Watch the full conversation between Laura Baker and Fashionista Staff Writer Janelle Sessoms on The Fashionista Network.

Before co-founding Essx, and solidifying its status as a cult-favorite New York City retailer, Laura Baker stacked her resume with a wide range of fashion industry roles.

She kicked off her career at Tommy Hilfiger, where she experienced every facet of the corporation before landing at the label’s wholesale department. Then she opened her own wholesale showroom Pblc Trde, which focused on emerging designers and later expanded into Europe. Post-pandemic, Baker clocked in at Complex as a merchandising director, which strengthened her e-commerce acumen.

Fast forward to 2023 when, with a full fashion wholesale toolkit under her belt, Baker teamed up with Abe Pines and Yoel Zagelbaum to open Essx in the Lower East Side. But the process wasn’t exactly straightforward. “I want to make it seem like it was a more beautiful story, but it was a lot of arguments, actually,” Baker told Janelle Sessoms on The Fashionista Network. (Watch it here!)

Related: Essx Wants to Be New York’s Coolest Fashion Store

Pines and Zagelbaum met Baker at Complexcon and the duo shared plans for translating their mystery box brand Scarce into a streetwear-focused resale business on the Lower East Side. To target the post-pandemic appetite for glamour, Baker encouraged the duo to explore more of a fashion business, and after much convincing and consulting, Essx emerged.

Essx attracts a stylish crowd of young, downtown consumers; Baker credited the store’s success to the staff’s friendliness and the unique product mix. The multi-brand retailer stocks fashion-industry favorites like Acne Studios, Maison Margiela and Jean Paul Gaultier alongside emerging designers like Bianca Saunders, Conner Ives and Dilara Findikoglu.

In the full interview, Baker shared how Essx selects brands to stock in its store, approaches marketing in a saturated industry and balances culture with commerce. She also reflected on what excites her most about the state of retail today and her best advice for those looking to follow a similar career path.

Watch the interview here.

This conversation was hosted on The Fashionista Network powered by interactive media platform Fireside, where viewers get the chance to participate and speak directly with industry figures. Learn more about The Fashionista Network here.

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