A New York Story: From Port-au-Prince to Brooklyn
Every day, Chris and I wake up, get ready separately and head to our offices. We rarely plan our outfits, but somehow, our looks always end up matching—either in colors, styles or silhouettes. It’s as if our minds are in silent communication when it comes to fashion; we’re different, but the same.
The possibility of telling stories through the outfit combinations we make is why we work in fashion today. Clothes are the first thing people see and they can spark conversations that could lead to relationships.
Growing up in Haiti, I used to produce catalogs with looks I loved from the streets of Port-au-Prince. I would invite everyone in my family to select items then create their “avatars”. I learned a lot about each person that way; their choices directly reflected some personality traits. Soon after, I started hosting fashion shows at home, enrolling Chris as my co-host and model, and encouraging my family to give feedback on my curated looks. It was an early exercise in becoming a fashion designer and stylist, but Haiti did not have these opportunities for me. So instead, we went on a different path. Moving to New York would change everything.
We moved here in 2010 to start over, because the earthquake had destroyed our school and our overall very comfortable life, and we experienced a cultural shock like no other. We were so used to having a tight-knit community in Haiti that we felt intimidated by this big frantic city at first. The first few years were difficult, but eventually, we regained our joie de vivre and dressing up became fun again. We were chasing trends and having fun, looking to define our style along the way. Those were the heydays of Hollister, American Eagle, Pacsun, Abercrombie & Fitch and Aeropostale.
Around the same time, Chris became obsessed with beauty tutorials and fashion hauls on YouTube. became a bonding experience, and eventually, Chris sold me on the idea of launching our channel. And then began our storytelling journey, which brought you to this very moment with us.
Hope you stick around!
