Modern Fashion: Suzanne McKenzie of Able Made On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Empower your team — It’s important to understand what motivates each person on your team, and to be clear on goals and mission. We have a great and passionate team, which is so important to scale a business.
Many in the fashion industry have been making huge pivots in their business models. Many have turned away from the fast fashion trend. Many have been focusing on fashion that also makes a social impact. Many have turned to sustainable and ethical sourcing. Many have turned to hi tech manufacturing. Many have turned to subscription models. What are the other trends that we will see in the fashion industry? What does it take to lead a successful fashion brand today?
In our series called, “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today” we are talking to successful leaders of fashion brands who can talk about the Future of Fashion and the 5 things it takes to lead a successful fashion brand in our “new normal.”
As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Suzanne McKenzie, founder of Able Made.
Suzanne McKenzie is Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Able Made, a responsibly made athleisure brand for the active and the activists. After losing her husband suddenly to cardiac arrest while playing the sport he loved, she founded the Ucal McKenzie Breakaway Foundation in his name to support inner city youth through access to soccer, health and art education.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?
I grew up in Hollis, Maine, a town near Portland. Since I was young, I was three-sport athlete, playing soccer, basketball and softball in a highly competitive environment. Those lessons I learned on the court and field has really shaped my values and approach to adversity.
Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?
I lost my husband in 2009, and that loss has sent me on a journey to use my design, strategy and sports background to build my business, Able Made.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
My friend Bill introduced me to the late design icon Milton Glasier at a NYC design gala. I usually don’t get nervous, but I was in this instance… he designed the I (heart) NY logo and made many other amazing contributions to the field. Bill made brought me over to him and intro’ed us. Since then, we called him “Uncle Milty”.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Being brave –- don’t be afraid to ask because the if you don’t ask the answer is always no. I cold-called Anna Wintour at Vogue to inquire about a tee design collaborator and got a meeting with her team, which lead to the launch of Able Made.
Being creative — stay steady when you’re up against business challenges and have confidence you will get through them with creative thinking. During the pandemic, we pivoted our sock factory to make certified organic face masks and were one of the first face masks to market to help keep our communities safer.
Being positive — celebrate your wins. In fast-paced environments, it’s important to pause or take stock of milestones to keep a positive mindset. I was in our factory in the Garment District last week filming the making of our first full ready-to-wear line and all the people working hard make our collection. I allowed myself to just pause what I was doing take a moment to take it all in. Positivity will translate to your team, as leadership helps set the tone.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Our collections aren’t just sporty because of trend. We merge our collections with our soccer/sports heritage, so we are athleisure actually conceptually inspired by our athletic background.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Fall down seven times, get up eight.” — Japanese Proverb
Achieving your goals takes a lot of hard work. I try to keep this quote in mind when challenges arise in business and in life in general.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Do you see any fascinating developments emerging over the next few years in the fashion industry that you are excited about? Can you tell us about that?
I see the fashion industry working on sustainability and cruelty-free initiatives, with commitments from both emerging and established heritage brands. Luxury parent company Kering is going fur free across all its brands, including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen and Balenciaga. There are massive CO2 emissions created by the fashion industry, and more brands, including Eileen Fisher and Patagonia are looking at natural solutions to remove carbon from the atmosphere, including implementing regenerative farming practices.
Can you share how your brand is helping to bring goodness to the world?
I started my brand to helping fund non-profit Ucal McKenzie Breakaway Foundation and its city-youth soccer and health camps in Boston and Hartford. The award-winning programming is going into its 13th year and looking to expand into our third market, New York City.
Can you share with our readers about the ethical standards you use when you choose where to source materials?
First we want the highest-quality product that feels great on and will be long-lasting, so we start with those design standards first. Then we layer on top our priorities on certified organic and cruelty-free fabrics and yarns, including cruelty-free Merino wool and fruit-based vegan leather alternatives, as well as reusing material that already existing by prioritizing deadstock or upcycled fabrics.
Fast fashion has an advantage, that it is affordable for most people, but it also has the drawback that it does not last very long and is therefore not very sustainable. What are your thoughts about this? How does your company address this question?
Fast fashion is a huge contributor to the pollution and waste coming from the fashion industry. Their business model is based on an endless amount of styles to promote buying and consumption, regardless of working conditions of their factories and the impact of synthetic fabric production and waste of poor quality product that creates high-churn and landfill. Able Made is part of the movement to be seasonless with less styles that last longer, with low-environmental impact of our natural fabrics, and responsible manufacturing with fair wages and safe working conditions.
Thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand”. Please share a story or example for each.
Don’t follow the crowd — Be authentic to your story and your own point of view. We are leaning into the heritage story as to why I started Able Made: to fund Ucal McKenzie Breakaway Foundation, a city-youth health and empowerment focused non profit created in honor of my late husband.
Be inclusive — Your end product will always be better if you have input from different ages, cultures and backgrounds. Since day one, Able Made has always employed and collaborated with an inclusive group of talent, from our investors, to management team, to the people we cast as models. Inclusivity is in our DNA and our team reflects the community we serve through our foundation.
Create a positive culture — Fashion has been notorious for being catty. At Able Made, we have created a supportive and collaborative environment where voices are heard and we work together really well. Many people on the team have been working with us since the launch.
Be open to change — Always stay open to improving no matter if you are in a leadership position. Taking the road less traveled has helped us push Able Made forward, from updating our factory list to exploring new fabrics.
Empower your team — It’s important to understand what motivates each person on your team, and to be clear on goals and mission. We have a great and passionate team, which is so important to scale a business.
Every industry constantly evolves and seeks improvement. How do you think the fashion industry can improve itself? Can you give an example?
I’d love to see more shared resources as it relates to sustainability. There has been more fabric information sharing I’ve seen recently which is amazing.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I hope to focus more on the goals we currently have to create healthier and more empowered communities via Able Made and our non profit partner, Ucal McKenzie Breakaway Foundation.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Website ablemadeshop.com and @ablemade on IG, facebook and TikTok.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
My pleasure. Thank you!
Modern Fashion: Suzanne McKenzie of Able Made On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.