Nestore's blog

The genesis of Almé: an awareness

Before Almé, you had two experiences: one in finance, and the other in a textile group. Is this what led you to Almé Paris, or was it just a matter of feeling?

It was completely a matter of feeling. Market finance suited me at the time. Then I had a burnout , took a year off, and raised my first daughter. I returned to the south, to the family business , and learned about textiles. I arrived at the company as if, ultimately, I had always been there. With my second daughter, I gained 25 kilos. I didn't see myself at all in plus-size fashion. I left the family business to create Almé.

You can't make these kinds of decisions in a hurry. Suddenly, a light went on: I was born in textiles, and that's what I want to do. It's really important to let things settle. No matter how long. It's a bit like a glass of water full of dust. Letting things settle allows you to see things more clearly and make the right choices.

A daily struggle: to make things happen

You speak with great honesty and simplicity about a rather sensitive and not necessarily obvious subject. Why is this key?

There are several approaches to plus size fashion .

• One where we don't talk about it , and we don't even take pictures of the models. There's just the option to buy larger sizes.
• Another one who is hyper body positive , all the way, a little raw at times.
  

I didn't recognize myself in either one. The brands I like to dress in stop at size 42. So, I wanted to create a fashion brand that goes from 36 to 54. It's the canon of Ancient Greece that I find sublime in a woman and that we try to highlight on Almé.

A woman has a life. Having had two pregnancies, my body has changed, my morphology has changed. It can be the same when you go through an illness, or menopause, or burnout. The relationship we women have with our bodies is a bit like an echo of our emotions.

It's important for me to tell women, to tell our customers: no matter what's happening in their lives, no matter what they're going through, we'll always have their size. My mission is to shift the boundaries and ensure that women have the opportunity to have a wardrobe at brands, and not just at Almé.

How does the path to reconciliation with your body inspire you in your creation and in what you do on a daily basis with Almé?

I gained 25 kilos after my second delivery. On my birthday, I no longer had anything that fit me. So, I went to a store I usually go to, and the woman said to me: "They don't have your size here," with great elegance, but the content was terrible. That evening, I had dinner with my husband and I wanted to feel like a woman after two pregnancies. I felt very dizzy. At Kiabi, there was "women's, children's, plus size." I ended up finding a silk blouse in my grandmother's attic.

It was the day that marked and changed my life. The simple fact of finding a pretty blouse, putting on makeup, finding myself beautiful in my size 16, was the beginning of accepting my body. Accepting that I was a size 16 and that I was still me. And what I'm telling you now happens to all my clients. That's what's incredible about Almé.

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Emmanuelle and her clients: a burning emotional bond

To what extent do you think this shared experience with your clients binds you?

We all experience that moment, when we don't want to accept that we've changed size, that we're struggling with our bodies. It's a corporate culture. Everyone who joins Almé feels on a mission. Because we all understand that it's not fair that fashion stops at size 12. It's a headache to go up to size 24. But for me, it wasn't even an option not to do it. It's powerful for the customers; it's powerful for the employees.

Is embracing your vulnerability what allows you to connect with people?

Yes. People who have a lot of strength are also those who know how to be vulnerable. When I need help, I'll say it. That's my philosophy, as an entrepreneur and even in my life. This self-confidence comes from within and not at all from outside. So, feeling good in my clothes, and embracing my difference, is what helped me regain my confidence.

How is this connection through emotion a motto for you?

I'm a rather emotional person, who has struggled a lot with my emotions. One day, I told myself that I have to become one with them. They are part of us, of our personality.

Physical, a channel to enhance the customer experience

You launched into retail with Printemps, can you tell us about it?

They approached us because they couldn't meet the needs of customers who were over a size 44. We had temporary stores every year during Almé's existence (l'Exception in Paris, Printemps, Galeries Lafayette, and finally Marseille).

But the physical aspect is very complicated, if only in terms of mindset. It was while we were trying to figure it all out that we realized all this. Our fourth boutique is finally starting to look like us.

But there are also things you can't do in digital. We want our physical turnover to be a growth driver for digital. Our goal today is to seek out stronger levers to create emotion and a connection with our community to boost the site.

Is the physical store a challenge for acceleration compared to digital and the creation of emotion?

I experienced a scene that really struck me at the point of sale. A woman was looking for the same things. Gently, I led her to clothes that were completely different from what she had in her closet. There was a kind of magic thing. She left with everything. And then I saw her husband, who had tears in his eyes:

“Thank you, this is the first time my wife has bought herself color.”

We'll never be able to do that online. My clientele is a wounded clientele, frustrated at not finding their size. The idea is to get them involved in something where they leave the store and their self-confidence level has gone up a notch, or two, or three, or ten. Try to change the codes a little, if only in terms of makeup, hair, or perfume.

Balance at the heart of the brand: “Why” and “flow”

What drives you?

Repairing injustice. I can't stand it; it's visceral . I felt unfair at the moment I experienced. It was a truly dizzying feeling. Afterward, I did a very long guided meditation. And I realized that, ultimately, it wasn't the end of the world. That dizzying feeling changed my life.

Are you familiar with Simon Sinek’s “Why” and “Golden Circle”?

Yes. That's what differentiates us from a Mango or a Zara. It's important to say who we are and why we do it. This partly explains our customer loyalty rate: the fact that we truly communicate this "Why." Almé is about experiencing self-confidence. We take care with the packaging. It's a gift. I really see it as a little magic thing that, when you open it, shines, and when you put it on, wraps you in that confidence.

You explained to me that in your way of doing business, there was always a form of acceptance, of flow. Can you tell us more?

I practice Kundalini yoga. You hold postures for a very long time. At a certain point, your mind lets go and you feel supported. It was that moment that allowed me to understand that everything on earth balances out. If, at a certain point, you have a bad day, it's because it wasn't the right day to do this, this, and this. It's a powerful tool to tell yourself that, in fact, you are part of that cycle.

I stopped valuing the goal, and instead I think about the journey. And I know you need a goal. Visualization is a magical tool. But at the same time, I'm more of a road-singing, road-dancing kind of person.

If you had to recommend someone to invite to this club, who would it be?

I would have thought of Shanty from Shanty Biscuits. She and I talked a lot about body acceptance. She revolutionized a biscuit with a whole universe. And she actually had a model shanty. And I thought that was great.