We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kaitlyn Murray a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kaitlyn, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?
My goal is to make a positive impact on the planet and be a pioneer for change in the Fashion Industry. I want to build a company and community where people and the planet are held higher than profits. The Fashion Industry is notoriously cut throat, exclusive, and damaging to both people and the planet. I would like people to remember me for being generous, inclusive, and kind. I want to leave behind a framework for how to run a successful business without sacrificing integrity, which happens far too often.
Kaitlyn, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
From a young age, I loved clothing, shopping, and expressing myself through style. I was enamored by fashion magazines and had a gallery wall of my favorite ads in my childhood bedroom. I took my first sewing class in High School and loved being able to make whatever I dreamt up. I felt I was more business-minded than creative, and knew I wanted to open my own shop later in life, so I studied Fashion Merchandising at the Fashion Institute of Technology to gain a full understanding of the business side. Upon graduating, I started working for a French luxury brand, as one of my other dreams was to move to Paris. I spent my eight-year tenure at the same company, moving up and around working in various roles and gaining valuable skills. My senior year at FIT, I took a course titled ‘Sustainability in Fashion Merchandising,’ where I learned about the dark underbelly of the fashion industry. From water usage and pollution, to textile waste, and inhumane working conditions for garment workers, I knew that I wanted to run a business that was going to operate differently. Working in the luxury sector, there are certainly sustainable elements. The products are meant to last, and can be repaired, and garment workers are paid an actual living wage, but I wanted to take it step further. In 2020 we saw clothing production stop and the air pollution clear for the first time in years. That was when I realized it was time to take my brand, la vie après l’amour, meaning life after love, seriously. I left my corporate job in the summer of 2021 to pursue building my brand based on a circular production cycle. This means taking clothing that has already been produced and re-creating them into something new. The goal was to open a ‘maison’ or home, to house the whole operation under one roof as well as other local makers and sustainable designers, which I am proud to say I opened in Kingston, NY on August 23rd, 2023. Upcycling was not the goal, but it came naturally to me as I was not a classically trained designer. It’s fun for me to take a shirt and cut it up and re-create it into something new. It just happened to also solve another very dire issue, over-production and in turn, a staggering amount of clothing and textiles being burned, dumped on foreign lands, and ending up in landfills. We are dealing with a very grave issue on our planet, but I want to provide inspiration that living a more thoughtful and sustainable life can be beautiful. Upcycling can lead to a lot of patchwork. I have always had a more simplistic style, so I wanted my line to be subtle, which is why I started with the button down. A simple crop, a little touch of embroidery, and buttons replaced by pearls, are just a few ways I started reimagining shirts. I do the dirty work, I rummage through the thrifts, launder each piece, patch holes, cover stains, replace buttons, and give each item a new life. I created a space where clients can come to feel inspired, light, and know that their purchases are making a positive impact.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
In 2020, when I decided to fully take on building my brand, I had to make the biggest unexpected pivot of leaving my life in NYC after 11 years and move back in with my parents in Upstate NY. I was able to keep my corporate job as my company was fully remote during the pandemic, which helped me save my first investment money for the brand and pay off my student debt. At first, this felt like a huge step back, but I knew it was more like an arrow and I was being pulled back in order to be launched forward. I didn’t feel the effects of the launch forward until three years after I decided to move, when I opened my store. There have been many other little pivot’s I made in-between, and am currently making, to constantly adjust how I am running the business, the brand, and now the store.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
The reason I wanted a brick-and-mortar shop was so I could connect with and really get to know my local clientele. Opening my shop has expanded my network and clientele greatly. I have met so many incredible people in just a few short months of opening my doors. In the age of digital everything, I still believe in the power of in-person connections. I don’t want to have 1 million followers on social media and never meet one of them. My strategy has been one client at a time. If I can give everyone who walks through my doors an incredible experience, then they tell their friends, and then they tell theirs, and it ripples from there. I think being genuine both online and in-person is key to sustainable growth.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.apreslamour.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apres.lamour/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaitlyn-murray-2a144342/
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/qeqda3lTmCY?si=4Grz2PGhhb7HzN37
- Other: www.instagram.com/maison.apres/ www.instagram.com/hv_sfw/
Image Credits
Amelia C. Williams Jay B. Ballesteros Riley Rose Photography