells early.

Of course, talk forever on the subject, but I think it's something that would take, you know, a huge, monumental move by industry and somebody has to be the spearhead of this conversation is that we, the seasonality of the industry is all backwards. You know, we are shipping heavy coats in July and you know, by the time you actually need them or want to buy them, there are 30% off markdowns. So, you know, there has been this conversation of buy now, wear now, but the calendar hasn't shifted to that. So like designers need six months to produce goods, but they are showing it in February to then deliver in July. So it's. But to change that whole calendar, it would be a monumental move because you're shifting production schedules, you're shifting fashion weeks, you're shifting trade shows in multiple cities. It would be that. I mean, I think it has to happen. But it's like, okay, like how do we all start that, start that conversation? But it really comes down to the seasonality of what you're shipping and when. And like I said, if you're shipping a heavy coat in July, of course it's going to get, you know, marked down and maybe have some stock on the floor until somebody buys it. And again, that's, you know, the margins get squeezed down and passed down from the boutique to the brand to, you know, even technically the textile, you know, provider, because everybody's trying to make their margins.

Yeah, that's a huge issue. Huge issue.

Huge issue.

Yes. So let's talk about one other huge issue that I know is a big topic today. And that's kind of two sided thing here. But ethical fashion is becoming such a huge movement. And you've also kind of talked about what is the place for political activism in fashion and what does that look like going forward?

Yeah. So we had a panel discussion actually this past October at our New York trade show launch. And it was probably one of my favorite panels that I put together just because it was such an interesting topic. And I think obviously since the election, we've seen a huge movement in people having conversations through their fashion. You know, whether it's a saying tee or other, you know, ways that they wear apparel or not even, not even wear apparel and sometimes. But that was, it really was a very interesting conversation. We wanted to tailor it from different angles. You know, we had a retailer, we had Kieran Zibet on the panel, a designer, Rachel Antonoff, who's huge into kind of political activism and social messaging. We had Ann Choquette, who's kind of A millennial expert. And then we also had, we had an editor from Glossy. So coming from the perspective of press and how you write from it, from the editorial perspective. So it was a great conversation because obviously a lot of sales nowadays are being pushed by these items that are messaging and messaging against politics, against even just animal activism. All these things are being kind of consumed and they really are driving sales at the moment. And I don't see that changing anytime soon. There was an interesting trend report that was put out there that this is something that's a conversation that's going to be ongoing for quite some time and people are expressing themselves a lot more through fashion.

Would you say even part of that conversation is like anti fast fashion, just more about the production schedule or the amounts of waste in fashion or consumers wanting more natural or ethically sourced pieces like that side of the spectrum?

Definitely. I think there's a huge shift towards more transformation, transparency in the fashion industry and where things are going or how they're produced. I can't think of the designer off the top of my head, but there was a pop up or by this one New York designer that actually was even selling and repurposing their quote unquote inspiration pieces. So, you know, obviously designers draw inspiration from, from many different places, but a lot of them do draw inspiration from archived items from other designers or, you know, vintage things like that. But that like, you know, backs up in a stock room and, you know, maybe eventually gets thrown out. But like it was this idea of being repurposed, you know, into the fashion industry and was kind of like a cool, cool conversation in that sense. But you know, even just sustainability, you know, is something that is a huge conversation now within designers. And how does that kind of translate to the consumer and have the consumer be interested in that as well? You know, instead of just being a garment on the floor, how does that messaging that it is sustainable or that it's eco friendly really come about? And when you're just like in a sea of clothes, it's like that's kind of a challenge, especially for those brands.

Yeah. So you're kind of playing into my hand because I want to ask you kind of a pointed question that I know you're going to have an answer to next. And this really goes to the changing winds of buying wholesale, whether it's in person, at a trade show or online. And how wholesale has really become so omnichannel. So the question that's being asked is, are trade shows still necessary and trade show company? I'd Love to hear it.

Yeah, that's a really good question. I get asked that all the time, you know, with the. Also the direct consumer and the focus on direct consumer. So I guess I'll answer this in two parts because there's obviously the direct consumer component, which is retail, but also, you know, the idea of wholesale transactions also happening, you know, through some, you know, companies that provide those platforms for those transactions to happen. So I'll just kind of the, the wholesale side first. You know, we, I think it's always. And this goes back to the experience. People are always going to want to see something in person, especially when they're trying to discover a new brand. You're not going to know their fit, you're not going to know their quality unless you're there touching it and seeing it. And I also think that especially with an emerging designer, the connection between the designer and the retailer is so important. So, you know, you're having those two things. It's like the touch and the feel. But it's also the story and the experience with the designer that I think the boutiques that are looking for new brands really, really need to have. You know, once you get to know a brand, especially if it's like a basic brand, like a T shirt or, you know, something that's a little bit more athleisure or casual, I think those transactions through some of those wholesale marketplaces online become easier. But when you're talking about brands that have a lot of detail or different fits or they're kind of ready to wear collections, those always are going to be necessary. And I also think that if you create an environment that a buyer wants to be in and makes it kind of conducive for the buyers and the designers to have a friendly, open conversation and relaxed environment, I think that that will stand the test of time on the wholesale side. But also I get the question, with the rise of direct consumer, are the trade shows going to go away because less brands are going to be participating because they're focusing more on direct to consumer? And I said there's absolutely no way. Because if a brand realizes and they're self funded the amount, and boutiques probably understand this as well. The price per customer is so high on a direct consumer relationship that they'll realize wholesale is probably the best investment of their dollars to kind of get their name out there and recognized by the consumer. You know, by using the boutiques or using the major department stores and selling to them, you know, instead of trying to acquire that customer by yourself, especially if you don't have, you know, millions of dollars. Millions of dollars of funding.

Yeah, so true. So true. So let's switch. I want to talk more about you as a woman in this industry, as a female CEO, as a leader, because so many of the listeners of this show are similar, Right. They own their own company, and like you and I, they are working every day to make it happen. So I'd love to know failures along the way where our companies are similar age, right. About five years. Obstacles that you faced along the way, or big fears that you had to overcome to make this happen.

Yes. So I'll talk about one obstacle because it's kind of like, funny and it's, you know, has something to do with our trade show. But we launched Dallas last June. So June of 2017, we had a lot of requests within our community to do Dallas that, you know, current resources were sold out or, you know, they loved our vibe in la, that they wanted to see that in other cities. So we launched Dallas having done probably about a year, year and a half of research and finding a place, and we wanted to make it interesting. And if any of your boutiques within your network have been to brand assembly, Natural Light is extremely important to us. It goes back to making that enjoyable experience. So I found this great place, the Nasher Sculpture Garden in Dallas, and gorgeous. And people were really excited to be a part of it because it was in such an interesting venue. But we, you know, there's a couple places within Dallas where buyers have to go, and we wanted to help facilitate, you know, that actually happening. So we rented golf cart to go from different venues within Dallas and thought that we had done all the research that we needed to do, called the Dallas Police Department, called the mayor's office, all this stuff asking if golf carts were street legal. So we get down to Dallas, you know, we open the first day, everybody's super excited, and we're like, oh, we're gonna have this shuttle with golf carts, you know, with the buyers. And all of a sudden we get a call from the. The Dallas Police Department. They saying, you know, can we speak with Hillary France? And I'm like, that's me. And they're like, okay, well, you know, we had to pull over your golf carts. You know, unfortunately, they're not street legal. And I was like, I swear to God, I've done my research. So it became this, like, whole funny conversation. But, you know, our first Dallas, you know, we didn't have, I would say, the buyer traffic that we wanted, you know, as a launch but, you know, we have such a great brand network that the whole situation was just extremely funny and comical and everybody kind of had a good laugh. And it's something that, you know, we talk about all the time now. But, you know, to really have that experience and have a little bit of comedy along with it, you know, what made it a lot better in the sense that we didn't meet our expectations, you know, kind of in buyer traffic. And now I know every single, you know, deputy and sheriff in the Dallas Police Department, so that. So that's a plus.

It makes it a good story. And I'm sure that the crew at Dallas Market center, we're laughing right along with you, because actually, I could see Amy Harper and Katie Kaufman being in those golf carts right there with you.

Oh, of course. No. And, you know, like, I'm so grateful that two seasons later, you know, we were able to form this partnership with it with the Dallas Market center after doing two off sites, because I do think that brand assembly has a fresh, unique perspective and that what's on going great is that the Dallas Market center really recognized that, and we have formed an amazing partnership that is, like, fun on both. On both sides.

Yes. So who are some of your biggest mentors in this industry along the way? Either past? Obviously, Rachel. Rachel Zoe has to be a big one, but mentors now, moving forward, definitely.

So in the. In the past, one of my greatest mentors is April Uchatel, and she was actually the global director of sales and then also moved into strategy at Diane von Furstenberg. And she, you know, I'm a listener, and I just absorbed everything that she said, and we had just a great working relationship. So not only in just information and industry, you know, knowledge, but also just as a manager and learning to manage. I learned all of that from her. And, you know, now she's. She's doing amazing. She moved back to Los Angeles and is now the CEO of Violet Gray. So we keep in touch. But my experience with her in the four years that I was at Diana Furstenberg was, I think, really positioned me to be confident in not only running sales divisions of brands, but then also being able to launch my business. You know, now that I'm a business owner, I definitely draw from, you know, inspiration from many different places, you know, in terms of mentorship. But probably most of them are, you know, kind of like outside the industry, because I feel like just within my own network, I'm getting all that knowledge of the fashion industry. That what's important to me is how to be a business woman and a business leader in this day and age.

So mentors. I mean, everyone has to have great mentors. But how about style icons? Who's one style icon that you have that you haven't been able to meet yet, but would love to.

Oh, gosh. Putting me on the spot. You know what's funny is that if you ask any of my team members to kind of pinpoint my fashion assessment, you know, they couldn't probably name one person, but they know exactly what I would wear. So I would say, like, in modern day and age, I would say it's like, like it. Maybe a tailored Tomasi, but I think I'm really into a lot of vintage, so maybe like a Charlotte Gainsbourg or even like a Katharine Hepburn combo, if that even. If that even makes sense.

I'm totally digging it.

And I love the vintage piece. Like, you definitely have your own signature style, which I love about you.

No, what's interesting is that it's kind of. I think my clothes that I'm picking up now are actually represented maybe a younger generation where I think I was like, dressing older as when I was younger, and now it's kind of moving the other way. I don't know that, but that's kind of where I'm coming from at the moment.

I think that's so interesting. Do you think part of it, like, if you're thinking about being like a female CEO, right. And when you're younger, and I'm even going back to when I was like, early 20s and had a pretty great career for someone my age, there is this pull to be older in some ways. And then I don't know what the line is, but I've definitely hit it where it's the flip side. And you're like, oh, if I could be younger again, like, these wrinkles aren't going away. Do you think that that's part of it?

You know, that's. Yeah, I think so. You know, you're. When you're younger and just out of college, you know, you're. I think you're challenged to be older beyond your years and sophisticated and you have to get a job and, you know, you have to represent yourself in a buttoned up way. But I think nowadays, especially as a businesswoman or, you know, someone in a senior position, I think think just being authentic is almost, you know, goes a longer way than being buttoned up and, you know, kind of rigid in that. In that sense. And, you know, my whole team would probably be like, I am the most open Book kind of everything I wear on my sleeve all the time. But I think it's that authenticity that, that people gravitate to.

They can relate to that.

Yeah. And maybe that makes you seem younger, you know, when you're a little bit more, more open and fun loving.

Definitely free to be you, for sure.

Exactly.

So you're traveling a lot and you're a busy woman. You've got all these, all these things that you're juggling at one time. So I'd love to know what's your go to for feeling refreshed and avoiding burnout along the way?

That is the constant battle for me. I am always on, you know, someone, someone actually described me as an over functioner the other day, which I guess, which I guess means that my brain is always, is always thinking about the next thing and never feeling settled or comfortable. I try to, you know, when I travel a lot now, I try to block out at least, least one day or an afternoon where I'm not even connected to this world at all. And it's, it's challenge and it's something that I have struggled with from the beginning and I think will always, always struggle with. But I'm conscious of it and I'm aware of it and you know, definitely making certain efforts to try to have that separation a lot, A lot more. I go up to upstate New York a lot just to kind of disconnect from the city. But it's even nice to work from there to have a little bit of a clear mind. I love to go on hikes and that's kind of like my thinking time, I guess that's kind of like my separation and my recovery time, to be honest.

Do you ever have to be like very conscious, like on a daily effort, A daily effort, doing like gratitude or really focusing on what is good and what has been accomplished because I think I'm a constant, like overachiever. I love that you said.

What did you say?

Over functioner.

Over functioner.

Yeah. I love that it's hard because you get to, you get to that place where you want to be, but then once you get there it's like, what's the next? What's the next? So do you slow down besides, you know, going to upstate and traveling and disconnecting, which I need to do more of too, just to settle into the moment and find joy in what you had set out to do in the first place?

Of course. I mean, it's. I have had so much validation, especially in the last year around, around brand assembly. You Know, I think that brand assembly as a company is catching on, which I'm extremely excited about. And you know, having the three cities having all these different components and people really understanding how that all ties together. And even, you know, as you mentioned in the beginning of the podcast, you know, you have somebody that works with you that has been following brand assembly. You know, when I hear those things, extremely validating to me as what I'm trying to do, what my team's trying to do for this, for this community. And it makes me have a lot of those moments of gratitude and I'm thankful and extremely lucky to be a business owner. I wouldn't have it any other way. There's obviously challenges and it's, you know, it's a full time job, but at the end of the day, just like you, you're a business owner and you know, you're steering the way, you know, hopefully these brands and boutiques to have success and that's, that's rewarding.

All right, last personal question. What are your go to apps or tools for staying organized?

Oh, that's a good question. Okay, so I've been on a mission to find the best kind of like organizational tool. Recently I've been using Asana, which is an app that is kind of like a task list, but it has a calendar and you can have groups and manage teams. And that's something that I think like I'm not utilizing it enough and I think like the possibilities are endless. I also still keep my chaos method of what I have to do for the day, which is a variety of keeping notes on a notepad, random sheets of paper, post its open email list, Asana. So it's, it's kind of organized chaos, but it works.

It's your own brand of organized chaos, right?

Yeah, exactly. If only I could like kind of brand all that into, into one thing, other apps. I really am, you know, just an Instagrammer. You know, I, I buy new brands on there. I draw inspiration for interior design for my apartment or you know, like that's really kind of my go to. So if I'm just surfing or have like a downtime moment on train, that's kind of what I'm looking at. But what's so funny is that, and I'm pretty good at this. My boyfriend introduced me to this app that actually tracks the time that you're on the phone per day.

Oh my gosh, that sounds scary.

Yeah, I was like, oh, that's scary. And probably on my phone like five hours a day. But I actually Only. Only average about an hour, hour 15 per day. Now, I'm trying to figure out whether that includes phone time or not, but, you know, that definitely includes app times and texting times and things like that. But, you know, people I've talked to, people that have the same app and, you know, they're four or five hours a day. It's like, wow, that's. That's scary.

All right, last question is da, da, da. I would love to know what is on your and on Brand Assembly's vision board.

So this is kind of. Maybe I'm, I'm too soon with this, with this kind of announcement, but for spring 19, what we're really working on and want to do is curate a group of brands or products that are Brand Assembly's favorite things. The feedback that we get from brands and boutiques is that they love the Brand assembly team and they love the feeling of the show. And I was like, well, let's not, you know, if our next concept is just beauty or next concept is doing a cap athleisure, you know, those are things that have been done, but they're not necessarily so Brand Assembly. So we want to curate kind of a segment of the show that is lifestyle products that are Brand Assembly's favorite things, you know, and that can be a candle company, it can be a scrunchie company, it could be a fragrance. So it's really coming from the perspective of the people that work at Brand Assembly. So, you know, in an ideal world, what we want to do is be able to take that into the three cities and also create some. Some content and maybe a photo shoot around it and make it. And make it fun for everybody involved. We have a short, short lead time on that. So if you don't see it this season and if your network doesn't see it this season, it'll definitely be. It's definitely coming down the road. But I think we'll be able to execute it for the spring 19 season, which will be really fun for everybody to see, you know, some of our favorite things.

Awesome. I like it. All right, well, Hilary, thanks so much.

For your time today.

I can't wait for our community to get to experience Brand assembly, if they haven't already, whether it's in Dallas or in LA this fall, I think that's going to be an awesome collaboration and opportunity. If anyone is listening and they would love to know how to get in touch with you, what's the best way?

The best way is to email me directly. It's Hillary2L's brandassembly.com so if you have any questions I, you know, answer every single email, please reach out. I love answering questions and if it's about, you know, our brand network, even better.

Awesome. Thanks so much again for joining us, Hilary. Hey guys, thanks so much for listening to this week's episode. It was great to get to sit.

Down with Hilary and look at the industry from a whole new point of view. I hope you enjoyed that too. You know, it's easy to get so caught up in our day to day activity in our business and it's almost like we're working in our business instead of on our business. And it takes an outside perspective once in a while to help us rise up and to see the forest through the trees and to look for new opportunities and ways to grow what we're working on right now. Hey guys, I hope that you enjoy listening to every episode of this podcast. I can't believe that we're at 30 episodes already. Honestly, it feels like it's gone so fast. But I've really enjoyed getting to meet with so many of you who've given feedback on the show, who say that you listen every week and you've told me who your favorite episodes and guests have been. I just want to sincerely thank you for taking the time to be active and to listen to the show, to subscribe and to leave reviews. Hearing your feedback is really exciting for me and definitely keeps me going with more guests and more interviews each and every week. Hey, I do want to give one quick shout out. I was looking through the reviews this week and I was want to say thank you to Crystal Roth who left a review and said absolutely fantastic podcast. It's so great to hear from others in the boutique world and gain insight from their journeys. Great content. I've learned a lot and have had a ton of great ideas to implement myself from just the first few episodes. Hey Crystal, thanks so much for listening and for living a review. Guys, if you'd like to hear more from the podcast, send me a DM over on Instagram at ajalder. Let me know what you're doing while you listen to the show and let.

Me know what you think.

Who else would you like to see on the show? What would you love to learn? And if there's any solo episodes you'd like to hear, tell me what you are most interested in learning. And guys, I love to bring the tips. So without further, I hope you guys have a wonderful week ahead and we will be back next week with some pretty awesome content from someone who definitely understands how to market inside of this entire See you later guys. Hey guys, thank you so much for.

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