SUSAN BENDER

After graduating from the Stern School of Business at NYU and a stint in the corporate world, my desire to work in fashion guided me straight to the garment district in New York City. I chose my favorite medium, leather, to design a collection of comfortable and wearable pieces for my friends and then for their friends. A leather piece can last a lifetime. A great leather piece can be worn often with multiple outfits, sometimes completing a look and other times acting as a discreet layer. The leather cardigan works as a layering piece, both completing an outfit and adding some extra coverage. The cropped leather moto, which is slightly edgier than the cardigan, offers a little more of a casual, cool vibe. Whichever piece a client selects, I often hear it becomes her favorite (and most worn) item in her closet.

Our leather is made in New York City in clean, fair paying factories where I know all of the factory workers and they know me. The pandemic has created a lean garment district but those who have remained come to work with smiles on their faces and endless energy to make beautiful garments. There is a tremendous pride in the slow and careful workmanship that is integral to each garment and with that, they become pieces that can remain in your fashion rotation for many years.