The Oscar Finale

11:20Lauren:No, we haven't started it. And we told Oscar before he passed that we're going to leave the company because they announced they hired Peter Koppin. So I said, OK, like now you have someone coming in in October. I would like to let you know that we want to start our own business. So we didn't even have a name for the company. And we weren't like we both interviewed around the world, but we weren't like really sure where we want to go. Also, we were like pitching to people. We're together like you're getting two. Like it's not separate. So it was like kind of hard to land on a job we were excited about.

11:58Lauren:So we started Monse, something I've always wanted to do. Fernando was kind of like, oh, I just want to be a creative director at a big company. I'm like, no, no, no, we're starting our own brand.

12:09Fernando Garcia:This is factual. I think I was just too scared. I was 27 at the time when we started Monse. I meant, just like imagine, a 27-year-old. Like, no offense to anybody who was successful, but I was rightfully scared to start my own brand. And yeah, Laura's right. Like we went, I got to meet Sarah Burton, Tom Ford, a couple of people, and it was a package deal. And it was interesting to see the hesitation for that reason. But it worked out for the best.

12:38Laura Kim:yeah it's an that's interesting because you'd expect there are so many creative directors on the visual side that are duos that you'd think that like people would be open to that if you need like these people already work really well together we might as well make room for them but i guess you know everybody has their yeah everybody's different yes so you start Monse stuff happens you consult I don't know if you're allowed to speak to this but you consult for Carolina Herrera in dramatic fashion for a couple seasons never forget the denim dress that you all put down the runway and then all this stuff happens you end up getting appointed co-creative directors of Oscar de la Renta and you're still working on Monse and I remember going to that first show and it being a really big deal.

13:36Laura Kim:Like there were very few in my career, there have been very few shows in New York Fashion Week that have been like, you have to go. I would say Prabal, Gurung, Wes Gordon, Yuall and Sandra Lack from C's Marjan are the ones that come to mind of like, also like Kirby Jean Raymond, but later, like later collections, it wasn't his first one. It wasn't people were whispering, but with Yuall, it was like, you have to go to this show. When you were appointed at Oscar, what did you feel like your mission was there? And talk a little bit about how you managed developing both brands, because by the time you did that, the kind of consensus in the industry was that doing a brand and doing a fashion house, like doing an indie brand and doing a fashion house was near impossible.

14:26Laura Kim:And we see that today. Very few people even attempt that anymore because it's just so difficult. Like, what was your mission for Oscar and what was your mission for Monse and how did they grow, you know, simultaneously?

14:40Lauren:Well, for Oscar, it was important we carry on his DNA and also not abandon the clients, the existing clients, because they had a very healthy business. But we did want to slowly get younger clients, get different clients, and not noticeably, like aggressively, but slowly so it doesn't scare the business side. so i think we did that pretty well yeah now we have a bigger audience at oscar that's very

15:13Fernando Garcia:different from a decade ago i think we can admit that it took us like two or three years to like really understand how to navigate that dna with our perspective i think the first couple of years i was most definitely like scared to like try something that i know he would not have liked as much or but it took like a couple years for us like you know with the people that we were around surrounding ourselves with what do they wear like it's it's a different crowd different generation

15:47Lauren:so it took us a second so like now we when we go to stores for trunk shows they actually the stores tell me like oscar's one of the brand where there's like a daughter a mother and grandmother can shop and there's not that many brands that have that wide range and also like I think a lot of brands last 10 years went down in quality but we actually like I feel like our quality of now is better than ever also because like I wasn't able to do that at Monsay but at Oscar it's not my money so it's easier to like fight for more expensive things but our CEO Alex also believed in like being the best in what we're doing so last 10 years we consistently build up to source better fabric use better um labor like so that I'm really proud

16:47Laura Kim:of yeah I'm I'm we're doing and this will air after our Super Bowl party but we're doing the Super Bowl party puck with Oscar de la Renta and I'm borrowing a jacket for it and and some earrings um but I was sending you all photos and it is really good really nice like the the a I like that I love the collection suddenly it I'm like an Oscar girl after you all are leaving but um But you can feel it. Like it's construction, the fit, all of that stuff. And I got a bunch of different sizes and I was like, oh, actually, like I could probably wear three of these sizes just because like the structure of the garment is so good that like it's you could really tell.

17:41Laura Kim:And it also, it's interesting you mentioned this sort of wanting the younger customer because I think that the big giant European houses are now super focused on the customer in a way that they weren't when you all started. And they are so worried about alienating like a certain kind of customer. And I'm curious what you think about this. Yes, there is the very traditional customer, but do you think it's also just a matter of taste more than age in some cases? Do you have older customers who want your crop top and then a younger customer who wants something more conservative? Or do you think it is just a matter of taking care of those loyal clients while drawing new clients in?

18:34Lauren:It's definitely a taste. We have older clients in their 70s, and they have a body like 17-year-old, and they dress much younger than their other 70-year-olds. But in general, I think that's a very small percentage of women. In general, I do think there's a bracket of things a certain age group can wear.

19:03Fernando Garcia:there is a bracket of customers that come in and just buy their wardrobe for the entire season and we hear about it directly from our boss and it's just like a different echelon and they do know that they can come to oscar or that kind of level of quality

19:24Laura Kim:i don't smoke and i never have but i feel like everyone else i know is suddenly smoking again Of course, it's a free country. So if you like smoking, do what you will. But if your New Year's resolution is to quit or even to use nicotine in a healthier way, check out Quit With Jones. Visit quitwithjones.com slash fashion to take the free quiz and use code fashion to get 15 % off your personalized quitting journey. That's quitwithjones.com slash fashion. Taking back control starts now. Thanks to Quit With Jones for supporting this episode. Just a heads up, the mints contain nicotine, which is an addictive chemical.

20:09Laura Kim:Jones is FDA approved and available for those that are 18 and older.

20:14Fernando Garcia:For years, Gone South has been a podcast about crime in the American South. But for our new season, we're widening the lens. Through deeply reported narrative-driven stories, We're digging into the myths, scandals, and power structures that still shape the South, and in a lot of ways, the country itself. Follow and listen to Gone South Season 5, an Odyssey podcast. Available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your shows.

20:46Laura Kim:Okay, so you developed this, Brandon, and I think you all did a really good job with it. Like it was, it's hard, and I'll stop talking after this, but it's hard from, to be in a U.S.-based company that is not owned by a conglomerate. And so you're not getting the same benefits that even some of the other U.S.-based competitors have in terms of just access and financing and all that stuff. and you were able to keep selling clothes in a time when selling clothes wasn't really the thing that a lot of these other brands were focused on. And I thought you did a good job of keeping the brand pure while still bringing in new people and making it not feel dated or what have you.

21:43Laura Kim:So simultaneously, you're developing this brand, Monse, which is very much based on a men's shirt and like the idea of taking menswear tropes and flipping them. And what has your experience been with that? I'm sure there have been tons of ups and downs. You've been through all these different sort of like retail apocalypses. You've, you know, you do, it's a lot of wholesale. How have you developed Monse and how did you get to the point where you just felt like, you know what, I got to focus on this full time.

22:19Lauren:So going back to the beginning of your question, selling clothes, just clothes, not leather goods for a brand, it's hard and Oscar managed to be very profitable. The business being like almost all just ready to wear. that um i think we were able to maintain that especially because like during covid we had like a i mean everyone had a budget cut we all think about like where can we cut down where can we spend less and it really helped me and fernando to focus on who's our client and this is what we need to do and then we didn't order like let's say like if i order like 30 different kinds of fabrics we only ordered 15 and we still were able to sell same amount of clothes and then after a couple more seasons we actually sold more and more so it is so important to like really understand where you stand as a brand and who your client is and just focus on it because if you like want to dress everyone and if you keep like expanding what you want to do your ideas get diluted you spend time on products that doesn't ever want to sell like we stop doing like minimal things because that's just like people are not going to come to oscar for that so that really helped me and fernando though like kind of like a regrouping of what is really necessary

23:52Fernando Garcia:when covid happened and and even before covid when laura and i left oscar to start monse and we didn't have that protective umbrella of a big brand uh you have to like fight for yourself and yeah and that's like we didn't have the brand name so we have to figure out what is going to work for this brand that we're creating so shirting and like knitwear became like a starting

24:16Lauren:point but um it's still our driving but we didn't sales we didn't know we didn't know and i don't

24:21Fernando Garcia:think that we would have been as efficient in our roles as creative directors at oscar had we not to experience the Monse of it all.

24:29Laura Kim:Do you have a lot of crossover customers? I assume so. Yeah.

24:33Lauren:It's interesting we do. Yeah.

24:37Laura Kim:I'm sure they come to you for certain life things at Monse and certain life things at Oscar.

24:44Lauren:Yeah.

24:45Fernando Garcia:That was my biggest, proudest moment. People ask me, what was your favorite red carpet? I still remember to this day and Laura and I in our second collection with Monse, going to a dinner, her and I and somebody else, I forget who, and just looking at somebody across the room who does not know us wearing a Monse blouse from...

25:06Lauren:And she was like 70 plus. Yeah. Very elegant, older lady.

25:13Fernando Garcia:That was to me a huge benchmark.

25:16Laura Kim:One of the things with Monse that's been interesting is just like your celebrity placements. Like obviously Oscar de la Renta has a great celebrity red carpet. And there's been, I've written a lot about this and there's been a lot written about Alex's strategy of having you all like really focus on red carpet for the marketing rather than runway shows, that sort of thing and how successful that's been. But like when you look back at Monset in particular and like Sarah Jessica Parker wearing it really early on, but then Michelle Obama wearing it to the DNC, was it two years ago now? No, I'm trying.

25:55Laura Kim:It's like, how helpful has the celebrity stuff been for Monsa in particular? Given that you, I'm sure you see the like ROI on that stuff more clearly than a brand like Oscar where like, yeah, you make an Oscars dress. Great. But like you're, you might get a few orders for that, but it's, it's a little more ephemeral. The effects of red carpet for a brand like that, I would assume.

26:19Fernando Garcia:I mean, Monsa started when social media started. So I don't know what our trajectory would have been without having direct access to our customers via social media. So outside of celebrity, I think social media changed our trajectory. Like celebrity, obviously, it was our placement. We didn't have the budget to afford advertising and magazines. So it was just our only way to let the world know what we're doing. it let the world know what we're doing so celebrity but also social media like where would we you know

26:54Lauren:talk about it if it wasn't for instagram you know it's not for like because i've spoken to other brands at our price level it doesn't always turn into sales whenever there was like a big pr moment or celebrity moments but for monstay whenever someone wears something it actually you're not selling exactly that piece because most of the time that piece is not in stock yeah but there is definitely more attraction to our website and we do sell more product flora what about for you

27:27Laura Kim:who you are a i'd say like naturally pretty shy person um maybe not maybe not i don't know i i feel like you're not shy with me but even like i remember interviewing you all i think i used to do did I used to do Monse did I ever do Monse style.com reviews maybe I think you did BOF reviews BOF reviews but I remember coming to like for pre-interviews with you all and at the beginning especially Fernando maybe talking more but then that changed and you be Laura you became more comfortable with that stuff I think but generally I'd say you're naturally not um you don't it It feels like you're kind of a shy person.

28:14Laura Kim:But then you became a bit of an influencer. And also you were sort of the spokesperson for both of those brands in some ways. In terms of like the ideal customer for Oscar and Monse. The new customer for Oscar. And like you're like the muse and the designer and everything for Monse. but like how did you feel as a person about that sort of development? Because you own, you co-own the business, you co-design, you do all these things and also you've suddenly become like an avatar for the brands as well.

28:57Lauren:You know, when we first started Monse or first got our job at Oscar, I think I was too young and I didn't relate to the customer. and like five years in i think like it was like late 30s that's when i felt really like okay like i'm actually the customer here and i can relate to what they need um certain events i have to go every year this is what they need if i go to this vacation this is what i need if i go to work this is what i need to wear like it all kind of like start to make sense to me in my late 30s what women need at this price point. So I think I just, I was too young in the beginning, to be honest with you.

29:41Lauren:I just didn't understand. Because I worked, like we worked like 18 hours a day. Only place we went was the office. Like we didn't even go out for dinner. So I just didn't understand that whole lifestyle.

29:53Fernando Garcia:Yeah, and I think that Laura's Renaissance

29:59Fernando Garcia:made it very clear to the world and to the customer that the things that we design, the life that we lead, are applied directly into the collections. There's a, it's like tangible. And I do think that there is something unique about that in Monse, and obviously for Oscar as well. You believe it. You're not sold it, you believe it. Quite transparent with how we lead our lives, thanks to social media again. And I feel like I do think that sets us apart. Yeah, it really helped me to understand when we had a little bit of a life.

30:44Lauren:Because we were literally at the office our whole day.

30:49Fernando Garcia:Yeah, no, I think after the passing of Oscar was really where we, after, where we became fully grown adults, I think. And then after COVID, another renaissance. But we were just not leading the lives of the things we were designing. So I think now it's a little different.

31:12Laura Kim:Why did you guys not want to do both? I mean, obviously, it's a lot of work. But why did it feel like now was the right time to focus on Monse?

31:22Lauren:I think I feel we feel very differently how where we are in life 10 years ago compared to now and to kind of like reset your work or ideas like what you want to do like I we needed some room to breathe to kind of like sort it out again because we're just not the same person we were a decade ago so it's not about not wanting to do both jobs it's more about like what is it exactly what we want to do what's our vision for the next well i think 20 years also

32:00Fernando Garcia:manse grew you know manse grew and we are um just being real with alex and the company about uh where our priorities are and we have to focus on this thing that we created and now it's at a stage where it needs our full attention.

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33:22Laura Kim:Given how sort of, I would say, realistic you all are about how the world works and how the industry works. And how hard it is to have one of these brands. Why are you doing this? You know, I love you guys. And we've known each other forever. and I have to be, you know, I just need to be straightforward. I'm not trying to like pin you, but why are you doing this? Because we all know that this is hard as fuck.

33:51Lauren:No, everyone told us that, yeah.

33:53Laura Kim:And you have, you had Oscar and you were able to kind of keep both going and you can keep on saying going for the rest of your lives. You will figure it out. You'll always find an investor to do it. Knowing the way the world works and how hard it is for American brands and how hard it is for all these things. why why do you want to do this to yourselves because the next time someone else goes um the next time someone else goes um bankrupt the another company goes bankrupt you guys are going to lose money like it's like every time something's going to happen and you're gonna you know

34:34Fernando Garcia:how why do you guys want to deal with that shit a we're not in our 20s anymore right so our energy capacity is different but yeah number two we grew really confident the business at oscar is a ready to wear business the customer comes for the clothes not for the handbag the lipstick or the perfume like i know that we want to aspire to get that customer as well but we you know made the business grow to a level that we feel confident that we can give our customers what they need so we are going to just focus on that on Monsei.

35:07Lauren:Also, like you said, like, you know, if we were to just do one, I think a lot of people would have chosen Oscar over Monsei. It's an easier choice. It's very secure choice. And it's a job that we both love. But honestly, I've been there for 23 years. And I'm not someone who gets bored of stuff. But like, I think I've been there long enough. I need to try something new. Like I know choosing Monday over Oscar was not the safest choice, probably not the smartest choice, but we're excited to grow something on our own. And Laura and I are so

35:50Fernando Garcia:competitive as people, and whenever we get a little bit of a fire under our asses, we deliver tenfold. So I'm noticing it in myself, or like it's just,

36:01Lauren:it's like it's it's exciting also we want to build it to be more than just a fashion brand i think that's another drive we had behind choosing monstay was like we want to build monstay as to like a lifestyle brand instead of just fashion brand and that's something i can't do at oscar so

36:22Laura Kim:i want to talk really quickly and i won't keep you all for much longer it makes sense i understand The one thing I will say is I think, Laura, you and I are, I think, exactly the same age. Yeah. We don't have to reveal it on here, although I talk about mine all the time.

36:37Lauren:Didn't you call us like oldest millennial or something?

36:39Laura Kim:Yeah, I called you guys, once I called you old millennial workhorses or something, it was like you and Jason and you all were like group texting and making fun. And Brandon and all your people. But Laura, I think you and I are like exactly the same age. Fernando, you're a little younger, but I also think the 40s for like our generation, it's the time. Like if you're going to do something, you've got to do it. I know that your 50s are great too and you can still make money in your 50s. But like if you're going to do it. And I think it used to be the prime time was like 30s or whatever. Like it's different now.

37:21Laura Kim:And so I totally understand. I wanted to just speak really briefly about you two and your working relationship. And like you have been working together forever. Fernando, you were her intern, all that stuff. I still am.

37:36Fernando Garcia:I still am.

37:37Laura Kim:Yeah. Everybody knows about your relationship and like how it's developed and changed and all that. We don't have to go into that. But I think the thing I'm curious about is like, how do you two still work together and make it work? because having a part creative partnership is really hard and and a lot of people quote unquote break up and you two have really stuck together and I'm curious like why do you think it works

38:06Fernando Garcia:between the two of you uh we were very blessed to have parents that raised us and with harsh truth uh as a love language uh and so and Oscar very much believed in that too and I did feel a connection with him and Laura and me as a threesome where we could just spit it out and say what we think about the dress or the day without offending anybody. We would not ever take offense to anything. And once I found that in Laura and Oscar, it made me grow a little bit faster as an adult, thanks to the truth of it all. And I think that it's also not something for everybody. I haven't met so many people in my life lately before where it's too much to handle, to hear the real truth about whatever the hell is going on in your day.

39:02Fernando Garcia:So I grabbed a hold on to that and never let go.

39:07Lauren:But also, like, I do like Fernando as a person. I want to see him every day. Yeah.

39:13Fernando Garcia:Nikki, our best friend, she does stuff that tells me. you guys like are you not like sick of each other like and i'm like no it's like outside of what i just said it's also like laura said fun i'm excited to see fernando every day like i literally wake

39:30Lauren:up do my whole breakfast like three hour ritual and i'm like oh let's go see fernando now whereas

39:36Fernando Garcia:she texts me where are you sometimes i think that she means it with like a positive but i always see that text and I am like no it's more like you're late where are you I um yeah I feel like the one

39:52Laura Kim:of the reasons that I feel close to you guys is the I can be honest with you and say things like

39:58Fernando Garcia:why are you doing this yeah well you just spit it out and we we know you very well too we know when you're thinking something and you say it and we feel it's a sign of love when you yeah I do

40:10Laura Kim:really feel of I don't want to get emotional but I do feel like a real love and and respect for you all and also just really quickly to shout out Alex Bolin I think the reason you all worked so well with him because is because he is like that too yeah also and have incredible admiration and respect for Alex did you hear he broke his arm yeah I didn't so he's gonna be at this this um this Super Bowl party with a sling?

40:42Fernando Garcia:There's beer pong involved and he can't play. Damn it.

40:46Laura Kim:There will be no football throwing. Oh no, oh no. Yeah, I've seen some, this party's gonna be wild. I'm very excited.

40:53Fernando Garcia:This reminds me of when he took me with his boys to play paintball, like even before Oscar Die, was it?

40:59Lauren:Yeah.

41:00Fernando Garcia:And on the first round, he slips into the grass and cracks his back or something. There's an ambulance that comes to pick him up when he was trying to be all like, not a boomer oh my god they're gonna kill me after this no he's gonna love it that's the thing that's

41:14Laura Kim:why you all are so great and why it's worked and you've been able to build a business like you said on selling clothes which like most people can't do today and i and it's just um it's been it's been great to see and i'm glad it worked out i'm glad i'm happy for you all that you're doing this and um i'm excited for you to keep me updated on how it goes and and what you learn about the world just working on this stuff full-time. The hard world. The hard world. I can't wait to see you both this week at some point. And congratulations on everything. You should be really proud of yourselves. And the whole thing about this industry, in my opinion, is that you got to do what's right for you and for the company that you work for, whether you own it or you don't.

42:00Laura Kim:And I think you both really know yourselves really well. And that's why what you've done at Oscar has worked, what you've done at Monse has worked and, and why people still care. And so congrats. It's been a, it's been a privilege to be able to write and report about you and get to know you both.

42:20Fernando Garcia:You too. Thank you, Lauren.

42:22Laura Kim:Thank you, Lauren. Fashion People is a presentation of Odyssey in partnership with Puck. This show was produced and edited by Molly Nugent. Special thanks to our executive producers, Puck co-founder John Kelly, executive editor Ben Landy, and director of editorial operations, Gobby Grossman. An additional thanks to the team at Odyssey, J.D. Crowley, Jenna Weiss-Berman, and Bob Tabador.

42:51Fernando Garcia:I'm Spencer, and I work at UnitedHealthcare.

42:54Laura Kim:So, Spencer, why do you care?

42:56Fernando Garcia:I care because my daughter, Adeline, has special needs. I am motivated by Adeline, who inspires me every day. I am driven to help families like mine navigate the healthcare system. I'm so blessed to lead an amazing team at UnitedHealthcare, focusing on the member experience and making that better. I'm Spencer, and I'm committed to care.