It must be true, what people say–the apple doesn’t fall fall from the tree. My mom, Bette Prince, and I followed the same path in life. Of course, our lives were different, but we were the same in so many ways. One thing we share in common… When we were challenged by our marriages, both of us pushed forward, immersing ourselves in fashion business, barely missing a beat. My mother’s career began in the ‘70’s. By the time she retired, she had become one of the most successful and respected women in the garment industry. To this day, people still talk about my mother’s generosity and kindness. During the 80’s, she began representing a knitwear company, Nannell Sweaters, that had...
My mom taught me to survive. If that makes sense. She taught me strength, resilience, understanding and patience. After my dad died, she could have done what so many other women in our culture do, remarry and have someone take care of her. Or she could have moved back to Turkey. But she didn’t. She took the harder road. Worked shitty jobs to make ends meet, made us her first priority and stayed in the states to give us opportunities she didn’t have growing up. She dealt with ridicule from other Albanians because she didn’t raise us as strict Muslims but she just kept pushing on. She put every dollar she earned into us and gave me the opportunity to...
“Business woman extraordinaire who I should have paid closer attention to but seem to have absorbed some of her smarts and personality and taste in the 17 years of being partners and the 43 years of being her Daughter.She and My Grandpa loved the line, ‘Perfection is a road, not a destination" I say it often and try and stay on that path hoping to get to that destination in my own way.”
My Mum. Quite simply she is an incredibly strong and generous human being. No matter what path I have followed she has always been my staunchest supporter.Fashion is in my blood, it really is. My great grandparents surnames were Tailor & Glover, and the family owned fabric mills in the north of England. From an early age I always knew I wanted to work with fashion. She was there when I moved to London to study and even more amazingly, when I decided to move to another continent, she did everything to help me. What never ceases to amaze me is that she has never once, in 47 years, made me feel that I have to do anything just to...
