Watch the full conversation between Amira Rasool and Deputy Editor Ana Colón on The Fashionista Network.
If Amira Rasool hadn’t failed algebra her freshman year of high school, she’d likely be an architect and interior designer today. “I was told that I needed to be good at math to be an architect,” she told Ana Colón on The Fashionista Network. (Watch it here!) Of course, in a technology-driven world, that’s not necessarily true — but that was enough to encourage Rasool to pursue a different path.
Eventually, she landed on fashion: She started a blog (written under an alter ego) and, with her eyes set on becoming editor in chief of Vogue, she interned at fashion publications like WWD and Marie Claire throughout college. Post-grad, Rasool accumulated bylines from notable outlets like Teen Vogue, Vogue, V Magazine, Paper and Glamour.
Following a trip she took to South Africa, she discovered a number of talented designers who were unknown back in America. “I started doing some research to see how I could access them from back in New York,” Rasool said. “There were no retailers carrying them at the time because they were just as oblivious as I was that there was this huge talent pool there… I thought, ‘What can I do to bridge the gap?'”
Her solution to this was The Folklore, which launched in 2018 as a retail platform. In the full interview, she spoke more about her early lessons as an entrepreneur, as well as how she pivoted years into the business to expand the company’s scope, transitioning from marketplace to all-in-one resource on topics such as accessing capital, talent sourcing and wholesale business management.
On The Fashionista Network, Rasool also offered advice to current and aspiring entrepreneurs alike: “You got to invest in your growth, that’s the most important thing…It’s not just about, ‘Okay, how am I going to put my money towards something that’s going to automatically generate sales?’ she explained. “You have to invest in your educational growth, you need to invest your growth in your community and then you need to invest in having good technology that makes it easier to run your business.”
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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