Born out of the desire to create a celebratory experience of self- love, personalised luxury sleep and ready-to-wear brand Top Drawer is a favourite for celebrities and influencers.
Founded by Carla Frankel, the Top Drawer collection is ethically made and finely-finished in South Africa. Worn by the likes of fashion and lifestyle luxury content creator Sarah Langa, media personality Boity, and the Miss South Africa contestants, the Top Drawer Collection is perfect for gifting.
Founder and CEO Carla Frankel, talks to GLAMOUR about founding Top Drawer Collection.
Hi Carla, please tell us a little about yourself and how Top Drawer came to be?
I’m just a fiery entrepreneur that loves business, literature, fashion, food and travel. I have always been drawn to brands that master the art of creating luxury experiences, and combined with the inspiration that came from a collection of moments in my life which lead me to creating Top Drawer Collection- luxury sleepwear and bespoke gifting brand that started in my little bedroom during a set-back in my life that became the set up for fulfilling my greatest purpose. Fast forward 3 and a half years later, I am the founder of a brand rooted in not only a love affair with the “finer details”, but more importantly with a core purpose of touching women on an emotive level.
Where does your design inspiration come from?
My grandmother and I used to watch the classic black and white films together, where sleepwear was displayed in its most elegant form. I try to combine this inspiration with the comfort that the modern woman is craving in the fast paced life we live to come up with a delicate combination of old world elegance, with modern day, ultra comfort and mindfulness towards sustainability and community impact.
Describe the Top Drawer brand in three words?
Timeless, Elegant, Effortless
I love that the Top Drawer Collection offers personalized items, making one feel special. How did this idea come about?
Top Drawer Collection is centred around experience. A large portion of our clientele order personalized pajamas for special occasions in their life where the name embroidered onto their set represents a new chapter in their lives, a special date or nickname. Having this sentimentality attached to a garment often allows the nostalgia of that memory to be experienced every time it’s worn. As mentioned earlier, we really focus on the emotion attached to our brand.
What is the most difficult aspect of running your own label?
Being an entrepreneur is basically jumping off a cliff and building a parachute on the way down. Because I am a perfectionist who loves to be in control, when I started out I really struggled with the concept of not having all the answers and having to solve problems daily.
Having studied finance, I knew absolutely nothing about the clothing industry but I knew the problem I wanted to solve. That lack of knowledge felt like a total lack of control that took awhile to embrace. A couple years on, I know that if there aren’t daily problems to solve and new skills to learn then my business is not growing. Problem solving is actually something I find really fun now.
How much of your style is there in the Top Drawer Collection?
When I think of the ultimate “Top Drawer Woman”, I reach for inspiration from the woman that I aspire to become. What would she wear, how would she spend her Sunday morning and what small moments would serve as her inspiration. The Top Drawer Woman is super sophisticated and elegant…I would say I draw my style inspiration from her and in turn naturally that flows back into the business.
More and more often, sleepwear and loungewear are mixed with looks as an item of clothing: which Top Drawer Collection piece would you choose and how would you suggest wearing it as daywear?
Oh for sure the Formentera Linen Boyfriend Shirt! It’s the perfect wardrobe investment that you can wear as a crisp white shirt to the office; an effortless beach throw over and of course a slouchy sleep shirt. What I love about it, is that it’s made from incredibly high quality and sustainable linen that actually gets softer and more beautiful the more you wear it.
What sets Top Drawer Collection apart and who would you love to see wearing it?
When Top Drawer Collection launched, we were the first in South Africa to offer luxury personalised sleepwear. We also offered a gifting service that was only being offered by the likes of Jo Malone.
When we sent our first orders out, we had gotten feedback from clients comparing our packaging experience to internationally renowned companies such as Net-a-Porter. The brand became an Instagram sensation and chosen brand of the elite within our first three months, with celebrities such as Sarah Langa, Anele Mdoda and Connie Ferguson ordering from our little business. We believe that its accelerated success and “instagrammabilitly” was due to the fact that we based our product off creating an incredible experience for our clients, one that they wanted to share with their social following.
From the moment you receive our package- the scent of roses that fills the room as you untie the silky ribbon enclosure, to the delicate embroidery that personnalises the set for each unique individual, the short intro card introducing you to the skilled seamstress who made your sleepwear set, to the feeling of the ultra-high quality garment that slips over your skin- we are separated from our competitors through our love affair with “attention to detail”.
Three and a half years later, fuelled by the pandemic, many other businesses have joined the sleep and loungewear phenomenon and like many other businesses, we could no longer rely on only a great product to lead the market. However, during that time and until today, we have retained market loyalty, and we truly believe that it’s not only because of our unwavering quality and experience - but more so that our client’s really feel the story behind Top Drawer Collection. The story is more than only fashion and beauty, it is about a deeper experience of comfort and vulnerability that I craved myself and wanted to create for the world. They choose us to create memories with- from weddings, birth’s and slumber parties, Top Drawer Collection is not just high-end sleepwear, it is a story and that is the difference.
What would be your advice for budding businesswomen and young designers?
1. Start before you’re ready.
2. Embrace your feminine edge in business and see it as a strength. There is power in your softness.
3. Be patient- social media has created a culture of instant gratification, and the truth is that in business, nothing is built overnight. It takes patience and resilience to build a strong foundation that will stand the test of time.
The mantra you live by? Just like the moon, your greatest magic will come to you in times of darkness when you have no choice but to trust your own power.
*You can shop the Top Drawer Collection exclusively on www.topdrawercollection.com
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