1 Year of ISLA & SAIGE - The Unfiltered Truth of Starting a Fashion Brand

They say your first year in business teaches you resilience. What they don’t often tell you is just how hard it actually is.

We all see the highlight reels — the product launches, the collaborations, the beautiful pop-ups. What you don’t see is what goes on behind the scenes: the delayed launches, the collaborations that never get posted, the accounts you have to chase down to pay you. You don’t see the disappointment of spending weeks preparing for an event that brings in little to no growth. Or the moments where you question if any of it is working.

I don’t share this so you’ll feel sorry for us – this is just the reality of what a start up business is like. It’s trial and error every single day, and finding creative ways to pay your bills and keep the business a float. For every win there were two or more set backs that preceded it. Every moment of celebration was earned and every failure taught us resilience.  

I can say without a doubt every moment made that year special for us. Those moments taught us faith and brought us closer to God. I know it may be controversial to bring our Christian faith into business but when you see the work God has done in our business and in us this last year, you can’t keep quiet about it. It was when we were at our lowest, when we weren’t sure we’d be able to keep ISLA & SAIGE alive that He moved mountains, every single time. I won’t get too deep into it here, but if you’d like to hear more of our story, feel free to message us at hello@islaandsaige.com — I’d love to share more with you. 

So yes – things were scary more times than I’d like to count. We had times that it would have been easy to walk away. But we didn’t quit and today, we get to celebrate the first year of ISLA & SAIGE.

It hasn’t been easy. We launched later than expected after all of our shipping boxes arrived damaged. But just three months later, we landed our first two boutiques — on the same day. We’ve flown across the country for trunkshows, shot two crazy photoshoots, and learned what it takes to design quality crafted clothing. We’ve shown our collection everywhere from Bel Air, to Charleston. And we’ve designed, produced, and launched 17 intentionally crafted pieces, with plans for more coming soon.

To the women who have supported us, worn our pieces, shared our mission — thank you. You’ve helped us prove that there’s a place for slow fashion, for made-in-LA production, for non-toxic and natural fibers. For clothes that feel like legacy.

And if you’re building something of your own — whether it’s a brand, a family, a dream, or a life of intention — we see you. This is for you.

Here’s to year two — to keeping the faith, staying the course, and always choosing purpose over pressure.

xx,

Brittany & Suzanne