DORÉ

This week on Atelier Doré is dedicated to our Moroccan retreat called “The Art of Storytelling.” We hope to share some of the lessons we taught and learned. So, when we asked our retreat guests who would be one of their dream speakers, Morgane Sezalory came up more than once. We were so happy. She was on the top of our list, too. Fast forward to a few months later and here we are, on the rooftop of Hotel El Fenn. The sun is shining and I’m sitting here with Morgane. How did she create Sézane, the amazingly successful French brand, and how does she manage success? You’ll see in this episode that Morgane is not your typical entrepreneur. As she describes herself, lazy and messy, it’s by using her vulnerabilities that she created such a special destination for women. Alright, meet Morgane!

[podcast_episode episode=”261805″ ]

On adapting to life in Paris after living in Africa…
In Africa, we were going to school very early. Every afternoon was lazy because it was too hot. Most people work very early and maybe at 2pm you don’t have school anymore. So this was very hard for me. In France you go to school all day, and if you have to take a nap—I love to rest, but when I’m passionate, I don’t want to stop doing something— and when I was little, the first days in school, they wanted us to lay down and look at the ceiling. I was not used to it, so it was hard!

On not knowing what she wanted to do or be…
I didn’t know what I wanted to be. I just knew I wanted to be an independent woman, which means I never wanted to ask any man what I’m supposed to do, or if I could buy anything, or move anywhere—just to feel very free. I understood that it was the biggest chance for women in Europe and a lot of countries where you can actually choose what you can be and how you can live. I couldn’t just not choose my life and realized that school was not for me.

On getting her start…
Our family always loved vintage hunting and my mom likes nice shoes, nice earrings, nice bags—so when my sister left, she left those bags and usually we would’ve given the pieces to a charity. I had just started to hunt on eBay U.S. for myself. You could find amazing things twelve years ago, and even now, but it was so crazy. For me it was like a world. It was the beginning of the Internet. It was so crazy to be able to buy something from someone who was living on the other side of the world. So I was buying my little things. I had a little job to have pocket money. When my sister left, I realized, “Maybe I’m going to shoot those pieces, her pieces, and we’ll see.”

On the earning money in the early days…
I kept my little job. I was working in a shop because I didn’t want my parents to think, “She’s doing nothing.” And I think I didn’t really explain it to them that I was starting to sell things on eBay because I didn’t even realize myself that it was real money. It was so digital and unreal, but it’s funny because after a few months I was earning—not like a lot of money—but still a lot of money. I didn’t realize it was money!

On how others can motivate you to realize your dreams…
My husband, he’s the one who encouraged me to go for design. I was always thinking, “Oh, I’m not ready. I can’t do it.” After a few months of dating, he said, “Morgane, I printed you the list of all the manufacturers in France. You have to go for it.” He went on vacation with his family for Christmas and he said, “When I come back, I don’t want to have any excuse from you. I want you to tell me you’ve found your first manufacturer.” It’s crazy because sometimes you just have to be pushed. I already knew I wanted to do that. I was just waiting.

On how the loss of her brother helped her appreciate life every day…
We miss him so much, but at the same time I think my family realized that there is one life and we have to live it. So the way I live it—I live it every day and every morning with this belief and truth. So many people have so much pain. We all live a pain some day. Each one of us has a shape for pain. When you remind yourself that you have one life and that now is now and maybe you’ll have no chance tomorrow, it makes life more like you have to catch it now.

On having a panic attack for the first time…
At first, I didn’t know what was happening. I thought I had a medical health issue. It’s funny how you don’t want to see. You know, like it has to be medical, it can’t just be me being tired or my body telling me what to do—to stop and slow. I did all the exams you could imagine. I was so afraid.

On the moments you share with strangers…
I was on the phone with Thibaut, my husband, after my panic attack and the taxi driver heard everything. When I hung up, he talked to me. When we arrived home, he stayed with me for like one hour and we talked and shared life. Some taxi drivers in Paris are not the most welcoming, but when they are nice, it’s like you can share so much. It was a beautiful moment despite not understanding what was happening.

On how Sézane evolved organically…
That’s always how I worked with Sézane. I thought, what do I want? What do women around me want and need and what makes them feel something? What makes me feel something? What if a brand is not only a brand and it’s more than a brand? It’s going to sound crazy, but I never dreamt about doing fashion. I just wanted to do something good.