0:06

Hi, I'm Glynis Trail Nash, and this is In Fashion. If you're new to the podcast, welcome. If you've listened to any of the previous episodes, welcome back, and also thank you for your patience. I've had a little bit of a break to work on other projects, and I'm thrilled to be back in the podcast hot seat once more. And what a joy to have designer Annina Bing behind the microphone. From model to blogger to the co-founder of her phenomenally successful brand, Annina has just been in Australia to meet with her many customers and retailers over here and to visit her stores in Sydney and Melbourne. So we met up during her Sydney visit, and I'd like to give a shout-out to Alinka Fine Jewelry in Double Bay, who kindly let us use their beautiful store to record this episode. So without further ado, I hope you enjoy this chat with Annina Bing as much as I did

GTN 0:57

Anine, welcome to In Fashion. Thank you for joining me.

Anine 1:00

Thank you for having me.

GTN 1:01

It's so nice to have you back in Australia, 'cause h- when was the last time you were in town?

Anine 1:04

2019. So it's been a little while, and it feels so good to be back.

GTN 1:09

I know. I was saying to you before that you've got a nice kind of Australian vibe about you, actually, and you're very relaxed. Having a good

Anine 1:15

time. It's such a compliment, 'cause I love everybody here. They're so chill, kind, and open.

GTN 1:20

Um, so you've got two stores here now. Yeah. You've got one in Melbourne and one in Sydney. Exactly. How, and how are they going?

Anine 1:26

It's going really well. Australia is our third-biggest market, like, in the world, so, um, so it's really great. And so that's why it's so important to come here and connect with the community and meet the women that's wearing the brand and, and see it, see it- Yeah in person.

GTN 1:42

I think what's interesting to me about your brand, which has become so successful since you launched in 2012- Yes I think it was, yeah, um, is that it kind of is what it says on the box. Like your through line of the brand is like it's Scandinavian simplicity and sort of LA, California kind of-

Anine 1:59

Uh-huh vibe. The American energy. Yeah.

GTN 2:01

Yeah. Mm-hmm. And so, and it really is that. Can you tell me a little bit, I guess, to start with, how that came together given you were born in Denmark and grew up in Sweden, and then went to LA later? Exactly.

Anine 2:11

Yes, I think the brand is very much me, and I grew up in Scandinavia, and I think I appreciate the simplicity of, you know, having lived in Scandinavia for so long. But then when I moved to LA when I was 20, I fell in love with the rock and roll vibe, the more effortless cool girl vibe, and I think, you know, I'm merging those two worlds, and, and I think that's what resonates with the women. It's, it's just really easy, cool pieces that they wanna wear and come back to-

GTN 2:40

Yeah

Anine 2:40

year after year.

GTN 2:41

Um, I'd love to know a little bit more about, like, growing up in Scandinavia. Mm. 'Cause we, I think, I always feel there is some strange synergy between, like, an Australian sort of lifestyle and taste and stuff to Scandinavia. I don't know. I mean, I've been to Copenhagen. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love Copenhagen. Yeah. What was it like growing up there?

Anine 2:59

It was very, like a good childhood I feel like. Healthy food, fresh air, a simplicity, and a safe environment that you don't necessarily get in LA where I live now, or many other places in the world, right? So I think it was safe upbringing, but it also gave me the curiosity, 'cause it's very small, so it gave me the curiosity that I wanted to get out in the world and, and see more. Um, so for me, amazing. But it also, I wanted to get out.

GTN 3:30

Yeah. Yeah. And I think the other thing for me that is interesting too is that I feel like all of your previous incarnations have really informed the brand so beautifully. Like, you know, you've worked as a model. You've been a musician. Yeah. Mm-hmm. You are still a musician. We'll come to that later. Um, you know, you were o- early on the sort of blogging thing. Yeah. And all of those things have informed your starting the brand and what the brand looks like. Can you tell me a little bit, I guess, about- When you started out with Anine Bing's World, 'cause that was, as I understand-

Anine 4:04

Yes

GTN 4:05

the blog was kind of for when you were modeling and traveling- Exactly as a way to keep in touch with people.

Anine 4:10

Yeah, so I had this fashion blog, and I named it Anine Bing's World, and it was literally just to report back. It started with I wanted to report back to my friends and family of where I was traveling in the world, and then they wanted to know what I was eating, what I was wearing. And then it grew from just my friends to a huge community of following me on my adventures around the world. So, um, and then they really became obsessed with the way I was dressing, and I think that's where the idea started to start my own label. Um, and I think they came to me 'cause I made fashion very easy and, uh, understandable, and that's how I launched the brand with 10 pieces, uh, to make every woman's closet feel easy and effortless.

GTN 4:50

And it really is, like that first collection, which was basically like denim, T-shirts, jackets-

Anine 4:56

Yeah

GTN 4:57

it is like a uniform.

Anine 4:58

It is like a uniform, and that's what I talk about. I try to teach women this 'cause getting dressed in the morning is so much easier when you have a uniform. So whatever that uniform is for you, right? But for me it's a blazer, a white T-shirt, the denim, the boots, maybe a leather jacket. Um, for another woman it might be a dress and a blazer or whatever it is. But when you have your uniform, it just gets so much easier.

GTN 5:22

100%.

Anine 5:23

Yeah.

GTN 5:24

100%. And then from there, that obviously worked-

Anine 5:28

Yeah

GTN 5:28

very well very quickly-

Anine 5:30

Yeah

GTN 5:30

from what I understand. Um, and then wh- where did you sort of expand it from there? What were the next pieces that you kind of thought, "Ooh, people-"

Anine 5:36

Then we added a dress, I remember, and jewelry from really early on. So it's really been everything that I wanted in my own closet I kinda just made, right? And of course now, almost 15 years later, it's a huge collection and, and I have a big team behind me, so it's not only 10 pieces and me doing it, you know, on my own anymore. But, um, but I stayed very true to the essence of the brand.

GTN 6:02

Yeah. And, with your modeling background, how do you think that informed how you approach dressing and approach a brand?

Anine 6:10

This is interesting, 'cause as a model, you know, they decide what you wear, right? They put on, and it can make you feel so different. If, I remember when I was modeling and I was wearing a outfit that I really didn't like. It ma- Like, it really makes you feel so shitty, right? Yeah. And so that's the power of clothing, right? So if, so I think I learned a lot about fits, how the product should fit. I know a lot about materials, the little details. Um, so the modeling days were actually super helpful, um, in other ways too. I met with photographers, makeup artists, so when, when I started my own brand, I had a whole network of people in the business that could help me with my first e-com shoot- Mm my first campaign. And like, little things you don't think about. The networking of that world was also important.

GTN 6:57

Yeah. And so you started the brand in California.

Anine 7:00

Yeah.

GTN 7:01

And you and your then husband were living there, and you- Yeah started it together. Yeah. Um, and he had a retail-

Anine 7:05

Yeah, he had, yes and

GTN 7:06

manufacturing background.

Anine 7:07

He had a manufacturing background, exactly. So that was really the secret sauce. I think he knew how to manufacture these products, and I, I knew exactly what I wanted to create to, to make that perfect uniform.

GTN 7:20

Yeah. 'Cause as I understand it, you started selling pieces of yours on, through your

Anine 7:24

blog. Yeah, so when I had the blog, Anine Bing's World, um, one day I was just home with my, uh, daughter. She was three months old then, and I was cleaning out my closet, and I was a little bored. I was like, "Okay, I'll do a little flea market sale on my blog." And one hour later, 100 pieces were gone. And that was only in my, my size, right? And that's when my now ex-husband came home. He was like, "Wow, if, you know, if we can sell your size out that quickly, imagine if we actually do a real thing." So that's how it started, and we started with a little e-com shop, 10 pieces, built a cheap website, and then we went live.

GTN 8:04

And tell me a little bit about those early days, 'cause you were basically doing it out of your garage, right?

Anine 8:07

Yes. Like- Out of the garage and-

GTN 8:10

packing everything, doing-

Anine 8:11

Yeah, packing orders, um, customer service, emails, designing, um- Yeah, we did it all. But I think that is the key to success, 'cause you really need to know every little step of the business to really be able then to scale, I think.

GTN 8:29

Yeah. Um, I always, I always like that sort of thing when people really understand.

Anine 8:34

Yeah.

GTN 8:34

Like, 'cause you're dealing with customers directly- Yeah when you're doing the customer service- Yeah,

Anine 8:38

yeah

GTN 8:38

and you're like, "Okay, what are they unhappy about?" Yeah. Or, "What are they really happy about?" Yeah. Like...

Anine 8:42

No, it's important.

GTN 8:43

And so when did you know, I mean, obviously its success was pretty quick. When did you really go, "Oh, okay, we need to get really serious about this," and sort of, and, and how did you kind of build it from there?

Anine 8:54

Yeah. But you know, it wasn't overnight success. I feel like it grew very organically. It, it worked from the beginning, yes, but small steps along the journey. So I think a year into the business we opened our first store. I wasn't m- like, we were not gonna open stores, it was just gonna be a e-com business. But all of a sudden people wanted a place to come and try on pieces. Um, very soon we started to sell to wholesalers, 'cause I was just wearing the brand and I walked into different stores in LA and around the world, and the buyers of the store asked me, "What's that?" And then they want it in, in the store. So the whole story of building this brand is very organic and, and- Authentic somehow Yeah Yeah

GTN 9:39

Yeah, and you, I mean, exactly, you can't manufacture that. No. You can't plan that. Exactly. It has to happen organically, I think. Yeah. And that's why I think it's had such longevity.

Anine 9:50

Yeah.

GTN 9:51

Yeah, and it, and I think why it resonates with women. What are, apart from that uniform thing and that idea of making things easier for women- Mm-hmm what do you think really resonates with customers? Is it the fabrics? Is it the cut?

Anine 10:03

I think it's, what the feedback I get is that it's so easy, and they, when they put on the products, they all say, they, they're like, "Wow, I feel like myself again." And that's such a great compliment as a founder designer, 'cause that's all I want, right? For the woman to feel like herself, and, but feel like the best version of herself. So I think it's a combination of the fit, the easiness of it all.

GTN 10:27

Yeah, amazing. Um, and last year I believe you announced, like, a three-year plan to, like, double revenue and global store count. So you've got around 30 stores?

Anine 10:38

40

GTN 10:39

stores. 40, Jesus.

Anine 10:39

I know. I, yeah, it's crazy. I can't even- I was...

GTN 10:41

My maths is very bad then.

Anine 10:44

No, it's- Wow yeah. So-

GTN 10:46

Where, 'cause you've got a few in China. You've got, the two in Australia.

Anine 10:50

Yeah, and then we have lots in the US. We have in Paris, London. God, I can't even keep, keep up anymore, but it's, yeah, it's been growing very fast, especially the last years, I feel like, and, and now it's still growing, but like, I just wanna like, oof, I need a little breathing room to- Yeah to, like, really sit in it and take it all in- 100% 'cause it's been such a amazing journey.

GTN 11:13

Yeah. What do you like about the retail environment? Like, is it just the fact that people can come and play almost?

Anine 11:21

I think it's two things. It's important, I think, to go in and actually touch the products, feel them, try them on, and, 'cause when you... It's great also to just be able to order online, but I think the women that come in, they wanna touch the product, but they also create the community. I've actually noticed now being on this little Australia tour here, I'm meeting all the, the customers and different wholesale partners. They, they crave some kind of community. So they like going into the store and having a person there guiding them what to buy, and they come back, and having that personal experience is what they appreciate.

GTN 12:00

Yeah, and it also expresses the brand-

Anine 12:02

Yeah

GTN 12:02

in its, in its own way. Yeah,

Anine 12:04

you discover like the world of Anine Bing, right? Yeah. So, um, the stores is something I wanna continue evolving and, and really sort of step into my universe.

GTN 12:14

Yeah.

Anine 12:14

Yeah.

GTN 12:14

Yeah. How do you, how do you approach like the, I mean, obviously you would have people that do this- Yeah but when you're, when you're fitting out a new store or designing a new store, what do you always like to have in there?

Anine 12:25

I think, um, God, a few things. I think the smell of the store is really important, um, to me, so we always burn our candles. We have two different one, Pure Noir and Rosewood. So the scent is important. I also want my team who greets the customer to be friendly, but not push. I don't wanna push products on, like you need to feel out the situation. Offer your help, but also let them, let them be. So don't be too b- pushy, but be friendly, 'cause there's nothing worse when you walk into a store and they look like up and down at you like you don't belong there. That's the opposite. Like, I remember- Yeah opening my first store and when we hired the team, I always wanted kind people, um, in a good environment.

GTN 13:08

Yeah. I think that's a really good hiring policy frankly.

Anine 13:11

Yes, right? I

GTN 13:12

think more people should hire like

Anine 13:13

that. But that's not all, like a lot of fashion brands, it's quite the opposite.

GTN 13:17

Totally.

Anine 13:18

And- And it's so uncomfortable.

GTN 13:19

It's so uncomfortable. Yeah. And I tell you what my personal pet peeve is while we're on it. Yeah. Um, is, you know, with some luxury brands now, and they've got the people at the door, and there's two people in the shop.

Anine 13:28

Yeah.

GTN 13:28

And you've got five people waiting outside, and I'm just like, "What does that say about you as a brand

Anine 13:33

if you're

GTN 13:33

that-" Yeah,

Anine 13:33

yeah. It doesn't feel good. It

GTN 13:35

doesn't feel good.

Anine 13:36

No. And it doesn't have to be that way. Like fashion, like y- you can be a beautiful fashion brand and still treat people kindly I think.

GTN 13:43

Absolutely.

Anine 13:44

Yeah. I

GTN 13:44

love that.

Anine 13:45

Yeah.

GTN 13:45

I always love to hear that. Now obviously fashion is- A wild rollercoaster at the best of times. Yes. Um, What are the biggest challenges facing the business for you at the moment, do you think?

Anine 13:58

God, I feel like we have put that behind us. It- we just went through a huge, uh, restructure- restructuring in the company. Uh, we opened a Paris office, so we hired a new amazing female CEO, Julie. Um, she's French, and she opened the office in Paris, and then with that came a big change in- within the organization. Before, we were all sitting in Los Angeles, and now, like, 60% of the team is sitting in Paris. So that was a really... It was a hard time, hard two years for the brand 'cause we had to let go of people, we had to... There were so many, yeah, changes. But we are on the other side now, and with change comes new opportunities, so no matter how hard it is, it's really exciting right now 'cause I have an amazing team in Paris. Yeah. And my design team is sitting there, right? And it's so fun with all the fresh energy and eyes, um, yeah, on how we can do things differently.

GTN 14:56

What do you think the Paris element brings to the brand?

Anine 14:59

Oh, Paris is like, after LA, my favorite city in the world, and I think it brings, and it's always been my inspiration, uh, that effortless vibe. I think the Parisian girl's like so cool, so effortless, right? If, my favorite thing is just to walk the streets of Paris and look at everybody. So it doesn't matter if it's a 80-year-old woman or a 25-year-old, they all look really cool and have their own style. Nobody looks the same, and I love that about Paris.

GTN 15:26

Yeah. Tell me, 'cause I'm a big Paris fan myself, just out of curiosity- where do you like to go? 'Cause I think the, the office is in the eighth.

Anine 15:34

Yeah, it's in eighth. Eight. So the eighth is, like, very chic, right? Mm. It's, it's great for the office. I love going to the sixth, to Saint Germain. Mm-hmm. That's where we have one of our stores, and I love walking around that neighborhood. And on Sundays, I go to the flea market. Have you been to the flea market? Oh my God,

GTN 15:47

Clignancourt.

Anine 15:48

Oh.

GTN 15:48

Oh my God, my favorite place in

Anine 15:50

Paris. No, it's, it's the best, and I find so much inspiration for my brand, but also just in life and for my home and-

GTN 15:57

Yeah

Anine 15:58

it's... I, I love Paris. I, the energy-

GTN 16:01

Oh. Mm-hmm

Anine 16:02

it's just beautiful. Yeah.

GTN 16:02

Yeah. It is my favorite city in the world. Yeah. Aside from Sydney. Yeah, exactly. See? Yeah. Yeah. I- It's so beautiful. Yeah. And just the lifestyle. Nice. And they understand living. Yeah, they do. Right?

Anine 16:12

And the butter.

GTN 16:13

The butter. The b- Just a baguette and salted butter. Oh. Crunchy salted butter. So

Anine 16:18

good. Mm. Yeah.

GTN 16:19

I, yeah. There's no, there's no greater joy. Maybe a glass of red wine with that. Yeah,

Anine 16:23

yeah.

GTN 16:24

Yeah. So, so everything is on the up with that sort of thing. Now, as I touched on earlier, music has been a really big part of your life- Mm-hmm since you were a child. Tell me as a kid, what was, what was music for you? What were you doing?

Anine 16:36

As a kid, I was singing in a choir, in a Danish royal, uh, choir of Copenhagen, and I remember starting at the age of five, and I just loved singing. All my siblings, we're five in the family, and we were all singing in the choir. And to me, music s- I just feel like myself. I feel happy. It's, it's my happy place. And I also played the violin growing up, and then I changed to guitar. So music was always part of the, the home, and for Christmas all the siblings would, like, sing the Christmas songs, different harmonies. So I love music.

GTN 17:08

Yeah. Yeah. Amazing. And then when you went to LA, you were the frontwoman in a band. Mm-hmm. Pretty Darlings. We did. What was that like?

Anine 17:15

Oh, the best. I, I... And again, you know, I, it's really my happy place. So even though that was in my early 20s, I felt very lost at that time, so as a p- like, as a woman, I was very lost, but the music really brought me... It was my healing, like my therapy, my, my way to express all the feelings I had at that time.

GTN 17:39

Do you find it interesting? 'Cause I sing as well, and I always think it is, it is something else that you tap into, but also there's just that thing af- even if you've been in a bad mood- Yeah that day- Yeah if you have a really good sing, it physically- Oh, yeah and emotionally makes you feel so much better.

Anine 17:55

It resets the nervous system somehow. It's so, so good for the nervous system, I think.

GTN 17:59

It, it really is.

Anine 18:00

Yeah.

GTN 18:01

It's so satisfying.

Anine 18:02

Yeah.

GTN 18:02

Um, and then you've recently- Mm-hmm look, the last couple of years- Yes from what I understand, have been, you've seen massive changes on a lot of fronts.

Anine 18:10

Yes.

GTN 18:10

Um, you've recently divorced. Mm-hmm. Um, I'm curious, we'll come back to music in a second, but I'm curious- Yeah how have you na- navigated that in terms of the business as, as well as just pers- The divorce? Yeah. Yeah. As well as personally.

Anine 18:21

You know, so Julie, our new CEO, she came actually on board right before the divorce, so there was some kind of divine timing maybe of everything, right? 'Cause, you know, my ex-husband, he's amazing, and we built this business together, and we still work together. He's still involved, but there's a new CEO, which I think was great, uh, from a business point of view 'cause I had this woman by my side that- Yeah I now, uh, could run things with. Um, and you know- Nico, my ex, like my business partner still, so great and like he was really great at, in the first stage of building this brand. Um, but in the day-to-day I don't, we don't really work as much together anymore, and so it works really well.

GTN 19:06

Yeah.

Anine 19:06

Yeah.

GTN 19:06

And I think if you can just, you know, obviously if you just find a respectful kind of-

Anine 19:11

Yeah

GTN 19:11

way forward, and kind-

Anine 19:12

100%. And that's what you gotta try to do. It's not always easy. Yeah. I'm sure if whoever has gone through a divorce, there will be ups and downs, right? But- Yeah yeah, I, I really try to come back to, to kindness and, and, and do my best, but nobody's perfect.

GTN 19:27

And so also in this time, sort of I'm, I'm guessing just before all of this, you sort of went back to music-

Anine 19:34

Yes

GTN 19:34

in a big way.

Anine 19:36

Yeah, so that was really, 'cause I had not picked up my guitar I think for 10 years. So while I was building this brand, I was also a mom. Uh, so there's a lot going. All my focus was my family and then the business. And I remember, maybe now four years ago, I started therapy for the first time ever, and I remember telling my therapist, like, "My life is so square. I feel like I'm stuck in a little square box." And, and that's when I remembered, wow, I miss singing, I miss writing, I, I miss this whole creative side of me that I have not expressed for all these years. And it was really a turning point for me on many levels. Like, I really had a couple years of diving deep in and, and finding the joy again, finding myself again and, and then I made some pretty big changes.

GTN 20:23

Yeah. And then you released an album, Therapy, in fact. Therapy, yeah. Which, I mean, I love that- it's all so on point. And that was two years ago. Yeah. And it's great. I had a listen the other day. Thank you. Yes. So good. What, what was the process like for you making that album? Was it a cathartic thing almost?

Anine 20:39

It was literally like therapy. I was doing therapy and it was my therapy writing these songs, so after each therapy session actually, I s- I wrote a song, and with whatever I was dealing with in my life. And there's one about my mom, about my dad, about- So many different things, right? And, uh, one song that was actually important to me called Beautiful Girl, and that was really about finding myself again. So finding that little girl, little Anine inside of me that I had forgotten about. So it was really, it was a beautiful journey.

GTN 21:11

And what I love, because you've talked already about the idea that you like to empower women and that kind of thing, you also had an all-female band on this, a female producer on this album. How important was that to you? Was that a, a, a deliberate thing or was that kind of an unconscious thing, it just happened?

Anine 21:29

I think it was just kind of a unconscious thing. But I love women and I love working with women. And my producer Wendy, she's just so awesome and so it just happened, but it's not like I, oh, it have to be. Like right now I'm writing also songs with men you know? It doesn't ma- Yeah so I just, I love talented people, and if they're women, that's amazing.

GTN 21:50

And so how, you know, are there plans to do another album or anything at

Anine 21:55

the moment? Of course.

GTN 21:56

Of

Anine 21:56

course. I am working on it. I'm gonna call it Chapter Two.

GTN 21:59

Excellent.

Anine 21:59

Yeah. So that's about this whole new chapter in my life.

GTN 22:02

I love that. Yeah. And on that-

Anine 22:04

Yeah

GTN 22:05

I mean, I have heard that you are one for manifesting things.

Anine 22:09

Oh, yes.

GTN 22:11

What is your process of manifesting things and what do you want your next chapter to look like?

Anine 22:18

Hmm. So since I was a little girl I have been manifesting. Uh, before I even read, um, The Secret, I don't know if you- Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Um, so before I knew about what it was I always manifested. I could just almost feel it in my body that it was gonna happen, and then I did vision boards and wrote down my, my dreams and goals. And so, and I do it in my business. My house I just bought I had manifested it before it happened and, and I manifested my CEO. Um, I really believe in manifestation. And I have made a whole board of what my future is gonna look like. It's really exciting.

GTN 22:58

I love that.

Anine 22:59

Yeah.

GTN 22:59

What, any, any tips you can let us into?

Anine 23:01

Um, I think this next chapter is really just about- Self-love, and I also want a lot of female empowerment in there through my brand, but also through... I'm trying to figure out exactly what it's gonna be. But I, I wanna use my voice to, to help other women finding their purpose in life. There's so many things, um, that I wanna do. Um, and I have big dreams and goals for the business and There's a lot on that board. It's re-

GTN 23:35

Yeah. I love that. Um, uh, again, on this empowering women You also have a, a Mentor Moments initiative- Yes as I understand. Yes. Can you tell me a little bit about that? 'Cause I'm, I, I love hearing things like this.

Anine 23:44

Yeah. So Mentor Moments, uh, is something we started doing with the brand where I hosted these online sessions with, uh, a couple of my team members. Sometimes I invited other of my friends, female founders in, and women, my f- community could call in from all over the world and join these sessions and ask questions. So we, we did them monthly. We should actually bring them back. Thank you for reminding me. Life has been busy. No, I just love, you know, 'cause I don't have time to sit and reply to all DMs that I get daily, right? But I still wanna make sure that I can, if I have any kind of advice, that I can help women, right? Yeah. So we did Mentor Moments, and, and hundreds of women called in on Zoom to, to join, and they could ask us questions.

GTN 24:29

Oh, that's so good.

Anine 24:30

Yeah. This is like

GTN 24:30

the- So

Anine 24:31

think I'm actually gonna, yeah, I need to do it again. I think it's important.

GTN 24:34

Yeah. Um, now also, as you mentioned, you're 43 now.

Anine 24:38

Yeah.

GTN 24:39

I remember when I woke up a little while ago at 40. Um- I just remember waking up the morning of my 40th birthday- Mm and I felt like this kind of weight had lifted, and it was almost like this epiphany that I was like, "Oh my God, I can say no." Yeah. "I don't have to put up with crap from people." I'm still working on that a little bit, but it was just like this, something lifted. Have you felt anything similar?

Anine 25:04

Oh, I'm getting goosebumps when you say that- 'cause I can really relate. Yeah. I feel turning f- like 40 was a big turning point for me. Now I'm 43, so it took, I had a couple of hard years, like, really stepping into it, but it's so powerful when you learn that, right? And yeah, it's on my own terms, and yes, I can say no. And, and, and you can choose the things that makes you happy, and whatever doesn't makes you happy anymore you don't h- have to do.

GTN 25:31

Yeah, 100%.

Anine 25:32

Yeah.

GTN 25:32

And in terms of, I do think in fashion it's been interesting the last- Mm-hmm few years because I feel, I mean, I wrote a story for Women's Weekly, uh, probably 18 months ago- Yeah about, age positivity in fashion. Mm. And there has been a bit of a shift.

Anine 25:46

Yeah.

GTN 25:48

Has there been a, are we going in the right direction, do you think, in terms of visibility of women over 40?

Anine 25:54

I hope so. Um, you know, my, my brand, our core customer, she's like 35 plus, right? And, and for me it's very natural. Like, For my brand at least, I wanna create pieces that everybody feels good in. And, and I met so many women here in Australia, and they're 60 plus, and they wear the brand so beautifully, right? But I also want a 18-year-old to come in and buy a sweatshirt- Yeah save up for the sweatshirt, and, and wear it. Yeah. So I just hope that all brands are just welcoming to all ages, you know? That-

GTN 26:27

Yeah

Anine 26:28

and our last shoot with Margo Sia, beautiful model. She's my age, I think, over 40, and, and so stunning, and one of our best performing campaigns ever.

GTN 26:38

Amazing.

Anine 26:38

So I think women are craving it, yeah.

GTN 26:40

Yeah. Um, and what are some of the pinch me moments when you talk about campaigns and stuff as well? 'Cause I know you worked with Kate Moss not that long ago. Ah. Like, what are the sort of pinch me moments that you've had in the history of the brand that you've really just go, "Oh my God, this is actually incredible"?

Anine 26:53

I have, for sure, opening our first store ever, and then the first Paris store. That was a big moment, 'cause Paris is Paris, right? Um, Kate Moss being the face of the brand, super pinch me moment, 'cause she's incredible, and have been on... Talking about vision boards, she's been on there s- since day one, so, so we manifested that.

GTN 27:15

Amazing.

Anine 27:15

Um, another pinch me moment was, for sure, opening a headquarter in Paris. Um- Yeah, for sure. And but I feel like it continues happening. Right. And that is really exciting.

GTN 27:29

Yeah. 'Cause you can't ever, once you've ticked things off, it's not like you can just say, "Okay, well we've done that now."

Anine 27:34

No.

GTN 27:34

You've gotta go, "Okay, what's next?" Yeah.

Anine 27:35

Yeah. And you gotta dream, and dream bigger and, and continue. It's not that you just have to rush. But I like to dream. Yeah.

GTN 27:42

Dreaming's important. Yeah. I don't think we dream enough anymore.

Anine 27:46

No. Dream more.

GTN 27:47

Dream more. Yeah. That's our takeaway today.

Anine 27:49

Yeah.

GTN 27:49

Amazing. Well, I think we've, we've covered so many great things.

Anine 27:53

So great.

GTN 27:54

Yeah,

Anine 27:55

that's kind of how- Can we add one more thing? 'Cause I-

GTN 27:56

Absolutely, please

Anine 27:57

cause, 'cause, 'cause you asked me about, um, Anine Bing's World, and guess what? Yes. I'm actually gonna bring it back on a Substack. Oh

GTN 28:05

my God.

Anine 28:05

Yeah.

GTN 28:05

It's- Oh, that's so good.

Anine 28:07

Yeah. 'Cause the community, you know how the brand started with the community? They're craving, I can feel, more, not just like the fast on Instagram, they're actually craving to hear more from me, and especially in this new chapter of mine. So-

GTN 28:19

Yeah

Anine 28:19

I am launching my Substack this week. Uh, yeah. Oh my God,

GTN 28:22

congratulations.

Anine 28:23

Thank you. And I'm gonna call it Anine Bing's World. That's so good. So it's kind of like- Full circle taking it back. Yeah, full circle moment. And I'm gonna be sharing anything from fashion to beauty, but also my inner thoughts, manifesting, all, all the things that has helped me in life.

GTN 28:37

Amazing.

Anine 28:37

Yeah.

GTN 28:38

I, I, I can feel that you are just becoming, like, a, a full lifestyle kind of guru.

Anine 28:45

Yeah, I just, I wanna share. Like, I love women, and I just wanna share what, if, no matter if it's my favorite lipstick or, or some- Or a therapy or a book, something that has, has helped me on my journey. So it's, it's fun

GTN 28:59

Oh, that's so good. And I just think people love connecting-

Anine 29:03

Yes

GTN 29:03

with people

Anine 29:04

and that- People are craving a connection and the real, like, authenticity, and I'm gonna be all 100% myself on the Substack.

GTN 29:12

Oh, I love that. Well, you heard it here first. Or maybe not first, but anyway. Yeah, maybe. Um, maybe. Um, look, Anine, thank you so much for joining me today. It's been such a delight.

Anine 29:21

Thank you for having me. I loved chatting to you. Bye-bye.

29:25

Thanks for listening. Anina is just such a breath of fresh air. If you enjoyed today's episode, please share with your friends and on social media, and rate and review on your podcast platform of choice. And you can get in touch via Instagram at infashion_podcast. Thanks again for listening to "In Fashion." Until next time