Today we’d like to introduce you to Liliana Barretti.
Hi Liliana, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Liliana, and I am the owner/designer of SAFFIRE CLOTHING LLC. I’m a triplet from Nj who studied Fashion Design & Managerial Economics at UC Davis and Marketing abroad in Paris, where I also attended Haute Couture Fashion Week. I’ve always been eager to get started in the fashion industry, so at 15, I started my own accessories business based in NYC and studied at fashion institutes such as LIM during summer breaks in high school to gain more knowledge, insights & connections, and have attended many Fashion Weeks in LA & NYC. Having always exuded infinite positivity, happiness, gratitude & zeal for life and fashion, I always wished others could realize the power of their thoughts and embody a positive mindset. With this in mind, I knew at 17 the name and product of my future clothing brand. Flash forward a few years after college and many industry roles later; this dream came into fruition during the pandemic. I left my role as the head of design and production at Lucy in the Sky, where I was sourcing all the fabric, trims & designing over 100 garments every 10 days to go profit on my own designs. Thus, SAFFIRE CLOTHING was born. A women’s streetwear & resort wear brand based in LA, inspiring a positive mindset & manifestation.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Launching a clothing brand during a pandemic has definitely been a challenge, but keeping your brands values, priorities, goals & ideas in check are crucial. I’ve been actively building a community of like-minded thinkers, creators & inspirational personas and doing local pop-ups in LA to help spread the word. I started with buying wholesale to build a target audience and really understand what my customers like and don’t like. My goal is to start bringing my true SAFFIRE designs to life this fall and to support local LA manufacturers, fabric & trim suppliers, and legal U.S. labor.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m known for my designs at previous companies before launching my own brand. I worked at Azadeh Couture in SF, helping clients design custom high-end garments. At Ultracor, I helped design prints on Italian silk with a Silk Mimaki Screen-printer and laser-cut Swarovski crystals to heat press onto garments. Then, I worked at Lucy in the Sky who was buying wholesale and targeting Juniors. I noticed teen girls don’t have many places to shop for special occasion wear for proms, formals, party dresses & more. So, we started our in-house design & production where I’d design, source the fabric & trims, assist in full A-Z development process, write descriptions for each product, and help with their social media presence. We grew from 5 employees to over 100, where I got up to designing over 100 styles every 10 days, including new fabrics and colorways for production. During the pandemic, I took the time and put every penny to my name into launching my own brand.
How do you define success?
Success to me is happiness, and I believe the key to happiness is gratitude. This is what my clothing brand is all about. I hope to inspire as many people as possible and continue to build this community of like-minded thinkers who understand the power of their thoughts and know they can have, do, or be anything they want. While I want to create high-quality designs with stunning fabrics, custom trims & unique elements at a higher price point and expand into Menswear, I still want my brand to be accessible to anyone. Whether it’s the clothing that makes them feel confident or the community that inspires & uplifts them. I want to collaborate with not influencers but people whom I like to call “englighteners” because I feel they stand out and use their platform for the greater good. I look forward to hosting future events with enlighteners & influential speakers as SAFFIRE continues to gain traction.
Pricing:
- $50-200
Contact Info:
- Website: https://saffireclothing.com/collections/new-arrivals
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/saffirelosangeles/ www.instagram.com/lilianadiamond/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saffireclothing/
