Paradigm Shifters is a series of interviews with a select group of women and men from eclectic walks of life. It will highlight unspoken, real life insights on how they have been able to turn weakness into strength. A naked soul point of view of how their breakdowns were really a preparation for breakthroughs. They are your quintessential Paradigm Shifters; internal shifts converted into genuine change.
Everything I have ever done has been focused on this underlying theme of shifting the paradigm because, "what we think determines what we feel and what we feel determines what we do." Hence why Empowered by You takes lingerie, which has traditionally been seen merely as a tool of seduction and redirected that energy as a tool of empowerment.
I hope from these stories you will look at your own situations, struggles and accomplishments through a different lens. At the very least you will be more equipped with real life tools to change your own paradigm. At the end of the day we are our own Alchemist turning the silver we were born with into the gold we are destined to become.
Marissa Webb - Founder/Designer Marissa Webb and
Creative Director/Executive Vice President of Design Banana Republic
Do you feel that growing up as a tomboy influences your designs?
I don't think that growing up as a tomboy has influenced the direction of my designs. To be honest, I've never really put those two together in my mind; I just know what I want to wear. Even as a tomboy, I sometimes wore tutus. So I'm a tomboy with a tutu on, or sometimes I'm a tomboy with a bow tie on, it doesn't matter.
I still do have that tomboy in me, even today. I get a kick out of people telling me I can't when it comes to style. I remember walking into one of my previous jobs on my first day wearing a complete Ralph Lauren suit with a tie. Everyone looked at me like I had ten heads. I think it's empowering to wear something, or to do something, have people tell you that you can't and then turn around and say, "Why not? I just did."
How has being adopted formed the foundation of who you are?
Because I was a little bit older [when I was adopted] and I had siblings, I remember the struggle. And so I think that's what has given me an "I can" attitude. It was important for me to take care of my siblings and to make something out of my life, even though people were often looking back and saying, "There is no way this girl is going to make it." But luckily, I never felt like I had to prove anything to anyone. Feeling as though I wanted to prove something to myself was what motivated me then, and it's still what drives me today.
What has having your own line taught you?
Having my own line has actually been amazing. There are definitely days when I wake up and can sometimes feel daunted by the work that needs to be done. But then I think about all the great things that will happen in the day or how fun it'll be because I get to spend it with my team. They inspire me so much; they are amazing. We work our butts off and they really crank it out. Even though it's hard work, it's also fun work because of the energy that they create every day. This bad cheesy music plays all the time and we have a lot of laughs. One of my favorite things to tell people is if you can't dance poorly, you can't work here.
Has working at Banana Republic helped with transferable skills in your own company?
It's been very interesting learning how to shift gears so fast. I get to bring that sense of freedom and flexibility from a studio environment to a corporate environment. And then in turn, I get to take some of the structure of a corporate environment and bring it back to my private label. But you definitely have to account closely for everything in a smaller ship; you have to be a lot more strategic in certain ways because you can lose a lot very quickly.
What do you feel is the biggest paradigm shift you've experienced when seeing something differently changed your life?
I would say there are many of them. But one of the biggest awakenings was when someone told me, "You have to work on being elegant. You have to work on presenting yourself in a certain manner." Those statements triggered a reaction with me because that's not what I want to be. I want to be authentic and honest and real because that is way more important to me than trying to put on a facade of what other people think I should be.
What is your biggest breakdown to breakthrough moment?
I don't think there has been one big moment. I think as human beings we go through times when we question ourselves. When I decided to start my own company, there were sheer moments of, "What the heck did I do? There is so much more work than I anticipated, I'm never going to sleep again." What I have learned, however, is that I can wake up in the morning and give myself five minutes to really feel that panic if that's what I need. Then I let it go and move along. It's important that I stay committed to this approach because when it comes to running a business, you need to learn to live with the unexpected. I don't know what's coming today, I don't know what's coming tomorrow, and I don't even remember what came yesterday. But you know what? Every single day we have managed to get one step further, no matter how steep the mountain might feel that day. In the end, the job always gets done and I think that's what the amazing part is.
And for me it's not just about the company but it's about the people, too. It's about making sure that my team feels a sense of accomplishment and a sense of achievement. And it's about me knowing that the people working at this company are on the path to a great career, about feeling like I have done something to help them, because they have done so much to help me. So it's the personal element that makes this job so powerful to me. If it was just me here on a daily basis then I could make the decision to say, "I'm really tired today, I'm not going to do anything." Even though that's not my nature, it would be an easier decision to make than when you feel so invested in the people. My team here has been with me since I started the company in 2011, which is amazing. Start-ups are hard, and I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish together thus far.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
My rule of thumb is to not take myself too seriously, but I don't think I ever really have. I think I have always stayed pretty consistent -- work hard, stay humble, always give back, and just be a good person. I think everyone goes through phases of trying to find out who they are, and it's not such a great phase. But I think caring about the people around you more than you care about your own personal goals is important.
What do you want your legacy to be?
People may think this answer would have to do with my career or fashion but again, I go back to the human side of everything. I would like my legacy to be that I was a good person. Simple as that.
There is a saying that goes, "Team work makes the dream work." In Marissa's case, it seems like she lives by this. I have never experienced someone who is as mindful of the success of her team as she is with the success of her brand. There are no bells and whistles here. Marissa is an example of what true creatives are made of -- authenticity.