She’s been called the nicest person in fashion, but Rejina Pyo is quick to qualify that statement. “A friend said ‘there are so many mean people in fashion, so being nice in fashion is not like being an actual nice person’." But it all balances out, she says. “I am from South Korea...so I can come across very direct. I can seem rude sometimes. So I hope it balances out.”
If our conversation is anything to go by, it certainly does. Here are 6 things we learned about business, networking, motherhood, and how to measure success, from the ‘nice-direct’ Rejina Pyo….
How she found her gap in the market...
Back then it was just a luxury or a very kind of High Street thing. There’s a huge gap and I wanted clothes that I could actually afford, but have a great quality and that would last. And also the designer aesthetic. And my friends said the same, “I wouldn’t mind paying a bit more to buy this amazing winter coat that would actually last a couple of years, not High Street and you have to throw it away the next season because it’s falling apart.” Or you end up paying a mortgage on the coat, on the luxury brands.
Why real women wearing her clothes are her favourite...
More than some celebrity that I’ve never met wearing it on the red carpet, once, because it was put on by their stylist or something – I want a woman, with their mind, choosing my clothes and wearing it every day. Someone stopped me on the subway, saying, “This is the best thing I’ve ever had and I will never throw it away.” It just gives me the motivation.
Why she hates networking...
I am rather shit at networking, I should be doing more but it’s just so hard when you actually prefer to spend more time with people you care about, like family. I don’t really like going to parties or events and it’s really, really hard. But when you meet someone that you can actually be friends with, that’s really lucky.
It’s just not natural, trying to be with someone because you have an agenda or a goal to achieve. And I think it’s much better time spent when you can be with someone that you can actually relate to, rather than faking it, because it’s not going to last anyway. And if everyone’s looking for someone to be friends with for whatever their goal, the world will fall apart, I think.
On how motherhood gives you perspective...
You just think, “My life is finished. I will never be the person who I was and I will never be working again. I’m just a milk machine in the corner of my bedroom.” It’s all craziness. And then, after that, you kind of settle in, you get to know more about your baby. And I think it’s just juggling one thing and another thing. Your company’s like a baby too, obviously not the same importance, but definitely, because of that reason or this obsessiveness about your business, it can really change. And your life is enriched with bigger meaning and you get a completely different perspective. And I think it really taught me to be a bit more chilled and it’s okay, this bad thing can happen. It will be okay.
On learning detachment...
There is always some disaster happening in production, and it can really get into you and you’re just melting down every day. But then, when I got pregnant, I really didn’t want the stress to go to the baby so I had to learn to separate myself from the work, the work is not myself. It’s work, it’s what I do, but I had to stop being the same. So in that sense, I learned to detach myself, to protect myself mentally and physically, health-wise.
On how she measures success…
My friend, she’s a super-inspiring woman who I work with, said, “This capitalism made us measure success by the turnover and numbers, and how many people you hired. And it’s all the numbers. But actually, you could measure success in a completely different way. How long are the people staying, or how happy are they, working in the company? And how much do people want to work in the company, from an outsider point of view?” I really learned from that, that defines what I want from my business.