Rachel Katzin and Brielle Mayberg: Founders of All Day Alba
Developed by a global female team – Milan-born martial artist, Rachel Katzin, and American entrepreneur, Brielle Mayberg – All Day Alba’s designs reflect the values of smart, confident, independent women, and experts at defending their personal health and well-being. Rachel and Brielle believe that strength and femininity do not need to be mutually exclusive – something that is not only evident in the brand’s background, but also in the styles that are thoughtfully crafted.
Technologically advanced manufacturing is implemented in the fabrications of each piece, like breathability and moisture-wicking qualities, to maximize comfort and durability while offering women real health benefits from anti-microbial properties. While the fabrics do not offer thermo-regulation, they do improve performance because of the compression and the infra-red, which helps with muscle recovery and muscle fatigue. The fabric features bacteriostatic protection that is odor repellent, is moisture-wicking and has UPF embedded into the fabric for UV protection. Each technological detail reflects the brand’s mission to provide premium garments for every aspect of the multi-faceted woman’s life, no matter where the day or night takes her.
Our Interview with Rachel Katzin and Brielle Mayberg, the Founders of All Day Alba
Tell us about your professional journey. What led you both to start All Day Alba together?
Rachel: I started the brand on my own after the birth of my daughter, Alba. Two years later, Brielle and I met at a preschool visit, entirely by chance. I was wearing one of my brand’s original designs, and Brielle complimented me. I told her about the business and its vision, and Brielle felt a strong connection right away. We started working together and decided to become partners to take the company to the next level.
Brielle: Determined to put my entrepreneurial familial upbringing to the test, I wanted to pioneer (within the fashion industry) to be the first in my immediate family to build a business in this space. Teaming up with a motivated and passionate Milanese, who comes from a multigenerational textile oriented family, was a no brainer for me.
Why are you passionate about All Day Alba?
Rachel: All Day Alba is a brand that promises to make women feel relaxed, confident, and prepared for their day (whether planned or spontaneously). Our clothes are fashionable and comfortable, so they allow women to say yes to every opportunity that comes their way, without compromising on comfort.
Brielle: The only thing better than solving a problem is being a solution. All Day Alba is a solution that we created, where the simplicity of tech fabrics is delicately fused with the detail of tailored fashion. It’s a versatile solution for the modern woman who is expected to be everything for everyone, at every moment of her day. With us, she will not risk missing out because she will be neither under nor overdressed.
What has been your biggest challenge in launching the company?
Rachel: One of the biggest challenges is juggling between family and business, and working on different time zones. As much as it can be challenging, working during afternoon and evening hours is sometimes the easiest, because my husband is usually home at those hours and can take over the house and kids.
Brielle: As with building any new relationship, communicating with a business partner is challenging and requires motivation, practice, and commitment. It does not happen on its own. It requires the full effort of both parties, but it is well worth it.
How did you get started sourcing what you needed to make such versatile and functional clothing?
We source our own fabrics and produce unique shades since our focus is equally – look, feel, and function. We use top-of-the-line materials that include the functions we want, without compromise. It is completely worth spending the money on fabric when the fabric really works.
We locate the top mills around the globe. And we learn about every detail of the fabric, beginning with the fibers within the yarn. This way, we can confidently advocate 100% for and stand behind the capabilities of the fabrics. We can know precisely how they will make our consumer feel, how it will look and fall on the body, and even how it will positively impact cellulite and muscle fatigue.
What is your design process with new pieces you’re considering for the brand?
We scan the market, and we enter the minds & the closets of our consumers. We trend-research and hone in on the winning colors of the upcoming season, but most importantly – we put ourselves into the details.
Each design is the expression of what we believe our consumers would want but do not have in their wardrobe. It is also what we see being innovative, solution-oriented, and beautifully unique – designs that will uplift their lives physically (made to move with them) and emotionally (raise their confidence and motivation to do more and be out there).
As the creatives behind All Day Alba, we stand by each and every design. So our design team meticulously oversees each detail from how the tag looks and what the care label says, to the intentional placement of the rose gold logo, to every last seam. This way, there is no disparity between our vision and the production outcome.
It’s never been a more challenging environment to operate a business in. What advice would you offer other business owners for how to navigate these next few months?
For us, things have changed only slightly, because we work via Zoom calls between Israel, two US time zones, and Hong Kong regularly. As we are mainly an e-commerce business, and we are well-practiced with being remote from our consumers. Still, we did have to adapt our messaging so that we could be ‘heard’ by our consumers during this unsteady period, where everyone needs and wants to connect but not necessarily to spend money.
Nevertheless, our ability to navigate during this time is a further confirmation that with creativity and out of the box thinking, a business can move forward even from the living room, obstacles can be overcome, and communication with consumers can be achieved. It’s important not to remain stuck in predefined habits, but rather allow flexibility, adaptation, and creativity to adapt to the environmental challenges to which we have no control.
How do you practice self-care and balance your personal and professional life?
Rachel: The time difference between Israel and the US (I work from Israel, while Brielle works from the US. We cover two territories and everywhere in between!) allows me to take care of my personal needs in the morning, since I actually start working around 1 PM and take a break at dinner time to be with my family. My day is reversed! At night, I am less available and my kids know it. Their dad takes over at bedtime hours.
Brielle: Whether it is an Instagram post that includes my toddlers or reviewing an exciting business venture with my husband over dinner, it is my family’s inclusion inside my professional world that makes me feel balanced. If I then have to take a business trip (which, by the way, is my best time for self-care!), my family knows where I am, what I am doing, and, most importantly, how cherished my work is to me. There is no guilt in hiding away and working away once the passion is shared.
If you could go back and give yourself three pieces of advice when you first started All Day Alba – what would you tell yourself?
Rachel:
- I would listen more to my inner voice.
- I would work from the very first day with people inside the industry.
- I would invest more time in my own professional development as co-founder and CEO.
Brielle:
- To read Daring Greatly (I now keep a copy of it by my bedside)
- To listen before speaking.
- To define goals first, then make moves.
What single word, saying, or motivational quote do you identify most with?
Rachel: If you really believe in what you want to achieve, you will succeed.
Brielle: “Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change,” Brenee Brown.
What’s next for you and the brand?
- Creating a community of women who will feel part of our brand and identify with our vision of Relaxed Confidence.
- Filling in the gaps of fashion meets performance apparel; being a leader in the industry and known for smart fashion that is not just trend seeking but trendsetting.
We are very excited to share what is to come in our Spring Summer 2021 collection.
Follow All Day Alba online at the following:
Website: https://alldayalba.com/
Facebook: @AllDayAlba
Twitter: @AllDayAlba
Instagram: @AllDayAlba
Emily Sprinkle, also known as Emma Loggins, is a designer, marketer, blogger, and speaker. She is the Editor-In-Chief for Women's Business Daily where she pulls from her experience as the CEO and Director of Strategy for Excite Creative Studios, where she specializes in web development, UI/UX design, social media marketing, and overall strategy for her clients.
Emily has also written for CNN, Autotrader, The Guardian, and is also the Editor-In-Chief for the geek lifestyle site FanBolt.com
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