We recently connected with Stacy Baker Masand and have shared our conversation below.

Stacy, appreciate you joining us today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

I’m far happier as a business owner. Even before I started a luxury fashion brand, I’ve had my own business working as a brand and creative strategist and I’ve been an author, all endeavors that allow you to take an idea from concept to execution. I absolutely love to create something out of nothing, to make something exist that has never before had a form, shape or matter. Do I sometimes think about having a regular job? Yes. But then I remember what it’s like to have a regular job. (Kidding.) For me, because my brand Lunatic Femme is still so small, I mostly miss the people. The team building, the camaraderie, the sort of day-in, day-out connection you create when working closely with people in the same space. There’s also the thrill of creating something with others and riding the highs and lows that come from bringing something to life. Being an entrepreneur can be isolating and I honestly do believe that creativity can be more magical when you do it with others — you often get more beautiful results and, of course, it’s amazing to share that with a team. What I’ve tried to do as an entrepreneur is to bring what I love about regular jobs — the collective creativity, the passion, the team spirit, the “we’re in it together” culture — into work we do with contractors and agencies. I want to be able to create the kind of culture that makes people feel proud to be part of even though we’re a small start-up.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Lunatic Femme creates micro-batched, made-in-NYC lingerie collections built around stories and all of those stories come together create a larger storytelling arc. We are driven by luxury innovation, high-end design and exquisite attention to detail that allows for exploration, experimentation and play for the person wearing them, whether they wear Lunatic Femme at home or out in the wild. Each of the pieces we design mixes, matches, layers and morphs so you can style them according to your different moods or moments. Why? Our vision is for a world that liberates you from being put into a box — be that a role, an identity, a way of being — that requires you to adhere to rules or expectations or routines rather than live in the present moment. Being singularly defined is a recipe for running on autopilot or becoming bored. There is so much magic when you connect to what you want or feel in the moment and free yourself of routines or knowing outcomes. When you stay curious and playful, you squeeze the juice out of life. Because our pieces are crafted to be styled in multiple ways and inspire newness, you can be as creative and experimental as you like… or not… no matter how many times you wear. When you refuse to live according to roles or identities expected of you, it’s truly an antidote to boredom.

We believe that self-discovery, labels and roles put you in a box. We want to help you free yourself to experience the thrills that comes from never knowing yourself completely. This mindset opens you to new experiences and thrills that exist when you let go of outcomes and follow the passion, play and unpredictability of life in the moment. Think of it like connecting to the moment as it comes to you, an antidote to boredom and routine, but make it lingerie.

We’re most proud when a client tells us how ignited or turned on she feels moving through life wearing our pieces. And even more proud when that flow state remains long after they’re peeled off. We also love when clients report on new ways to style or play with our lingerie that we haven’t thought of. The endless creativity and discovery in motion is magic.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Because we believe there are so many parts of us that can always be explored, we want our lingerie to give you room to play or experiment with your style and mood. An example is that I really wanted our catsuit to have legs that removed so you could style it as a romper or wear the legs like stockings. I could see it, I knew it was possible and I believed we could do make it happen in a beautiful seamless way. I was hoping to find a luxurious “velcro-like” way to invisibly adhere the legs to the romper without the noise, bulkiness and pull of velcro. My team and I talked to countless manufacturers to figure this out. I even spoke to several departments at 3M to find an adhesive or other innovative solution. It took months of trial and error (and new patterns and new fittings). One solution required industrial sewing machines, another was used in auto manufacturing but not washing-machine or dry-clean tested. You name it, we tried it. Sure, we could’ve just made a catsuit or just made a romper but where is the fun in that? Finally we decided to use grommets with silk ties which adds if owns level of play but that definitely wasn’t our original vision. (So if anyone out there has lingerie-appropriate invisible adhesive, hit me up :). We had a similar level of trial and error with a bustier that has zip-off cups. We stuck with it through multiple revisions and our team made it happen. Because of this resilience, we’ve been able to innovate a really gorgeous play piece that you can wear in so many ways. When we see how ignited someone becomes wearing one of our styles, we know the massive attention to detail is worth it.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Interestingly, our best source of clients has been word of mouth. We work so hard to provide a beautiful experience at all touch points that we often have people tell us they found us through a friend.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lunaticfemme.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lunatic_femme/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lunaticfemme

Image Credits

photographer: @kelseyfugere
models: @thetr1n1ty, @rhiyanalexis @moestuck