We were lucky to catch up with Dylan Ifergane recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dylan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We love asking folks what they would do differently if they were starting today – how they would speed up the process, etc. We’d love to hear how you would set everything up if you were to start from step 1 today

My journey in the fashion industry was undoubtedly challenging at the outset, characterized by a relentless cycle of trial and error. From owning nightclubs to fashion labels, there was more than a tad of a painful learning curve. Each misstep taught me valuable lessons, and I had to ensure that these did not jeopardize the stability or growth of my company. As we expanded to several thousand stores carrying our line, we found a degree of stability, even amid ongoing challenges – however, COVID & hyper-inflation didn’t help at all.

Reflecting on my experience, one significant change I would make is moving to Los Angeles instead of remaining in Miami. Initially, I believed Los Angeles would serve as a vibrant fashion hub akin to New York City or my hometown Paris, but I quickly learned that California presents its own set of challenges, particularly regarding taxation, high cost of doing business, and the high cost of living – all the while not being nearly as relevant as far as the fashion world goes comparably to Paris or NYC. Although, I will admit the California the state itself is gorgeous, just horrifically managed.

Additionally, I would dedicate more time to the analytical aspects of the business. While creativity and design are crucial, integrating a strong financial foundation is equally important. Balancing innovative ideas with sound financial management is vital, especially in the early stages, to ensure long-term success. Or else you have a bunch of cool ideas without money to execute them.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I grew up in a comfortable environment, but everything changed when I was around 10 or 11 years old, and my family lost everything. This experience instilled in me a strong work ethic, fueled by the fear of losing what we once had. I watched my family struggle to meet basic needs, which motivated me to start working at just 13 years old.

I began organizing both legal and illegal events, primarily parties, which eventually grew into festivals attracting 5,000 to 10,000 people. Recognizing a unique opportunity, I approached a failing nightclub that was on the verge of closing. With the help of a much older friend—who could lend credibility to our pitch—we proposed a last-ditch effort: I would take a 30% stake, manage the club, and if it didn’t succeed, they had nothing to lose as it was closing down anyways. They agreed.

In just three months, I transformed the nightclub from losing $67,000 a month to generating a little over $100,000 in net profit per month. At 14, I found myself owning a piece of a top-tier venue in Miami Beach, which funny enough I wasn’t “technically” legally allowed to set foot in the club – due to my age. However, my success sparked hostility from the majority owners, who wanted to renegotiate and break our contract. I offered them two options: either I buy them out completely or they buy me out. They chose to buy me out.

Within months, I signed a lease for a new venue, began construction, and relocated my staff and operations back to my events. Remarkably, just 120 days after I left, the club I had rebuilt into a powerhouse closed down. A year later, my new club opened, a beautiful success & the rest, as they say, is history.

After several successful years, I launched other businesses and now focus on my fashion venture, which I’m extremely proud and passionate about.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

On a serious note, I faced a life-threatening situation a few years ago during the height of COVID. I contracted a mysterious deadly & fast-acting brain infection that caused me to lose nearly all my vision in just two weeks, and had it continued just a week or two longer, my life. It was an incredibly challenging time. After weeks of testing, retesting, and a bit of blind luck, I was finally cured and began the slow journey to recovery.

This was by far the most harrowing experience of my life. Near the end, I truly believed without a doubt in my mind, this was the end for my life. After the extremely fast-paced infection ravaged my body and made doctors clueless, I wrote a will, prepared my family, said my goodbyes, and consulted an estate attorney—preparations I never imagined I’d have to make for at-least 5-6 more decades.

Once I recovered, I realized I wanted to embrace life more fully and find a balance between joy and business growth. However, I quickly fell back into the habit of putting my happiness on the back burner. It’s an ongoing struggle to get things done while ensuring that I don’t let work overshadow living my life.

At that time, I wish I could say I had an amazing team, but we were actually understaffed, which added immense pressure. I was navigating a life-altering, expensive, and terrifying medical emergency while also trying to stabilize a business in the midst of a global pandemic that was lasting far longer than anyone anticipated.

Fortunately, I had been saving 12% of our net revenue into an emergency fund—something many had told me was excessive. But that fund ultimately saved us. The moral of the story? Always err on the side of caution; it’s better to have a safety net than to be left with none.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

In the fashion world, trade shows remain the primary—and often sole—way to acquire new clients. Major events like Coterie NYC, Las Vegas Project, ATL Market, and Paris Who’s Next can generate a return on investment, but the actual results often fall short when you factor in costs associated, cancellation of orders, and minimum production order requirements. It creates a tricky cycle where it may seem like you’re making money, but the reality can be quite different. Dealing with some shows & show staff can quite frequently be a problem, they consistently provide poor-ish placement and have genuinely no care how you perform, getting paid regardless if the show does well or poorly.

I’ve found that a balanced approach—combining cold calls, in-house sales team, international & national trade shows, and building strong relationships—has been the key to our success. Sometimes this means making unconventional customer service agreements, all in the name of nurturing those relationships. Word of mouth is invaluable, and offering competitive pricing for our products has made it easier to sell.

Over the past decade, we’ve managed to open nearly 5,000 locations carrying our brand. While not all of those are still active, it’s an astonishing figure—about 5 times more than any brand I know that isn’t owned by a billion dollar parent or have the checkbook of a finance group. I’m very proud of the accomplishments we’ve made, frustrated about the mistakes we’ve also made, but most importantly excited about the launch of our new brand & our rapid growth targets for 2025 which should be an incredible year hopefully.

Contact Info:

• Website: www,scandalitaly.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dylanifergane
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/difergane