Photo: Courtesy of Sebastien Ami
Watch the full conversation between Sebastien and Marianne Amisial and Fashionista Staff Writer Janelle Sessoms on The Fashionista Network.
Marianne and Sebastien Amisial, founders of Sebastien Ami, started their brand in their Los Angeles living room in 2020. Four years later, they’re 2024 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalists. We caught up with the couple as they were busy preparing their first runway show at New York Fashion Week.
Both Marianne and Sebastien discovered their fashion aspirations in high school. Marianne worked in retail in Sun Valley, Idaho before moving to California to start a career in wholesale representation. “I repped so many brands I can’t even count them on my hands,” she told Janelle Sessoms live on the Fashionista Network. (Watch it here!)
Sebastien found his love for design while illustrating manga-style comics that he and his friends wrote their sophomore year. He recalls illustrating a character and erasing his head and limbs. “The clothes were the only thing [left],” Sebastien said during the interview. “I wanted to figure out what [design] was about.”
His love for illustration and the street style of Japan and L.A. led him to the Art Institute of California. However, it wasn’t until Sebastien met and worked under mentor Carl Louisville at his atelier, a luxury shop carrying eclectic brands from around the world, that he was introduced to the luxury space.
These roundabout experiences prepared them to start and market Sebastien Ami during the pandemic. They spoke in detail about finding their first retail partners and plans to increase direct-to-consumer sales during the show.
“I ended up creating a sweat pant in our small living room in Echo Park, and I felt really passionate about it,” Sebastien told Sessoms during the live show. From there, he designed a cropped hoodie and a smocked tee. The three pieces went on to define the brand’s flowing aesthetic and artistic ethos.
Now, Sebastien Ami is making its runway debut at New York Fashion Week on Sept. 11 at 2 p.m. ET. “I’ve been working so hard on enjoying every moment,” Marianne told Sessoms. “It’s been an immaculate journey.”
To aspiring fashion founders, designers and anyone hoping to break into the industry, the founders suggest that compassion will take one farther than any other trait. “Move in a space of love, kindness and humility,” Sebastien said. “Just keep your wits about you, remain passionate and stay focused because it’s a long journey.” Marianne added, “There’s a stigma of, ‘Oh [the fashion industry] is so nasty, and people are mean…’ Just be a nice person, that’s it.”
Sebastien and Marianne also shared their retail strategy and opened up about their goals and the New York Fashion Week planning process during the show. Watch the full interview here.
This conversation was hosted on The Fashionista Network powered by interactive media platform Fireside, where viewers get the chance to participate and speak directly with industry figures. Learn more about The Fashionista Network here.
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Source: Fashionista.com
