Powerhouse designer Joyce Azria reveals the inspiration behind her new brand built on dreams
Joyce Azria is a woman who knows a thing or two about fashion. After all, she was the Creative Director of BCBGeneration (a company founded by her father, Max Azria). After 8 years in this role, Azria is now paving the way for a new form of contemporary fashion. Specifically, she’s bringing the brand AVEC LES FILLES (meaning with the girls, en Francais) into the world.
As told to HelloGiggles by Joyce Azria herself…
“In 1981, I was born in Paris to immigrant parents chasing after their dreams. At age 8, we left my home for America, to catch those dreams and turn my parents’ aspirations into our reality. As chaos and a new world unfolded for them, I continued to live in my little French girl world, dreaming day and night about ballet.
My issues revolved around what leotard to wear and when would I get my first point shoes. My pink life felt as serene as the ballerina spinning around in my jewelry box with the sound of a piano filling the silence.
Many days followed and each day took a new shape as reality and growing up in my new world set in. A French accent is cute at 28, but not when you are making new friends in school — especially when everyone else’s lunch looks more “American” than yours. At times like these, I wondered, “Can’t I just have a Fruit Roll-Up or a Ding Dong?”
My parents worked day and night, so I grew up catching glimpses of the adults fighting to succeed and would fall asleep to a new song of hearing about work, work, work, work — the work of bringing a fashion brand to life.
So naturally, I was born into that grind and soon my appetite to succeed blossomed. But letting go of my own voice and pink world was something I could not compromise. Now, as a mother of five, I see how my children’s dreams and passions warm their souls. As an entrepreneur, it gives me the will to hold on to the little French girl inside and to show America a different perspective when it comes to fashion.
At 35, I founded AVEC LES FILLES: A forward-thinking, innovative fashion brand infused with my spirit and rooted in who I am. Yet, AVEC LES FILLES is also a brand open to my customer, who she is, and how she sees the world. Put simply, it is the first brand to think outside the rules of fashion with a dynamic pricing model that’s inclusive and allows everyone to play together nicely.
With the same oneness my team had when we designed and built this dream together, we wish to continue that oneness with our customer. If it weren’t for my friends (aka my adult family), I wouldn’t be here. With all the love in their hearts and a childlike glimmer in their eyes, they too joined in my oneness, allowing me to reach above those same stars my parents grasped at — so I can exist in a new space.”