(4) Resilience and Reinvention
Written by Alev Fanny Karaman
Having been an international tax lawyer during the first part of my professional journey, I often found myself at networking events or conferences. Being an entrepreneur in this second part of my professional journey certainly does not decrease my attendance of professional gatherings. However, this time around I get to choose the conferences or gatherings I attend, so I naturally found myself going to more female focused gatherings. Maybe in the search of a certain sense of belonging or a safe space to publicly express and discuss thoughts and ideas.
While attending my last event here in Brooklyn, something I had often noticed in the past really stood out: each single woman I talked to, no matter the stage their business was in (a business idea, a launched business, or an already going business) all had a bigger, non-business purpose behind their brand that was the true driving force of their entrepreneurial journey. And all, in one shape or another, focused on making life smoother according to their own deepest experiences and beliefs. I remember pausing and asking myself if maybe it was to give back to their younger selves?
Alev Fanny Karaman showcases Rue du Paradis collection
The Creative Path with a Long Pause
Rue du Paradis, the bespoke lingerie brand I founded, certainly is no exception to this. It all started when, after completing my first year of fashion school, I realized that I did not have nearly the creative talent any single one of my classmates had. That, in turn, made me realize that I didn’t need 2 additional years of fashion school to continue learning how a sewing machine worked. At the time, I was living in France. And in France, the government provides a lot of financial support to entrepreneurs. I thus decided to make an appointment with the local agency in charge of helping young entrepreneurs in the creative field. The day of the appointment, I thought luck was on my side because I had been assigned a woman to guide me through the process. As I sat down in her office, I noticed a rather impressive poster behind her, stating (in French) “We support female entrepreneurs”. I, of course, took this as a divine sign or something. And the advice I received was…” you should marry a wealthy man”. BAM. End of that short-lived feeling of safety and support.
The one thing I decided there and then was that I would become my own wealthy man. Since I can’t stand the sight of blood, becoming an MD was out of the question. I thus turned to the next best thing: law school. And so I spent the next 7 years studying law (I monumentally failed my first year), eventually receiving a Masters degree in tax law in France and an LL.M. in tax law in New York. I got admitted to both the New York and the Paris Bar and practiced international income tax law for the better of 12 years both in Paris and in New York.
"Love Yourself", Rue du Paradis' neon sign, sets the tone when you enter their Brooklyn atelier store.
Rekindle the Love for French Lace
But at no point did I lose sight of the ultimate goal: building my own company. Even if I wasn’t quite sure exactly what that would look like, I knew that I wanted it to evolve around French lace, an exquisite fabric filled with historical know-how that I had discovered during my fashion studies. And so the idea of a lingerie brand started to form. After teaching myself how to design and sew high-end lingerie, I designed a capsule collection of 5 briefs. The manufacturing, however, was outsourced. And so I found myself meeting my manufacturer at a Parisian McDonalds in the early morning hours prior to going to work at the firm, trying on prototypes in their ill-lit bathroom. Once I received my capsule collection, I then started going from lingerie store to lingerie store, trying to sell my collection.
Every customer gets to choose their lace, color, materials and designs, under the guidance of our team.
Pivoting the One-Fits-All Model to Bespoke Lingerie
It would be an understatement to say that I hated everything about the process: from the lack of transparency as to how the employees of the manufacturer were paid or treated, to the creation of stock and the fact that I essentially became a sales person, I stopped right there and then to figure out what the next step of my entrepreneurial journey should look like.
And it is then, while waiting for the big revelation to hit my brain, that I started giving lingerie making workshops. Either my friends, or friends of friends, would come to my place, or I would go to theirs to host the workshops. They would give me their commercial bra size, I would give them the pattern in that size, teach them how to sew the lingerie and…it would not fit. Worse: I could see the sadness in their eyes when trying on their hand made lingerie and realizing that, yet again, it did not fit their bodies. I could see the damage of the beauty and fashion industry on our mental health in real time. That’s when I realized that we were all asymmetrical and unique and that there was nothing weong with the way we all look or identify. From that realization, the wish to create a safe haven for all bodies and humans was born and I chose lingerie as a medium. Et voila: the idea of bespoke, gender fluid lingerie was born!
Rue du Paradis has been a great date idea for our couple customers. They either come in and design together, or do a lingerie making workshop together.
One step at a time, Rue du Paradis is focused on making customers of all ages more visible to the public. Our goal is to show that beauty is not limited to being a 25 year old woman.
Democratize Beauty and Luxury Standard
In creating high-end, bespoke lingerie and offering lingerie making workshops, we aim at making each individual that buys from us love themselves and look at their bodies with kind, loving eyes. The world oh-so-often only portrays one type of beauty standard, often in an untrue way, when all of us are built exactly the way we should be. By democratizing luxury, we hope that each individual, no matter their background and overall identity, will feel a sense of inclusion, beauty and self-love.
I am truly grateful for our beautiful community of customers who, in a way, provided me (and my younger self) with a sense of belonging. Being a dual citizen of France and Turkey, and having been born in Germany, I never really felt a sense of belonging or beauty. Too brown haired for the Germany of the 80’s, too French for Istanbul where I lived from age 11 to 18, and just not quite French enough for France, where I studied fashion and then law, I finally found my home here in New York, where a lot of residents come from somewhere else.
Being part of a group of wonderful individuals such as The Sartorial Club (a club whose existence is also driven by something bigger than everything sartorial) certainly is an absolutely wonderful addition to this cocoon of inclusion Rue du Paradis is building. Here is to building a new entrepreneurial landscape, all together!
Feel your glorious best in Rue du Paradis' bespoke lingerie
As we bid farewell to the delightful stories of four remarkable women from the Club, we hope you've found joy in their journeys. Stay tuned for more series as we gear up for the vibrant scene of Summer Pitti Uomo 106.