Photo: Courtesy of AELLA
Eunice Cho
When it comes to daily schedules, the majority of us fashion mavens spend most of our time at work – which essentially means there are a ton of hours devoted to wearing clothes specifically bought for the office. And while workwear separates might consume more than half of the average wardrobe, they aren’t always the most comfortable. Well now one designer is on a mission to fill the void with one simple solution: making shopping for the perfect pant easy.
AELLA founder, Eunice Cho, used her minimalist aesthetic to create a brand that delivers “polish and comfort in one single package.” After experiencing the hassle of wearing uncomfortable suits to business school interviews, Cho decided to create her version of the perfect black pant – which includes a yoga feel with a sharp and polished look. We decided to sit down with the designer and dug deeper to find out more.
On her background in fashion: “I studied Fine Art at Yale. Before switching to fashion, I worked as a studio assistant to artist, Wangechi Mutu, a world-renowned collage artist and sculptor. My foray into fashion was through Kiki de Montparnasse, a luxury lifestyle brand in Soho, where I spent a little over three years in product development. I moved back to LA when I started business school at Anderson.”
On her “Aha!” moment that her want to start Aella: “It was when I had to start wearing suits to business school interviews. I never had to dress up conservatively to work before, and I thought suits were boring, uncomfortable and too expensive. So I decided to do some fabric research – this was before brands like Lululemon were as prevalent as they are now. But when I saw a friend’s mom (who is insanely stylish) pair her Lanvin top with her black yoga pants for an elegant look, a light bulb went off in my head.”
On the main issues she noticed with workwear separates for women and how did she wanted AELLA to change that: “I noticed that women didn’t enjoy buying workwear because the separates didn’t make life easier for us: they’re more expensive than casual wear, aren’t easy to care for, and most importantly, don’t inspire a lot of confidence. I just thought clothing that women spent most of their time in should make them feel great, physically and emotionally.”
And the L.A.-based designer used that mindset to create her latest “Women Who Inspire” campaign as well. In an effort to show fashion mavens that there’s no need to sacrifice comfort for looking polished, Cho tapped real women with dynamic lifestyles to wear her designs and embody the brand. “Women’s lifestyles are becoming increasingly blurred with transitions and I wanted AELLA to be something that women don’t want to change out of while they go from work to play.”
Photo: AELLA
But like most creative geniuses, breaking the mold when it comes to any aesthetic is never an easy feat. We spoke to Cho exclusively on her biggest problem running a business, and she even dished a few workwear shopping tips.
On running your own business: “My biggest problem is that there are only 24 hours in a day. You have to stay incredibly focused in order to deliver on your priorities.”
On her go-to brands for workwear: “I think COS is doing something interesting. Their silhouettes are very fresh, and everything they make has good coverage. I also think Maje makes the cool-girl-version of interesting staples.”
Keep reading to get exclusive tips that’ll make your next workwear shopping experience so much easier.
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