Katherine Wong, Founder & Designer at Kayenne.
11 years ago, I was introduced to Katherine from a mutual friend. She was just finishing up high school and was looking to connect with women in business, even at such a young age! She had goals and dreams and I absolutely loved her passion, drive and commitment to carve out a career for herself.
After graduating, she went into the corporate world but always had a passion for fashion. I remember one conversation in particular that we had a short three years ago. She had moved to Toronto, was progressing in her career and was a senior associate with PWC. Life was good but she was missing one element - starting her own fashion label. Fast forward to the present, her dream is now a reality. Kayenne was created and she has put her heart and soul into this brand. There are so many little details that she has created from the branded packaging, to hand written notes, to sustainable fabric, to a strong U/X experience. It is evident she has taken everything she has learned in her career as well as all of her inspiration into creating a brand that she is proud of.
Read on to find out how her dream became a reality, the hardest part in creating her own fashion label, advice for the next generation of business women and more. (Kat, I am so proud of you!)
(Pink Tank Group): Congratulations on starting your own fashion line! I know it has been a dream of yours for so very long. Can you share with us how your dream became a reality?
(Katherine): Thank you! Yes, it's been long time coming. I can't believe it! Bringing Kayenne to life has been a culmination of things coming together coupled with spontaneous timing. I'd always be thinking about Kayenne and worked on designing, styling, branding and the business operations as a side project. I even took courses at OCAD to further understand apparel construction. Little by little, I kept making incremental progressive steps that provided me with more clarity and confidence in what I was trying to do. [Such as meeting with a pattern drafter to help me create a pattern for my first piece.] It also gave me excitement that motivated me to share it with the world. Creating a clothing brand that represented the way I saw apparel and appreciated fashion, style, design and everything that comes with it (like lifestyle, the business operations, the brand and the experience) was a dream that I wanted others to also experience -- to see, feel and do (business) apparel differently. It was a mix of planning and being as calculated as I could be, taking everything I'd learned about business and fashion, trusting my gut, and being open to what the possibilities could be that made it truly become a reality. Oh yes, and I think timing wise, the Covid-19 pandemic made me reprioritize what I wanted to do.
(Pink Tank Group): What has been the hardest part about starting your own fashion label? What has been the most rewarding?
(Katherine): I think when it comes to starting anything [like this], there's challenges that are not specific to fashion. You're trying to do everything, but you've only got so much capacity (in every sense, time, money etc.) It's just scary, you don't know how things are going to land and if people are going to approve or like what you're doing. You know, you're trying to do something new, but still be relevant and relatable to what people like and want now. Specific to fashion, it'd probably be finding the right fabrics that will execute on my design and vision as well as meeting Kayenne's sustainability and responsibility criteria. Sometimes this step is the easiest, and I design or make something based on the way the fabric is. But, this step can be very time consuming in terms of finding the right fabric, making a sample, and then testing the sample and the fabric's integrity. Most Rewarding: A few things... seeing others enjoy Kayenne, the pieces and the content we get to share -- like our behind the scenes and bringing people along and getting insights, feedback, and encouragement along the way. It's been very rewarding to be able to observe how others style and wear Kayenne, in particular hearing about others' challenges for office apparel and resolving their pain points through the designs. Something I'd lived and breathed and believed and why Kayenne exists! I've also been able to have so many interesting and special conversations, meeting new friends that I wouldn't have had reason to otherwise. And learning about things were so trivial before, but are so much more important! Like I know so much about threads now. And finally, building a company and a brand. It's been deeply rewarding to be able to grow a team that's excited to work on Kayenne and believes in their and our work together. And it has been so special to be able to meet and work with others in the fashion / business value chain, and approach it differently. (After seeing how business is done / can be done / shouldn't be done through my time in Consulting...)
(Pink Tank Group): What role does social media play in creating your brand?
(Katherine): Too big! Social media plays too big of a role in creating my brand - haha! The role social media plays in creating my brand is enormous, it is a discovery channel, communication platform, branding tool, source of inspiration (for me), PR, customer service, business plan and sales platform all at once!
(Pink Tank Group): You have always been one of the most creative, driven (and fashionable) women I know. Where do you get your inspiration from?
(Katherine): Everywhere and anywhere! Places, history, cultures, activities, music, it's endless. However, my style/fashion inspiration has always been my mom. My mom was a seamstress and growing up I wasn't allowed to have a lot of clothes, so I'd dress like her. She's a very classy woman. And whenever there was a choice for clothing item A or B, my mother always had the answer (and I'd always choose the alternate to her suggestions, just to spite her, then instantly regret my choice). Through my mom, I learned style, comfort, functionality, craftsmanship, quality, and fabrics.
(Pink Tank Group): What has been the most surprising outcome of starting your career since graduation?
(Katherine): You know what, I have been stuck on this question for a while. Maybe I'm having a hard time understanding it. It's a really good question if I've understood it correctly. But why is it so hard! The most surprising outcome of starting my career since graduation is how good discomfort has been for me. I think through every part post my undergrad, everything is uncertain with so much possibility, which makes me really uncomfortable. But that's really beautiful, because then I am trying to do everything to make myself feel more comfortable, but that's never found. So, I get to keep trying more things for now, if that makes sense. Short answer: quitting PwC so soon. I didn't think I'd quit so early on.
(Pink Tank Group): Do you have any advice for the next generation? New graduates or people just starting in business?
(Katherine): Do what you find interesting. Too often are we influenced by what others are doing or external "demands" -- Doing something whether it's a job or a sport will be so meaningful and worthwhile when you are personally compelled to do it. And be curious, be curious about everything. How else will you find out what's interesting and important to you?
(Pink Tank Group): What is next on the horizon for you and Kayenne (if you can share!)?
(Katherine): For Kayenne, I'd like to round out Collection 001 with a few more pieces. I think there will be around 7 key pieces in the First Collection. I'm working on getting Kayenne into local retailers in Vancouver BC -- so maybe you'll see it in stores soon! We're also planning a trunkshow / pop up launch so others can touch, feel, style, and try on the Kayenne pieces which is so critical in apparel. As for me, hmmm that's a really exciting question, I have some to do a bit more thinking and have some honest conversations with myself. There are a lot of other things I want to do, try and see. I guess we'll find out together [as it manifests].
(Pink Tank Group): What do you think is one thing women can do more to support each other?
(Katherine): Help and encourage each other without being exclusive about it!
