Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Änna Bencivenga. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Änna thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

In current American fashion, there is a lot of the same. There are pieces that are popular, and that I could probably source and make some quick sales following the latest trends. But that seems really exhausting, always chasing the next popular thing. It is Urbanä’s mission to provide our clients quality, affordable, unique pieces that make them feel empowered. If you follow our social (which we hope you do @shop.urbana), you will see that the vast majority of our stories, posts, etc are not clothing or trying to sell you something. They are about community. They are about showcasing the people that WEAR the clothing because ultimately, that is the most important part of our mission. We are a people business. When our clients find something that speaks to them, it is glaringly apparent. They burst out of the curtained dressing room to saunter around. If you aren’t sauntering, we are not pushing you to purchase. We want to help YOU, and if what you are trying on isn’t making you FEEL more authentically, and beautifully yourself, let’s try something else. We are perfectly aware that this may be contradictory to our competitors in the industry, but ultimately, we believe it will lead to a much more profitable, success long term (and one we can feel really, really good about). People first, always.

Änna, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I began my foire into fashion as a commercial print model in my early twenties. I am 5’11. At that time in print, being a size 2 (which don’t get me started on the lack of standard in sizing) was not only the norm, but encouraged. However, this was not and never will be normal for MY body. When you’re going to castings, and there is no “hi, how are you?” to begin a conversation, but “what size jeans are you?”, it is difficult to avoid developing a complex (let alone when you’re twenty and have absolutely no idea what you’re doing and who you are). I worked with so many young women who developed serious disordered eating habits and did everything they could to stay the unhealthy size that they were. When I was 22 and a recent Vocal Performance graduate, obviously there was so many jobs waiting for me post-college (can you hear the sarcasm in my typing??). I got a job with a European boutique in downtown Pittsburgh. I worked with many business women in the area who were so strong and accomplished, but get them in front of a mirror, and they picked themselves apart. “Oh, I need to drop five pounds.” “Look at the wrinkles around my eyes.” This is when I developed the Änna-ism that I use to this day, “excuse me, we don’t talk like that here.” These women who were so beautiful inside and out could not see past what they felt they needed to “fix” or “change” about their appearance and see themselves and their bodies as whole, perfectly imperfect vessels through which they move and effect (or affect – I never get that right) their surroundings in all of these fantastic ways. At 25, the original owner was selling the business and asked if I wanted to buy it, but I was 25. I had no money and no buying experience. Enter my bff, who had been in corporate management for her entire career. That was it. Overnight I became a buyer and my late twenties were spent traveling internationally with her several times a year to purchase pieces that we were the only people in America that carried. That time in my life was absolutely fantastic. It helped me understand the European aesthetic, sense of quality and unique look of their clothing and the quality of their work/life balance. I wouldn’t change it for any amount of money in the entire world. However, there was one big issue: I couldn’t afford the vast majority of pieces that I was selling. After 6 years of working and travel, it was time for a change, and Urbanä was born. I wanted to combine the knowledge I had acquired in my time at the boutique, not only from a unique, quality clothing aspect, but also to add the element of affordability for women of all ages. I grew up with a mother who couldn’t , and still can’t, spend five dollars on herself, and quite frankly, I think that’s stupid. It sucks the joy out of a shopping experience. I wanted to provide a space where women could come just as they are and find pieces that made them feel confident in their current body. At 31, I still didn’t have much money, but I had a concept and some experience under my belt. Urbanä opened on August 22nd, 2019, and it has been such a beautiful, petrifying, yet exhilarating ride ever since. I believe that the core of any business must be mission and community in order to be truly successful. Ultimately, Urbanä is about something so much bigger than hocking clothes. Clothing is the conduit through which I am able to help people feel confident in their own skin.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I started Urbanä in August 2019. That year had already been a doozy with the passing of several family members and my husband and I buying our first home. Overhead scared the living daylights out of me so I decided to split a space with someone who was opening a coffee concept. I had 400sqft, three clothing racks, a shoji screen as a “dressing room,” and the smallest credit card at the highest percent of interest known to mankind. At the end of holiday that first year, with six pieces of clothing left, it became glaringly apparent that I needed my own space. Fortunately, two doors down, the local tailor was retiring and vacating their coveted space. I swooped in and signed the lease two weeks before the shut down (wah!). Some would have been discouraged and used it as permission to give up. I dug my heels in. I began to dive into ecomm which i would have avoided like the plague for eternity had I had the option. However, I did not. I am firm believer in finding the silver linings. COVID was horrible. However, it gave me the opportunity to start figuring out what I am sure will be a very lucrative and necessary part of any business model in a post-covid world. The shutdown gave me a chance to take a much needed breath after a year of so much change and hang out with my husband and doggo. The shutdown showed me that the community of which I am a part is so fantastic and supportive, and I am incredibly fortunate to be here. One of my many “Änna-isms” that I say every single day to my clients is that “nothing is that big of a deal.” After a year of seeing too many people in their last moments on earth, and being shut in our houses afraid of a real-life plague, you understand NOTHING really matters, the caveat being how you treat yourself and the people around you. Nothing else is that big of a deal, and you can make it through with determination, perseverance, and a little help from friends.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

This is easy. The boob wall. Boob wall? Yes. Boob wall. I have an art installation in what is now lovingly referred to as the “booboir” that has been a conversation starter for the young, old, man, woman, etc. It is exactly what it sounds like, a wall full of different shapes and sizes. I have had a WIDE variety of reactions to the installation from offense, to giggling, to tears, and I love that! My whole mission is helping women in every age and stage of life find things that make them FEEL beautiful and honoring the body that they are currently in. Instead of wishing they looked like XY or Z influencer, or the person they were in their earlier years, it’s about dressing and loving your current self. Some times, you go through stuff (there are boobies with mastectomy – single or double). You have three kiddos (and nurse them to the detriment of your once perky set). You get the idea. How women of all ages and stages view their bodies is a HUGE conversation that needs to be challenged and turned toward something far more loving and appreciative than it has been in societal past. I have had little girls at the age of 12 come in and tell me that they are on diets, that needs to change. I have had new mommies, three month’s post partum, tell me how their body has shifted and they wish they had their old bodies back, that needs to change. I have had grandmothers who can tell their granddaughters how beautiful and worthy they are, but when they look at themselves in the mirror, all they see are the parts that they wish were different or would go back to how they once were. What do you think this is subconsciously telling our youth? Body image and self-love are HUGE conversations that need to change, and if I can help start the conversation by painting some boobs on a wall, I am here for it forever an ever.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shop-urbana.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shop.urbana/?hl=en