The Working Wardrobe: Emma Grede
LA-based entrepreneur and CEO EMMA GREDE uses style as a tool to manifest her mood and knows that when she looks good, she kills it in the boardroom. Here, she talks to COLLEEN ROSS about supporting women in business, her new podcast, and the style formulas she swears by
If you’re one of Emma Grede’s 865,000 Instagram followers, you’ll already know she has impeccable taste. Whether she’s in the office wearing a suit by The Row, a Bottega Veneta bag and her treasured Cartier ‘Panthère’ watch, or at a glamorous event in a floor-length Alaïa gown and Saint Laurent heels, the British-born entrepreneur always dresses for how she wants to feel – call it a style manifestation, if you will. “If I’ve got a great outfit on, I know I’m going to kill it that day,” she says, via video call from LA, where she now lives with her husband and business partner, Jens Grede, and their four young children.
As the CEO of Good American and founding partner and chief product officer of shapewear label Skims, Grede knows what women need in their closets and is often one step ahead when it comes to trends; her magic power is intuiting how the two connect. “I know what I’m good at – and that’s having a pulse on the customer; I really know my girl,” says Grede. “I have a feeling for what she wants, and I have a feeling for what’s coming next.”
It’s crucial to Grede that her brands champion size inclusivity and body positivity. “Being inclusive, having more diversity and a broader customer base in what you do, makes sense,” she explains. “But I also think there’s a responsibility because when you have large segments of customers who are totally left out of a conversation, that’s just not how we operate in this day and age,” she adds. “We don’t segment our friends like that, we don’t segment our relationships like that, so why would we do it in business?”
Being an advocate for equality across all areas of the industry has allowed Grede to connect with women around the world, from the customers she meets in stores to aspiring entrepreneurs. Knowing first-hand the struggles women often face in business, she is passionate about using her platform to help others and believes in the power of open, honest conversation as the vehicle for driving positive change. It’s one of the reasons she decided to host her annual Seat at the Table dinner, which so far has been held in London, New York and LA, with more locations to come. “I thought, what happens if I bring together all my younger founder friends with all the powerful women who I meet every day – my bankers, my lawyers, women who have sold their companies – and put them in a room? Magic happens because all the vulnerability is sucked out of the air,” she says.
As someone “obsessed” with sharing information and who gets thousands of DMs on Instagram from people asking for business advice, it makes perfect sense that Grede has also decided to launch a podcast. Aspire with Emma Grede offers data-driven advice on how to achieve your goals – in business and life – with invaluable insights from a few special guests. “I thought, how do you scale mentorship? How do you give more people more access and more information? [A podcast] felt like a really easy way to do that because, sadly, I can’t answer all those DMs,” she says. “And you know, I’m a chatterbox. I’m naturally very interested in people.”
Read on for Grede’s thoughts on personal style and building a timeless capsule closet…
Do casual your way
“I invested in the most beautiful brand called The Elder Statesman. It does the yummiest, most heavenly cashmere. The colors are insane and they make beautiful buttons and trims. I feel like that’s my way of doing casual LA beach, Malibu vibes, but still feeling like I’m in an outfit, like I have a look on.”
“I still have that dress-up-for-work mentality. I love a good suit and I love a power shoulder
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Invest in a dress you can wear all season
“There were such beautiful clothes [on the PORTER shoot]. I am a total sucker for Alaïa and could have walked out in the head-to-toe Alaïa look – the most heavenly see-through chiffon dress with a peplum that you could wear the whole summer, a giant slinky cuff and these gorgeous thong sandals. It was all so beautiful.”
Find your uniform
“I wear the same thing all the time, and I still have that dress-up-for-work mentality. I love a good suit. I love a power shoulder. I buy classic things that I wear over and over again, then I jazz it up with great shoes and handbags. That’s where I let the trends come in, but I’m not the trendy, trendy girl.”
“I’ve realized as I’ve gotten older that when I take care of myself and put effort into how I present myself, I feel better overall
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Neutrals are best
“I’m more of a neutral girl. Although Skims did a partnership with Dolce&Gabbana last year, and I was very partial to a bit of leopard print for a full six weeks. I feel like it’s almost a neutral that you can bring in and out. But if you ask my kids what my favorite color is, they’ll say black.”
Cherish your clothes
“I have always invested in things, even as a kid. I really believe in having an amazing, beautiful black jacket that is just going to last – and spending a little bit more on it. I’m a collector of clothes and I cherish my things.”
Don’t be afraid to embrace new denim silhouettes
“I love what’s in denim right now. I’m really feeling a tapered cropped barrel – it looks so good on, and it gives you a bit of fashion dimension without being too much. Because I’m quite short, I can’t do anything too overpowering.”
Dress for how you want to feel
“I’ve realized as I’ve gotten older that when I take care of myself and put effort into how I present myself, I feel better overall. Growing up, I didn’t have the means to afford much, so I truly appreciate the ability to enjoy nice things now. I won’t pretend I’m not a little materialistic, but more than anything, I just feel grateful that my hard work has allowed me to indulge in things that make me feel good. For me, style has become a reflection of that journey. Through experiences like Good American and Skims, I’ve also come to understand how closely confidence and self-expression are tied to what we wear.”