Modern Fashion: Lindsey Carter of SET Active On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today
An Interview With Candice Georgiadice
Vulnerability. It’s so scary to take risks, try new things, or do something that no one else is doing. But in business we need to do all of these things, pretty much daily, in order to reach our highest potential.
Many in the fashion industry have been making huge pivots in their business models. Many have turned away from the fast fashion trend. Many have been focusing on fashion that also makes a social impact. Many have turned to sustainable and ethical sourcing. Many have turned to hi tech manufacturing. Many have turned to subscription models. What are the other trends that we will see in the fashion industry? What does it take to lead a successful fashion brand today?
In our series called, “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today” we are talking to successful leaders of fashion brands who can talk about the Future of Fashion and the 5 things it takes to lead a successful fashion brand in our “new normal.”
As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Lindsey Carter, the Founder/CEO of SET Active.
Lindsey Carter is the Founder and CEO of SET Active, a new mother, and the host of podcast “Ready, SET, Spill”. Frustrated by a lack of comfortable, quality clothes that could support her on-the-go lifestyle, Lindsey had a vision for elevated activewear that could take anyone from the office to a meeting to a workout — with confidence and in style. With a strong background in social media marketing, Lindsey’s passion for fostering community and sparking conversation through digital connection, combined with the strategic decision to release apparel in limited edition colorways, propelled SET into its cult-like status instantaneously.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”?
I was born and raised in Los Angeles, the third of four kids in my family. My mom passed away when I was still in elementary school, so all four of us being raised by my dad could get a little crazy at times. I struggled to find my place in school and dealt with a lot of bullying — something I would never wish upon any kid. While I would still say I had a fortunate upbringing, it was always made clear to me that I wasn’t going to be handed anything in life, which ignited the entrepreneurial spirit that was already in me. Eventually, the combination of craving the feeling of a close knit family and seeking to build something of my own would lead me down the path of where I am today: running a successful athleisure company that prides itself in being a community first, and a brand second.
Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?
I always get a look of surprise when I tell people that I went to college to become a teacher. I love kids so that just seemed like the obvious career choice, but I quickly discovered that it wasn’t for me. I worked briefly in entertainment and then in trend forecasting. I’ll be totally honest — I’m not great at working for someone else, so I decided to quit my job and launch my own company. The first business I started was a social media management company. We were hugely successful at helping some of the biggest early influencers grow and manage their brands. I found myself bouncing from meetings to lunches to workouts to dinners, and as someone without a “typical” thin body type, I really struggled to find something to wear that was both practical and looked put-together. That — and the desire to start building my own brand instead of helping to build someone else’s — was how the idea for SET was born.
Can you share a story about the most interesting thing that happened to you since you began your career?
It’s hard to pinpoint the most interesting thing, but in the past year or so we have been able to do a couple really cool collaborations. We created an exclusive collection with Revolve, a brand that has always been on my vision board, and even hosted an activation at their NYFW space. We also collaborated with Madelyn Cline from Netflix’s Outer Banks. She exceeded all of our expectations in so many ways and we loved seeing our community’s reaction to her limited edition drop. If you know SET, you know we love to wow, so expect more amazing collabs coming soon.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Perseverance: I was told “no” a lot in the beginning. People actually laughed in my face when I told them what my goals were. Like, literal laughter. I’d be lying if I said that it didn’t affect me — but I try to at least use that feeling to fuel me instead of bring me down.
Critical thinking: Everyone on the SET team knows how much I love solutions and pivots. We deal constantly with various obstacles — everything from creative (i.e. a campaign shoot flopped) to production (hello supply chain issues) — so I am always problem-solving and pivoting to keep things moving forward.
Empathy: In addition to actively asking our community for feedback, I constantly imagine myself in the shoes of SET’s customers and I always encourage our employees to do the same. Is this what they’d want to wear? Is this how they’d want to be spoken to? Is this an experience that would wow them? Our customers mean everything to me, so it’s important to strive to go above and beyond for them.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
We’re really grateful that SET has been able to succeed in the same space as some athleisure giants with infinitely more resources than we have. Product-wise, we were one of the first people to release matching athleisure sets in unique, limited edition colors, which definitely gave us an edge. It didn’t take everyone else long to catch on, so we’ve managed to differentiate ourselves from the competition by constantly innovating our offerings, keeping our content fresh and ever-evolving, and focusing on building a really strong, positive online community. Our connection to our SET community is undoubtedly one of the things that separates us the most — we love to include them in our decisions when we can, we keep a really close pulse on how they’re feeling, and we always aim to exceed their expectations. In 2023 we hope to be able to strengthen the SET community even more with some in-person activations too — stay tuned.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?
I believe in that cliche quote that if you aren’t failing, you aren’t trying hard enough. Failure is absolutely the most valuable learning opportunity, and it takes vulnerability to allow yourself to take the risks that might lead you to fail.
Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Do you see any fascinating developments emerging over the next few years in the fashion industry that you are excited about? Can you tell us about that?
I like to do things differently than other people are doing, which means I don’t really follow fashion trends. We just mapped out 2023 and it’s going to be epic and even more unique than ever. I can’t tell you about where the mainstream fashion industry is headed but I can tell you what we’re really excited about at SET: expanding our product lineup and adding new categories, some incredibly cool collabs, and in-person pop-ups and activations.
Can you share how your brand is helping to bring goodness to the world?
SET is all about inspiring confidence and empowering our community to feel their best. We believe that when people feel comfortable, chic, and confident in what they’re wearing, it helps set the tone for everything else in their day. Another big thing I try to do as a founder is be open about my mental health struggles with anxiety and abandonment issues. I’m also as transparent as I possibly can be about my career journey because I love helping aspiring entrepreneurs. I host a podcast called “Ready, SET, Spill” where I interview other CEOs, creatives, and influencers where we spill a ton about the reality of our careers to show that success is possible for anybody.
Can you share with our readers about the ethical standards you use when you choose where to source materials?
Thank goodness for my production team because they’re the ones who know the ins and outs of our materials and how they’re sourced. From a high level perspective, it’s our goal to always use the highest quality materials we can while still maintaining an accessible price point. We do what we can to minimize waste — from releasing limited edition drops to using manufacturing techniques that have a smaller environmental impact. It’s also important to me that we only work with manufacturing facilities with high ethical standards. I learned early on that just because something is made in LA doesn’t mean it’s ethical and just because something is made overseas doesn’t mean it isn’t — so we aim to work with facilities that we can get to know and form long term relationships with.
Fast fashion has an advantage, that it is affordable for most people, but it also has the drawback that it does not last very long and is therefore not very sustainable. What are your thoughts about this? How does your company address this question?
Fast fashion refers to the clothing industry model of replicating high-fashion designs and mass-producing them to sell at retail for a low cost — and that really couldn’t be further from what we do at SET. We create lasting designs that we hope will be staples in your wardrobe for the long run. SET’s pieces are versatile, meant to stand on their own as a complete outfit, and are just as easy to mix in with an existing wardrobe. We try to balance quality and price point, using the best quality materials we can at a price that’s still accessible to our target demographic. Additionally, we release limited edition colorways in limited quantities, which means we sell out of items and avoid wasting product.
Thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand”. Please share a story or example for each.
- A unique product and brand positioning that helps set you apart from others in your space. For example, SET is athleisure for the girl-on-the-go who wants to feel confident and “set” for her entire day, ideated when activewear was solely being marketed for working out.
- A cohesive and consistent brand image and voice. SET’s brand can be felt through every single touchpoint on the customer journey, enhancing the experience for our community and simultaneously solidifying brand recognition.
- An authentic brand story and brand values. Understanding SET’s “why” and our brand values has helped guide us through decision making and problem solving so that even as we grow or face challenges, we always stay true to who we are and why we exist.
- A team that helps balance you out as a leader. Initially I hired for all of my weaknesses, like the technical side of Shopify or logistics and operations. This ensured we had a really well-rounded team with skills that complemented one another and allowed each of our strengths to thrive.
- Vulnerability. It’s so scary to take risks, try new things, or do something that no one else is doing. But in business we need to do all of these things, pretty much daily, in order to reach our highest potential.
Every industry constantly evolves and seeks improvement. How do you think the fashion industry can improve itself? Can you give an example?
Diversity and inclusivity are big ones that are always on our radar at SET. There’s also still a long way to go in the way companies talk to women. A lot of marketing language in fashion still essentially implies that clothing can help you “fix” something that is “wrong” with you. Something super important to me at SET is the way we talk about our clothing and to our customers. We want getting dressed to be fun and easy. We want our clothes to help you feel good about everything that’s already amazing about you. Clothes should be made to fit you and not the other way around.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Well if I could personally start a movement to protect people’s rights to abortions or enact gun safety laws especially so our kids could be safer at schools, I absolutely would. But on a more realistic note, I’d love to start a movement to encourage people to be nicer to one another online. No brand or person is going to be liked by everybody. That’s okay. You can always disengage with content or creators you don’t like. There’s a difference between constructive feedback for someone you genuinely want to see succeed, and just straight up criticism — but honestly either way, spending energy posting anonymous negative comments to a public forum seems like such a strange use of time. If there’s a problem, you can and should absolutely address it directly, but if you just have a not-so-nice opinion, you can totally just keep it to yourself and unfollow. We’re so lucky at SET to have the world’s best online community, but even we aren’t immune to some internet negativity. It’s one thing to feel how it affects me or my incredibly hardworking employees, but it’s way more upsetting when I think about how this type of behavior is going to affect younger generations.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
www.setactive.co or @setactive on IG and Tik Tok.
Thank you so much for these excellent stories and insights. We wish you continued success on your great work!
