#BlackHistoryMonth: 6 questions with Lisou

This February, as part of Black History Month, we are spotlighting some of the inspiring stories of Black-owned businesses and exceptional people behind the brands that we’re proud to work with on Zalando.

In the second of three interviews, we introduce you to Rene Macdonald, Founder and Creative Director of Lisou, as well as an advocate of wearing bold and bright colors with confidence. Taking her colorful assortment from the UK to Europe, we caught up with Rene to understand how Lisou came to be and where they’re going ahead of their launch on Zalando in the coming months.

(Pictured is Rene Macdonald, Founder and Creative Director of Lisou)

1. What is the story of Lisou? What inspired your creation?

I come from a styling background and consider myself a vintage aficionado. I’d say a lot of my passion for fashion came from my mum. We grew up in many countries and my mum made a lot of our clothes. From the age of about 5, my mum made sure I had a whole look pulled together. 

I had wanted to start my own brand for many years but the timing wasn’t right. I was a mother of two small children and there was no way for me to manage both responsibilities. I wanted to design quality clothing that reflected both my African, Tanzanian heritage and the influence of London in which I’ve lived for much of my life.  

You could say that Lisou is an amalgamation of African prints and colors combined with a European aesthetic. We started as a silk shirt brand and have since expanded into many other areas. In many ways, the brand is an homage to my mum, at whose feet I learned all I know about fashion.

2. What is your main assortment and who do you imagine shopping for it?

It’s difficult to single out one part of our collections. We make dresses, shirts, suits, trousers, coats and so much more. I think one of the main changes of our times is that there is less of an age boundary than there was in the past. Growing up, my mother’s wardrobe and mine were very different, whereas now the demographic is much broader. This is reflected in the customers and celebrities we have dressed, from the elegant Dame Helen Mirren to the 18- year- old American superstar Olivia Rodriguez, I think we have something for every age group.

3. What were the biggest challenges you encountered when establishing your business? How did you overcome adversity?

The first challenge was that I had never had my own business before. I started out working in the corner of my husband's office. I was lucky enough to find an intern who grew to be the Head of Art Direction, she has supported the entire journey. I’d go as far as saying we can read each other's minds! It’s just the two of us doing everything, we’re learning as we go along. In terms of a learning curve, I had a lot to learn and it was all self-taught.

I would, however, say that the biggest challenges have been the pandemic, Brexit, and the effects those two things have had, and continue to have, on our supply chain and extra charges as a result of Brexit. The pandemic couldn’t be predicted but it had a huge effect on everyone. On a humanitarian level, it has been devastating. On a business level, we had to very quickly pivot to a different model. Our business became wholly D2C and we had to close our London shop. 

Thankfully our swift actions paid off and the business grew substantially. Sadly the pandemic is not yet over and this has had a huge knock-on effect on supply chains but we’ve had to be patient and act where we can. It’s all been about finding solutions and forging ahead. The changes that came with Brexit were massively problematic for any UK-based company.  Firstly, in terms of European export and import, things have become more costly and complicated.  We are still navigating the changes but then I suppose every business faces challenges, and the process of successfully navigating those challenges strengthens the DNA of the brand and its robustness as it grows.

4. How has your identity shaped your entrepreneurial journey so far?

I come from a culture of entrepreneurship, the part of Tanzania that my father comes from is known as an area full of adept business people. I also think that spending my youth constantly relocating to different parts of the world has made me extremely adaptable to new cultures and situations.

I think whatever business you're in, tenacity is key. Even in the most difficult situations, you have to try and find solutions. I’ve always been solution based which has been very helpful. It’s an unimaginable amount of hard work and anyone who has never run their own business perhaps can’t fully imagine what it’s like. The highs are super high and the lows are low, it’s a little bit like being on a permanent rollercoaster! 

What helps is that this is my passion and my character is such that I will always try my utmost in any situation.  I also gave up on the idea of only working during work hours. I literally work every day, weekends, and on holidays, but if you love what you do then it’s all worth it.

5. How do you hope Zalando will support your journey?

As an independent brand, we are so excited to be joining the Zalando family. Our hope is to expand our presence in Europe. We’d also like our sales to reflect the faith that Zalando has placed in us as a brand. We hope to work with Zalando in the long term so it’s important that we communicate to make the customer experience as easy as we can.

6. What exciting plans do you have for Lisou in 2022?

There are so many! We’ll be introducing new categories as well as remaining as sustainable as we can. We are hopefully a bit more than just a fashion brand. One of our priorities is to collaborate with charities and initiatives on a local and global level. Sustainability is definitely a buzzword but it’s important. I’d say we’re very much a work in progress, trying harder every single season but everyone has to do their bit.  

One certainty is that we will continue to work hard to bring you the best quality clothing that we can. Lots of joyous colors and prints as always! Fashion should be fun, after all. Looking at our sustainability practices, we strive to leave as clean a footprint as we can through our activities and, to support this, we have pledged to plant five trees for every full-price sale we make - together with our charity partner OneTreePlanted.org.   

Some are planted here in Europe and some across Africa, the Amazon basin, in Australia, and coast to coast across the US. We are closing in on 10,000 trees now and we hope to be planting plenty more trees through the course of 2022!

Visit Lisou's Brand Home.