Everyone has to start somewhere. For example, Barneys New York founder Barney Pressman funded his first store in 1923 with the $500 he raised by pawning his wife’s engagement ring. In this column, we talk with the fashion industry’s luminaries about how they got their businesses off the ground. In other words: the Big Bang, or how it all began.
Today we’re shining the Big Bang spotlight on wunderkind designer Alexander Wang. Now, here at Barneys, we’ve loved Mr. Wang since the early days; in fact, we were among his earliest buyers. And those of us at The Window love profiling Mr. Wang and his work: not long ago, we admired his ability to throw Fashion Week’s most unusual parties (and suggested a few future venues of our own) … and we couldn’t keep ourselves from profiling his goddess-like spring shoe collection.
Below, Mr. Wang tells us about launching his first collection. Not exactly glamorous, it entailed peddling samples from a roll-away suitcase. Our response:
You’ve come a long way, baby.
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Barneys New York: Tell us about the earliest days of your business. How did you get up and running?
Alexander Wang: We started really small with only six samples and two employees (me and my sister) and selling out of a roll away suit case! A lot of people think that if you have the right financial support then you’re all set; I wish that was the case. There was very little investment made in the beginning; our linesheets and lookbooks were printed on a single xerox page. You have to learn the process and understand how to build from something very small. There’s this perception that we grew overnight, but it was many years also jumping through and over obstacles.
BNY: So, who was the first to pick up those wares in the suitcase?
AW: In the beginning, we tried calling every showroom to represent us, nobody would return our calls or give us even a meeting. So, we took the collection ourselves to the tradeshow and signed Barneys on the first day.
BNY: And we’re so happy that you did! Who else helped you along the way?
AW: We’ve had a great amount of support that we’ve been so grateful for, but of course Barneys was our first big account.
BNY: Have you ever felt that you’ve “arrived”?
AW: I don’t know what the definition of that would be. It’s hard to admit to yourself that you’ve arrived, as I always look at our path as a constant journey.
BNY: What do you know now that you wish you had known when you were starting out?
AW: With success and recognition also comes criticism; you have to learn that you will never satisfy everyone’s needs. The most important thing is to stay focused on do what you do, and do it to the best of your ability.
- Lesley M. M. Blume and Tory Hoen
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