We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Christine Rucci a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Christine , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?
After 40 years in Denim, once the ‘ indigo ‘ is in your blood, you are in the ‘Denimafia’…clothes get made and people get made in denim. When I was working for a large American Designer, you were not allowed to have a side gig, so it all had to be done secretly and as one of my mentors was the Godfather of Denim, I asked him if I could take the moniker of Godmother of Denim. And being NYC based, I named my company Godmother NYC Inc, because everyone needs a godmother. If you think about when your parents picked your godparents, it was to guide you through life…well I take the same approach with my business model, especially with smaller start up brands. I guide them through the process and transparent supply chain so that they can learn. I often say, if you want to open a restaurant, you need to first work in the kitchen and learn from buying the raw materials, to prepping the ingredients and even washing the dishes. The same applies in fashion and in my case denim. That is why my philosophy and title of my video series & upcoming book is titled From the Bean to the Jean©, as indigo ( the dye in denim ) is a legume. I offer traceability so that you can even know where the cotton was grown, source only sustainable materials and zero plastic. My company only produces jeans in the USA ( NYC, LA & TX ) to help preserve the art of jean making, while supporting socio-economic and circular supply chains.
Christine , 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?
My passion for denim started at a very young age; I designed my first jean for a Levi’s-sponsored design contest when she I was just 10. And all throughout my teenage years, I frequented my local Army-Navy surplus store to buy denim, workwear pants, and military pieces, which I would then spend hours bleaching, distressing, and embellishing with patches and hand-embroidery.
I began my professional career working in Italy for Adriano Goldschmied ( the Godfather of Denim ) and the Genius Group, a multi brand design collective consisting most notably of Diesel, Replay and Goldie Jeans. She I worked closest with Renzo Rosso, owner of Diesel who became one of my mentors. During my time with the Genius Group, I was influenced and inspired by multiple designers, the most memorable being Katherine Hamnet and Stevie & David from Body Map. After my time in Italy, I took a job working with Marithe & Francois Girbaud who taught me about garment processing and washing and later worked directly for Diesel in New York as the VP of Design and Merchandising.
I was lead denim designer for the biggest American brands working directly with Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Tommy Hilfiger, and Ralph Lauren. At Tommy Hilfiger I helped launch Tommy Jeans. At Ralph Lauren I oversaw corporate denim development for all divisions, as well as the Senior Design Director for Double RL.
In 2004, I started my own denim design consulting company as well as my own men’s denim brand called 5EP. I travelled to Japan and collaborated with Sakamoto, the oldest indigo dyer, with whom I developed custom fabrics and hand-cut individually sewn selvedge jeans and have been credited for creating the first stretch selvedge denim. For the past 20 years I has been consulting for such brands as Marc Jacobs, Draper James, Mott & Bow, Ralph Lauren, Belstaff UK, and many new denim start up brands including Ginger+Dandelion, Corby Holbrook, Patriot Jeans Co, and Raimundo Langlois.
I am a member of AATCC and Made in NYC, and mentor & guest lecturer at colleges to design students about careers in denim. I have been a leader in supporting local denim production in NYC’s Garment District, Los Angeles and American South. I am often quoted and featured in such trade publications as Rivet, Sourcing Journal, Sportswear International, Carved in Blue, Forbes Magazine, and WWD. I recently launched a video series on YouTube and have appeared in the documentary film Blue Gold: American Jeans.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
In 2004 I made the decision to leave my corporate job at Ralph Lauren. It was bittersweet to leave a job I loved, but I had just had a baby and was struggling with the work life balance and missed my son. So I resigned, cashed in my 401K and sold my stocks to start my company and use that money to develop my own denim brand. I was able to take my first vacation in 20 years and noticed I had a lump in my breast. So when I arrived back home, I went to the doctor who then sent me to the hospital and within 2 days I got the news that I had breast cancer and needed to go into the hospital as it was aggressive and I could die. I had five operations the first year, in and out of the hospital for tests every three months, unable to work and with a small toddler. One day I received these beautiful flowers from my old boss Ralph Lauren ( he even signed the card ) and when I called to thank him for the flowers, his assistant said ” if you need anything, do not hesitate, we are here for you”. Within 45 days my medical bills hit $250K, I was too ill to work, with a baby, and all this debt. It was Mr. Lauren’s personal generosity which is why I was able to have the best medical care and take time off to heal. Also many work colleges and vendors stepped up. I credit those acts of kindness to my mission to give back to others, especially mentoring. That was 20 years ago and I am finally in survivorship and healthy. Had it not been for the generosity of others, I would not be here or have been able to grow my company.
Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?
I often keep in touch with clients and brands and some I consider friends. I help foster brand loyalty by making introductions to B2B vendors & publications which would otherwise be impossible to make for small start ups.
I guide them even after our contractual engagement has ended and share about their brands via social media and in articles. The clients who tend to stay in touch and follow my lead are the most successful. I can tell within the initial ” sit down ” working with a client who will succeed and who will fail. Often the clients who want to learn and actually listen to their consultants are successful. I often say ” trust the process “. I am always honest even telling the brand that the name is awful or that the product needs changes, and it can seem hurtful, but its in the best interest of the brand that you guide them in the right direction, even if its not what they want to hear. Many smaller brands and designers think its Project Runway or are more concerned with the photoshoot, unboxing, and social media posts, which is secondary to the actual product in my opinion. I often quote my great grandma ( she was a seamstress in the garment district in NYC in 1907 ) used to say to Me as a little girl ‘only a true friend tells you to wash your face and put on lipstick so you are prettier than them’. I keep an open door for questions, reply to all emails, and even spend time socially with some clients who become like family.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.godmotherNYCinc.com
- Instagram: @godmotherNYCinc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=godmother%20nyc%20inc.
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinerucci/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@christinerucci725
Image Credits
Photo by Mark Adams https://markadamspictures.com/