If you want to see an exemplary example of a multitasker, look no further than Michelle Duncan. She’s the founder of the fashion line DUNCAN, a womenswear collection that’s contributing its own vocabulary on how the modern woman should dress.
While her brand is young—it’s only in its second season—it already has a legion of influential supporters including creative and art world cool girls Jen Brill and Sarah Hoover, fashion world staples Leigh Lezark, Vanessa Traina, and Michael Avedon, VOGUE editors like Sally Singer as well as significant fashion influencers like Diet Prada.
The most enviable thing about her accomplishment is that she’s managed to do this in addition to her high-powered day job as the Global Partnership, Collaborations and Creative Brand Strategy Lead at the Estée Lauder Companies (ELC).
“Some people in their personal life train for triathlons, some binge watch Netflix. I choose to design clothes,” says the designer-cum-executive.
Women have far more responsibility than any other time in history, going from work to after work meetings, to looking after the family or pursuing high-demand hobbies in their spare time. This means many newly-launched fashion brands are by women, like Ms. Duncan, who want to address the demands of the modern female. They have a vision, see a white space, and dive in.
“DUNCAN is for all women but in particular for the ones with edge, or who aspire to have a bit of edge,” she says. “It’s for the female who has a demanding day schedule but who is also for the night and can wear these pieces in both settings.”
The collection’s silhouettes are highly-tailored and structured, in dark tones with elements and details like feathers, buttons and studs. This aesthetic has earned the line the title-in-jest of the brand for goth girls gone corporate because its the epitome of dark glamour in the world of American fashion known for the beautiful, ethereal and/or minimal.
Although DUNCAN is hardly the Morticia Addams or Robert Smith sort of goth, instead, it embodies the aesthetic through its darker tones coupled with a contemporary take on silhouettes that feel as though they hail from another era. Think tailored silhouettes with nipped waists, pleated midi-length hems, long-sleeves and flat collars melded with softness, sultriness, and femininity. It’s for the sort of women who are looking for an alternative, yet appropriate, way to dress day-to-day—a little naughty with the nice.
“I was totally inspired [to launch DUNCAN] by the people in the world. People are taking action, women, specifically, are taking action,” when asked about what drove her to launch her line. “Women are having a cultural reckoning and I felt so influenced and inspired by their courage to act and rise up. So, it was the exact right time to take action on a dream for what I believe in and express that in a visual interpretation through design of clothes for the complex, multi-faceted and dynamic women.”
In a country where work-life balance is nothing short of a myth, Ms. Duncan has been able to launch her brand because of her job and not in spite of it.
The Estée Lauder Companies are known for their supportive work environment, constantly being ranked amongst the best employers in the world, specifically for women, for which it is the ranked #1 employer by this publication.
Ms. Duncan herself has been there for almost 7 years. “For a millennial, that’s almost unheard of,” she jests. And ELC have been more than just morally supportive, they have materialized their support in the form a generous cosmetics sponsorship through MAC cosmetics for her Spring/Summer ’20 show, which happened this past week.
“This trend—of design incubation from within through various sources—is also quite modern. Look at what LVMH does for Jonathan Anderson, Virgil Abloh and even Yoon Ambush. Those guys juggle multiple careers and do it all. Same for the guys over in Silicon Valley. People have multiple facets in their lives now and I believe companies understand that, besides it brings extra perspective and new sources of creativity to the picture.”
While there are a myriad of reasons why she’s kept her day job, from the support to the passion, she’s transparent about one very important aspect—the bottom line. “DUNCAN is self-funded right now, so we still need my income to pay the bills!” she laughs.
“I want DUNCAN to embolden females to go out and take on their world. I want it to be a mentality for us–if you are a DUNCAN girl, then you are suited up in your armor and ready to go after life. I hope to inspire women, the way I’ve been inspired, to be a force and feel invincible.”
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