Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexandra Zofcin.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Launched in May 2015, the House of AmZ was a dream of mine since I was in the 4th grade. Always in pursuit of creating a wider world view of fashion, I studied abroad twice in Florence, Italy. For this reason, Italian fashion serves as a major source of my inspiration. After returning from my first semester of study in Florence, I decided to launch the brand.
In October of 2017, after graduating Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Fashion and Retail, focusing on Apparel Design, I returned to Florence for some personal time after completing the second major collection. It was there that the label’s first ready-to-wear collection was launched with a local boutique. Florence is a city I will be eternally connected to, the art and the people are always a source of my inspiration.
Following the launch of the RTW collection, I was lucky enough to be invited to participate in Vancouver Fashion Week in March 2018. This was an amazing and wonderful opportunity that finally put me on the world stage that I always wanted to be. With this opportunity, I was featured in Vogue China and Vogue UK amongst other press outlets, including fashion bloggers and PR companies from New York, South America, and other countries.
I have recently been asked to participate in Tokyo Fashion Week for fall 2018. With this next step I hope that the House of AmZ will expand from e-commerce into the wholesale market and create relationships with more concept boutiques internationally where we can pop-up and create something beautiful in many international locations.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
In my opinion, when starting a business, smooth roads don’t really exist. You can smooth things out for a while, but there will always be many challenges along the way. I think that is what is so beautiful about owning a small business. There is something profound about the entire process.
For me, the biggest challenge so far was losing my grandparents in 2016. Within just eight months, all of my grandparents had passed away. It was a huge struggle, and for a while I thought about giving up the brand entirely – but instead I decided to try and turn poison into medicine by continuing forward full force with the brand. I thought it would be a better idea to try and fulfill my dreams to the best of my ability and make my grandparents proud of me anyway, rather than giving it all up when I was just at the beginning. After this decision, I would say the road smoothed out… at least for a little while. This decision brought lots of amazing opportunities to me very quickly – like my Ready-to-Wear collaboration, then Vancouver Fashion Week and now Tokyo Fashion Week.
The House of AmZ – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The House of AmZ is an apparel company which is heavily influenced by high-end, cutting edge international design. The AmZ philosophy is one which embodies a sense of social responsibility through art and fashion. This is displayed through luxury, sophistication and experimentation on traditional design and textile techniques. All the clothing is made in the USA to order, which feeds into a “less waste,” eco-conscious and slow fashion movement. Each collection encapsulates a specific ideal – instead of tackling traditional “seasons,” we focus on “stories and their chapters.”
The House of AmZ takes our patrons beyond the surface and brings them deep into the stories behind each cause. Everyone is invited on a journey through each chapter of our storybook. Each collection creates a feeling that resonates with the audience, bringing the connection between person and clothing to a more emotional level.
The brand follows a pop-up philosophy that embodies a collaborative spirit which allows the House of AmZ to “pop-up” in various locations like fashion weeks, art galleries, cocktail bars, amongst other spaces. This philosophy is one which I believe is on the cutting edge of the fashion industry as traditional brick and mortar shops become increasingly more difficult to keep open in the digital age.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I think success comes in stages. It is not something huge which happens all at once, but each milestone counts as its own success. Every time the brand is invited for another global fashion week, or is featured in a media outlet – each of those are a success. Every time the brand is featured by happy customer in a review, or I am able to personally connect with a client who feels an emotional connection to my clothing – each of those are a success.
At the end, I hope to create a conceptual viewpoint of fashion that is connective – something that brings people to a more conscious awareness of the clothing they are wearing. Fashion is an art, and as with art, it should insight an emotional connection, both with the physical garment, as well as with each other.
Pricing:
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thehouseofamz.com/contact
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehouseofamz/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehouseofamz/
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