A FASHION OUTSIDER - WHY I’M LAUNCHING AN ETHICAL AND SUSTAINABLE LINGERIE LINE

What business do I have starting a lingerie line? I don’t have a formal fashion background. At all. But, my mother is a Fashion Institute of Technology graduate and former buyer (did I mention she bought her wedding dress on a lunch break from work?! The perks of being a buyer!). And my great grandfather owned the second largest women’s hat manufacture in the United States, up until his retirement (check out the awesome ad, I found in a vintage Seventeen Magazine, for his company Chic Maid).

So, I grew up learning bits about the industry. In middle school I had a sketch book I’d doodle in. Mostly mini, and I mean mini, dresses and simple but elegant evening length gowns. I even made one of my designs in home economics class (is that even a thing anymore?!). I garnered basic sewing skills and could get by on a sewing machine. But back then, more than anything, I wanted to be a professional ballerina. And that won out over every other interest.

My career as a professional dancer has been incredible. I’ve danced on stages all over the world. I made the leap (pun intended) from ballet, to concert dance, to music theater––and even got to be a part of making a video game––if you’ve got a Nintendo Wii or PS3 you can check out the animated version(s) of “me” in the U.K. hit video game DANCE ON BROADWAY. In the more recent years I’ve also been an Associate Choreographer, and even became the Rehearsal Director of the company I’ve danced for, for over a decade. All this while living in the toughest town of them all, New York City.

In the past year, I’ve realized I’m in transition. I’m teetering on the geriatric end of a professional dance career. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve still got it in me – but the conversation of “what next” has definitely been popping into my mind. To aid in my questioning and soul searching, I sought out advice from Career Transition for Dancers––an entire organization dedicated to helping professional dancers transition into new careers. I started to explore what might be a part of my next chapter, that would still fulfill me. Maybe not in the same way dance encompasses my life, but hopefully in a new and exciting way. Mind you, my career was still going strong, this search was just about preparation.

And then the pandemic happened, and my entire industry shut down.

I had already been thinking about starting an ethical and sustainable lingerie line. An advocate for Mother Earth, I’ve long been mindful of my personal habits and their impact on the planet (though this is an ever evolving process of improvements and new information). Yet I’d been wanting to be a bigger part of the solution to our climate crisis. I’ve always loved lingerie, and had been frustrated with the lack of options that marry true sustainability with beautiful aesthetics. Further more, I was frustrated by the end of life impact of undergarments. They typically end up in a landfill, as it’s not like you’re donating your old bra and panties. Thinking, there’s got to be a better solution to these issues, Petal + Ash was born.

So back to the original question, why me? What business do I have starting a brand, as a total outsider to the fashion industry? I challenge that question, and say why not me?

My whole life I’ve defied the odds set against me. At the age of eight, I was too young and too short to get cast in a professional production of The Nutcracker. Not only was I cast, I was featured. At the age of eighteen I was determined to study dance abroad. I made my way in––through essays and interviews––to a graduate dance program with New York University. Did I mention that at the time, I didn’t even hold an undergraduate degree? In the spring of 2020 I graduated from college, magna cum laude, after putting myself through school while on the road full time with the PHANTOM OF THE OPERA National Tour. Most recently, I was accepted into Factory45’s Accelerator Program for Sustainable and Ethical Fashion, on a partial scholarship no less. My point is, if I want to make something happen, I make it happen. I’ve held leadership positions, led charges, and forged my own path. I intend to continue to do so.

I can’t wait to share my journey with you, complete with all its ups and downs, to launching a truly ethical and sustainable lingerie line.

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