Meet Stella Carakasi | Cofounder & Chief Design Officer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stella Carakasi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stella, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
When my business partners and I started our first clothing brand in 1993, the biggest driver was the realization that the fashion industry needed to be transformed which to this day remains our focus. Back then, we were obsessed with sustainability and I am very proud to say that we were early eco-fashion disruptors. It is so encouraging to witness how far the fashion industry has come in embracing sustainability but there is a lot more to do.
At least now, being “green” matters to a lot of consumers, while back then mainstream fashion turned a blind eye on this important topic until it finally gained enough momentum in the public’s consciousness. Frankly, we have to thank the many small businesses that emerged during this time, making a big push for sustainability before the bigger brands started to realize its importance and slowly embracing the much needed change.
Today, our focus is rooted in diversity and inclusion.
While this topic is currently trending across many industries, for us it means being the next generation clothing brand that is kissing societal standards goodbye by embracing the many women who have felt left out of the fashion conversation due to body shape, size or age discrimination. While this is nothing new for us, considering the Stella Carakasi brand has been focusing on solving this problem in fashion for many years now, it is once again encouraging to witness that mainstream is finally waking up to its importance.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Stella Carakasi DTC Inc, is our third business that was launched in late November 2018. It is a direct to consumer women’s clothing brand, that focuses on embracing the many women that have left left out of the fashion conversion, women that feel invisible and not represented in the fashion media, women that consider shopping for clothing a chore because they cannot find styles that fit their bodies, life styles and their values. After working in fashion for 29 years, this apparent problem became very clear to me and once again I set out to inspire and create change by launching an inclusive, sustainable clothing brand for the many women struggling with fashion due to body shape fitting issues, size range limitations and age invisibility. It is extremely rewarding knowing that my work has touched and changed many women’s lives.
While most of us don’t think much about how we dress each day, it becomes routine and we have our go to styles, we cannot deny the fact how empowering it feels when we put on a garment that brings our best features into focus, clothing that actually looks great on our unique bodies and that is what we accomplish here at Stella Carakasi for the many women that more often then not cannot find clothing that gives them this feeling and that is powerful. If we feel good about ourselves we show up differently in our lives and that has far reaching effects.
As a small business we have a lot of challenges, financial constraints always being the biggest hurdle, hence we are scaling slowly and organically but also know that with investment we could scale rather fast because we are solving a need that has been overlooked for far too long.
The biggest lesson I have learned while in business, is the fact that failure only exists if you give up and that there is no shame in failing. I am still around because I have been failing forward and continue to do so.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We are based in Berkeley California and the greater Bay Area is such a vibrant and diverse place to live in. To experience everything it has to offer within a week would be nearly impossible. Depending on what my friend would be interested in, I would try to create a fun itinerary tailored to their likes. If they are into fine dining, we have tons of international incredible options to chose from, including our incredible vine country. If they live nature, we have amazing hiking trails and the many amazing beaches. If they are into shopping the Bay Area is a treasure trove for unique small and bigger brands to indulge in. But what I value most is the personal, private connections I prefer with all my friends, spending time at home, enjoying dinner together and sharing stories.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The first two people that immediately come to mind are my two incredible business partners who have been by my side for 29 years now, riding the calm seas and the intense storms of business ownership with me, never giving up and bringing their unique talents and perspectives to our business. Furthermore, there have been many mentors, guides, friends, customers and super committed employees over the years that I owe my gratitude to. There are too many to mention but they all know who they are and if it weren’t for them, we would not be here today. While it is easy to thank all my supporters, I also want to thank all my challengers which allowed me to strengthen my values and develop an unwavering commitment to my mission, which has been extremely difficult to navigate at times when I felt like sitting on the abyss and chewing on glass.
Business ownership is not for the faint of heart and it takes enormous commitment to one’s mission to see it through. Basically one lives in the discomfort zone but it is there, that you can truly find the personal and business transformation magic needed to continue. It is so important to remain in gratitude for everything and everybody I have encountered so far and to also remain curious of what the future holds and I have learned to flow with it.

Website: www.stellacarakasi.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stellacarakasi/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stella-carakasi/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carakasi/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/stellacarakasi

Other: https://www.pinterest.com/stellacarakasi/_shop/ https://www.stellacarakasi.com/blogs/news https://vimeo.com/118453002