The Scandinavian designer and her female led team on building a company from the ground up

Following our conversation between Christy Turlington Burns and Clare Vivier, Malibu committee member Tonje Kristiansen invited founder and fashion designer Anine Bing to Soho House West Hollywood for her second installment of her monthly female focused discussion series Her Platform. In addition to Anine, we welcomed panel guests from her leadership team, including Annika Meller, Chief Operating Officer; Emma Sandvik, Art Director; Kate Jackson Sabelhaus, Head of Editorial; and Anine Bing’s Director of Brand Marketing and Public Relations Lindsay Wolf.

Danish-born, Swedish-bred Anine Bing launched her eponymous line in 2012, hoping to step out of the traditional seasons of fashion and embrace a ‘see now buy now’ approach for the modern-day woman. ‘We wanted to make sure the clothes were transitional and gave women the freedom to drop their kids off at kindergarten, go to a board meeting and then go out for dinner with their girlfriends without having to change,’ she says. ‘Women should feel comfortable in whatever they’re doing.’

Here, read Anine and her team’s top five tips for those looking to build their own brand:

1. Nothing will happen without passion

‘With no marketing budget and nothing but a tiny garage in Silverlake, I did everything myself,’ Anine says. ‘I had a two-year-old and was pregnant with my second child, all while answering customer service requests, shipping orders and designing clothes. There are stories of Annika, our COO, finding me asleep in my car with the air conditioner blasting and a pack of chips next to me, as I never had time for anything at that stage. I worked non-stop and from everywhere I could. But ever since I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to do it all, and I didn’t want to have to choose. I wanted to be a mother, I wanted to be a business woman and I wanted to create something big.’

2. Develop a brand identity and stick with it

‘If you are not absolutely obsessed with an idea, you have to trash it. You can’t get comfortable,’ Anine Bing’s Art Director Emma Sandvik says. ‘Look at other storytellers and see what sticks with you. You have to ask yourself, “Why do I love this idea?” Was it the emotional resonance, the narrative? Pay attention and recreate what inspires you and make it your own. Develop your own personal voice and find the DNA of your brand.’ ‘We based the idea of the Anine Bing brand on the philosophy of opposites attracting. There is this sense of juxtaposition that is always our North Star, where a romantic, more Scandinavian expression meets the LA urban lifestyle,’ says Emma. ’People tend to like a more raw experience, and they want a story that’s not too polished. Our customer base seems to find that more refreshing. It’s like, “Let’s stop being polite and get real.”’

3. Once you perfect your product, hone in on your digital presence

‘The two most important things when starting a company are the product and a strong website, and that’s what I invested in from the start,’ Anine says. From there, you’ve got to hone in on social media, explains Anine Bing COO Annika Meller: ‘We decided early on to put all of our focus on Instagram in order to promote the brand. It helped build a personal connection between me and my customers, and we were lucky to be one of the first brands using Instagram as a platform for storytelling before it became super crowded.’

4. Consistency is key

‘One of the most important things for us is staying true to the core message of Anine’s vision,’ says Director of Brand Marketing and Public Relations, Lindsay Wolf. ‘She is always true to herself and this drives the company forward. We don’t want to spread ourselves too thin, and we want to stick to our key values in order to stay consistent.’ ‘You have to be willing to work extremely hard, which comes naturally when you do something you are truly passionate about,’ Anine says. ‘I did my best from day one, and I had to learn by doing every single step myself. Now we are a company of 50 people, 45 of whom are women! I have a real understanding for the big picture and all the work that goes into all of the different roles.’

5. Don’t underestimate the power of a great story

‘Building a brand creatively is all about storytelling,’ says Head of Editorial Kate Jackson Sabelhaus. ‘When launching Bing Kids recently, we took that one step further and interviewed and photographed different types of parents and their children to get multiple perspectives and approaches to parenthood. This is a big part of the creative process: nurturing an intimacy between the brand and the customer base to create a community.’

Her Platform is created, curated and hosted by Tonje Kristiansen with the goal of inspiring, empowering and connecting women, where a series of guest speakers will share their stories, ideas and tools for navigating their personal and professional lives.

Words: Tonje Kristiansen
Photos: Ashlyn Kudransky