The Woman Behind the Fashion Company That Designed the Politically Charged Sweaters on All of Your Favorite Celebs
Alina sits down with Rachelle Hruska MacPherson, founder of Lingua Franca, to talk about the future of the brand and how she fell into fashion accidentally on the advice of a therapist...
Forgive me.
I can’t remember exactly when it happened.
Let’s call it summer of 2016.
I was in Montauk having dinner at The Crow’s Nest when I wandered into the little store near the entrance.
I noticed this super cool cashmere sweater with the word Outlaw hand-stitched across the front.
The only other time I had seen a sweater like that was on my stunningly chic friend, Rachelle Hruska MacPherson.
Rachelle Hruska MacPherson in the original Lingua Franca Outlaw sweater, March 17, 2016, Photo credit: Joe Schildhorn/BFA.com
Back then, Rachelle didn’t have a business and didn’t aspire to be a fashion designer.
Today, she’s running what could be the next mega brand, Lingua Franca.
Source: Lingua Franca
Lingua Franca means “common language.”
Source: Refinery 29
If the name doesn’t sound familiar, well, surely, you’ve seen this:
Meryl Streep wearing Lingua Franca, Source: The New Yorker
Or this:
Lupita Nyong'o wearing Lingua Franca, Photo courtesy: Rachelle Hruska MacPherson
Or this:
Julianne Moore wearing Lingua Franca, Photo courtesy: Rachelle Hruska MacPherson
Or this:
Reese Witherspoon wearing Lingua Franca, Photo courtesy: Rachelle Hruska MacPherson
You get it.
I sat down with Rachelle during New York Fashion Week — saw her latest collection for Spring 2023, talked about the future of Lingua Franca (it’s bright!), and how she fell into fashion accidentally on the advice of a therapist.
In fact, let’s start there.
“DO YOU COOK? DO YOU GARDEN? HONEY, I LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY”
ALINA CHO: What was your original idea for Lingua Franca and when did you launch?
Source: WWD
RACHELLE HRUSKA MACPHERSON: 2016. It was such a pure start. I had no plan to start a fashion company at all. I was running Guest of a Guest, which is still around.
ALINA CHO: For people who don’t know, explain what Guest of a Guest is…
RACHELLE HRUSKA MACPHERSON: People, places, parties.
Source: Guest of a Guest
It came about way before social media, way before the iPhone. I launched it in 2006. And we were the first to really put party photos online.
ALINA CHO: It was a thing.
RACHELLE HRUSKA MACPHERSON: It was a big thing. And the business now makes money through subscriptions, not advertising.
ALINA CHO: It's so crazy because I totally forgot you had this whole other life.
RACHELLE HRUSKA MACPHERSON: But that's why Lingua Franca started. Because I had so much anxiety. The business was changing so quickly at Guest of a Guest. I couldn't make ads work anymore. I was pregnant. I had just had my second kid and I just went into a deep postpartum anxiety depression state, and it was dark. And it went on for like a year.
ALINA CHO: Wow, I had no idea.
RACHELLE HRUSKA MACPHERSON: And I went to a variety of therapists and one of them said, “You really need to do something with your hands.”
ALINA CHO: That's so interesting.
RACHELLE HRUSKA MACPHERSON: [She said], “Because you're on your phone, you're in this digital media world. You’ve got to get out of your head. Do you cook? Do you garden?” And I'm like, “Honey, I live in New York City. I don't do any of that.”
ALINA CHO: “I make reservations. That's what I do.”
RACHELLE HRUSKA MACPHERSON: So, [one weekend], on the drive out to Montauk, we passed by this craft store. And I was like, “Sean (as in Sean MacPherson, her husband, famed hotelier and restaurateur), turn around the car.” We had two screaming babies, and I was like, “I have to go and get supplies.” And he's like, “What are you talking about?” And I was like, “I know what I'm going to do with my hands this weekend.”
ALINA CHO: Wow.
RACHELLE HRUSKA MACPHERSON: My grandmother had taught me to embroider in Nebraska as a young girl. I hadn't done it since, like, third grade, but I [thought], “I’m going to try and do what my therapist said. So, I can go back to therapy and tell her I tried, and it failed.”
Source: Instagram @rachellehruska
ALINA CHO: And then you loved it.
RACHELLE HRUSKA MACPHERSON: We had all these cashmere sweaters lying around in Montauk, some had holes in them, and I was like, “Okay, I'm going to take this sweater and let’s write something funny on it." And I was like, “Sean, what should we embroider on this?” And he was like, “Booyah.” And I was like, “Okay, great.”
Original Lingua Franca sweaters, Photo courtesy: Rachelle Hruska MacPherson
ALINA CHO: Crazy.
RACHELLE HRUSKA MACPHERSON: I took a photo of it, put it on Instagram and was just like, “Ha-ha. So funny. If you want me to do one for you, send me your old sweater.”
Source: Instagram @rachellehruska
And all these fashion people were like, “Do one for me, do one for me.” And that is exactly how the entire business started.
ALINA CHO: And look at you now.
Source: The Cut
RACHELLE HRUSKA MACPHERSON: At the time, [Net-a-Porter] called me, I was in Malibu, I'll never forget. [They said], “I want to launch your line on Net-a-Porter this fall.” And I didn't have a line.
ALINA CHO: So then, what did you do?
RACHELLE HRUSKA MACPHERSON: I hung up the phone and I called Kate, who was my only employee at the time, and said, “I’m going to figure out how to make cashmere.”
ALINA CHO: That’s right. Because the answer is yes and figure it out later.
RACHELLE HRUSKA MACPHERSON: Figure it out. They wanted 3000 sweaters for their order. We did 1500, we got it out in three colors, and they sold out in one week.
GETTING POLITICAL
ALINA CHO: You’ve been very political and that, for a fashion company, can be risky, right?
Source: Instagram @rachellehruska
RACHELLE HRUSKA MACPHERSON: Well, I think that people talk about authenticity, but I never had a plan.
Source: Instagram @rachellehruska
I never was like, “I want to be a fashion designer.” And so, for me, I’m inspired to create a really cool business, tell stories and be creative. But I really have to be authentic about myself, that's the number one thing. So, if I'm going to be really outraged by what's happening with abortion...
Source: Lingua Franca
ALINA CHO: Roe v. Wade.
RACHELLE HRUSKA MACPHERSON: I cannot just ignore that. It’s also been weirdly cathartic to channel that rage in this way that’s visible.
Source: ELLE Magazine
We've raised [more than] 1.5 million dollars [for charitable] organizations.
ALINA CHO: Through the sale of sweaters?
RACHELLE HRUSKA MACPHERSON: Yeah.
Source: Instagram @rachellehruska
ALINA CHO: That's amazing. I had no idea.
WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW… AND WHAT’S NEXT
ALINA CHO: Just so we're clear, you can buy a sweater that already has the embroidery on it, or you can custom anything.
RACHELLE HRUSKA MACPHERSON: Anything.
Source: Lingua Franca
We just launched our new customized [section on the website that] I’m super proud of. You can see what it looks like before [you buy it]. And that takes two to three weeks to make. It’s all done by hand here by women.
ALINA CHO: That's amazing.
RACHELLE HRUSKA MACPHERSON: The ready-to-wear is ship now.
ALINA CHO: And then, the last thing is, what categories are you in now? And what's the big dream?
RACHELLE HRUSKA MACPHERSON: We're launching a line of wallpaper with Wallshoppe in early October. We are easing our tiptoes into home. So, we're doing a series of vintage blankets for Nordstrom that [launched on] September 15th.
Lingua Franca vintage blankets for Nordstrom, Photo courtesy: Rachelle Hruska MacPherson
Lingua Franca vintage blankets for Nordstrom, Photo courtesy: Rachelle Hruska MacPherson
ALINA CHO: Love that.
RACHELLE HRUSKA MACPHERSON: We have towels coming [this winter]. Kitchenware. I'm trying to go slowly. I think we've had so many opportunities. I just really want ready-to-wear to take off. [We’re going to start offering a lower price point for clothing].
ALINA CHO: T-shirts.
Source: Lingua Franca
RACHELLE HRUSKA MACPHERSON: And hoodies.
Source: Lingua Franca
So, those are dropping [starting next week]. We're going deep into that category.
ALINA CHO: Have you ever gone back to that old therapist to say...
RACHELLE HRUSKA MACPHERSON: That is so funny. I need to check in with her.
ALINA CHO: She would be thrilled!