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

Breana , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, let’s imagine that you were advising someone who wanted to start something similar to you and they asked you what you would do differently in the startup-process knowing what you know now. How would you respond?

Starting off, I feel as if I didn’t put enough thought and effort into my creative process. I have learned that planning and development is a truly integral part of the design process. I experienced this when developing my last collection, where I as able to devote the necessary time to that. I wish I could go back and just really have a well defined process when it came to the pieces I was making and designing when I first started sewing and designing.

Fashion is a trial and error process, and in my experience, spending more time on the development of the collection makes sewing the final product so much easier. It also cuts the time that the trial and error period takes down significantly!

I also would tell myself to be a lot more open to going to networking events and pop up shops. I’m pretty introverted, so stepping out my comfort zone and attending more events has been a great way for me to meet new people, and really get my name out more.

Breana , 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?

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve said I wanted to be a fashion designer. Ironically enough, when I started college I struggled with that being my career path due to uncertainty of my success and pressures put on me by people around me. I started college as a nursing major, but I kept going back and fourth with myself about it because I knew I would never be satisfied in that field. I immediately met with an advisor who told me about the Apparel Design program at LSU, and I knew I had to change my major. I followed my passion and fell in love with the art of designing and sewing.

From this, Breana Monét was born. My brand is an embodiment of me and my personal style. I try to make my pieces appropriate for all body types and people of all walks of life. My main goal with my brand is to make the wearer feel sexy and confident! I love being able to see people wear my looks and see the confidence that exudes from them when they truly love a piece. Seeing others love my work brings me so much joy, and that’s always my goal when creating and designing collections. I had low self confidence growing up due to insecurities and overthinking. I attribute me finding confidence in myself to the art of fashion and self expression. Being able to show the emotions that I struggled to communicate through my outfits was a way to showcase my personality without even speaking. That is why I love fashion so much, and I want that feeling to show through my designs. That’s always been the goal for me, to make everyone feel sexy, empowered, and confident when they put on a Breana Monét piece.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

For my brand, social media marketing has brought in the most clientele. When I first started selling products, I only used Instagram. Instagram was a good way of building clientele, but more recently TikTok has been a great way for me to reach a wider audience. I love posting behind the scenes videos of my creative processes and sewing videos. I love being transparent about the process of making the clothing that I sell.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I started my brand in 2020, but in 2021 I lost my mother to covid. She was one of my biggest supporters and was a big encouragement for me when it came to pushing myself. That was a hard time for me, and I spent some time away from the brand. It wasn’t until 2023 I started truly working towards putting myself out there once again. I developed a five piece collection for school, and I applied for New Orleans Fashion Week to really push myself to make that a full collection. It can still be hard at times, but I continue to push myself to accomplish all the things I knew she would’ve wanted me to. I want to accomplish them for myself as well, but I hold her near and dear to my heart as a way to push me to continue to go harder.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/breanamonet
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breanamstudios/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/breana-taylor-26a070197?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@breanamonett

Image Credits
@oshabluueye @kaliii @cidotci @tbdmagazine (All instagram handles)