10 Things About Michelle Waugh Fashion Designer
I met Michelle Waugh a New York City based fashion designer recently at a Spool Social event and got a sneak peek of her Spring 2019 collection. Full video on my YouTube channel.
I also got to check out her current Fall 2019 collection and asked her 10 Questions about her career and life as a fashion designer. Let me know what you think.
1. Can you tell us about your background in design and how you decided to become a fashion. Can you tell us about your background in design and how you decided to become a fashion designer?
I’ve always known I wanted to be a fashion designer. I still remember making my first coat when I was 14. It was this double breasted wool peacoat. Being originally from Canada, I was drawn to outerwear since we basically live in our coats and jackets. I did not take the traditional road at all. I’ve always been very creative and have always known what I like and what I want. What I didn’t know was how to navigate the industry. So instead of taking a design/creative educational approach, I took a more business one. I’m a very restless person so when it was time to settle down, New York felt like the perfect place to call home.
I attended Fordham University and simultaneously accepted a full time position at Christian Dior’s New York headquarters. Working under the LVMH umbrella was an invaluable experience because I was exposed to PR, wholesale, product development and branding. These were all incredibly necessary to understand when wanting to launch and sell a product. I was then offered a job with the southeast Asian brand RAOUL and we were faced with a huge task to launch a very established Asian based store, here in the United States. It was here I fell in love with entrepreneurship.
At that point I knew I needed to learn as much as I could if I were to ever launch my own label. I needed to be stronger in business and needed a deeper understanding of finance. I left the fashion industry and joined the finance industry to really round out my skills. Working with all men, I realized the men I was working with had little time to shop for a wardrobe that matched their lifestyle. Over the next three years, my business partner Amy Johnson and I, created a highly curated collection of clothing from the best designers around the world to make shopping easier for men.
I noticed through all of our travels to find perfect menswear, that women looked incredible in a man’s borrowed coat. My label was then born. I reimagined outerwear for the modern woman. I was confident, I was excited and started introducing myself to anyone who would listen in the garment district in New York. And I am forever grateful to the first mills, pattern makers, factories that believed in me. Before I knew it I was wearing my first sample, the Harper coat and I just knew I was heading in the right direction.
2. What is the favorite part of your job? What is the least favorite part of your job
The favorite part of my job is that everyday is different. It keeps things so exciting! I also love meeting new people and in this industry you are constantly exposed to different people from different backgrounds. I love to create and design. There is nothing more fulfilling then seeing your vision come to life. I’m creating pieces I can touch, feel and wear. When I see other people wearing my coats it is just the best feeling! My least favorite part is bookkeeping! Obviously like any business, you need to stay on top of your numbers. It is so incredibly important but not very thrilling if I may say so.
3. What is your must have piece for this Fall season? What is the must have piece for Spring 2019 and why?
My must have piece for this Fall has been the Veronica coat. It’s a beautiful Italian wool coat that has these incredible pockets in the front and an oversize fit. As a mom in the city I love pieces I can dress down with my jeans and sneakers or wear out for an evening. The Veronica coat really does that. I can run around it in at the park or wear it out for dinner on a Saturday and it always makes me feel sophisticated and chic in all the right ways. Also I can fit my life in those pockets!
4. Tell us about a day in your life and what happens in your job as a designer from the moment you wake up to finishing work.
I have two daughters who are 2 and 3! Mornings are incredibly busy. I usually wake up at 6:45am so I can get ready/dressed and have breakfast before the girls are up. I wake the girls up at 7:30 and get my oldest ready for school. At 8:15am we are out of the house and I’m usually rushing to school drop off. Right after drop off I always enjoy my 15-20 minutes of catching up with the other mamas before I walk to work. I’m at my desk by 9:30am. Here I catch up on email, plan out the to do’s for the day and my overall schedule.
I’m then touching base with various people on my team. From graphic design projects, website edits, orders, client inquiries, press inquiries, stores, factories, mills and any special events we may be hosting or attending. I sometimes will then walk over to the design district to visit our factories and touch base with them on current work, future work and planing out our pipeline.
I’m all about lunch meetings! I get very productive around food! It is so easy to be so focused on the day to day I try to use time in my afternoon to sit back and keep on eye and focus on the bigger picture. This is when I will focus more on inspiration, product, how I want to expand, what I want to add and overall making sure I’m going in the direction I want to be going in.
