Has Power Casual™ Rewritten the Corporate Dress Code? Interview with M.M.LaFleur

Sarah LaFleur — founder and CEO of womenswear brand M.M.LaFleur — knows a thing or two about navigating the dynamic boundaries between home life and work life. In fact, the integration of those categories – which M.M.LaFleur calls Power Casual™ - is her brand’s bread and butter. Cue the lineup of comfortable, practical, stylish outfits that work just as well on the couch as they do at the head of a conference table. Put simply, it’s innovative clothing for innovators – think upscale athleisure meets power dressing. So how did her clothing line come to be such a success and stay so far ahead of the curve during this hybrid era? And, what light does this shine on workplace dress codes moving forward?

So how did her clothing line come to be such a success and stay so far ahead of the curve during this hybrid era? And, what light does this shine on workplace dress codes moving forward?

For decades, women have been running strategy meetings and then running to catch the subway; dashing to get the kids to school on time and then dashing to the gym before work. This way of life is nothing new, but the pandemic shone a light on just how important what women wear is for their day-to-day productivity. Given the demands of the pandemic and of an increasingly hybrid workplace, M.M.LaFleur’s work exemplifies how companies have to keep up with the rapidly morphing landscape — both from the perspective of products and from the perspective of high-level strategy.

Here, the editorial team at PlaceLab speaks with the company’s founder and CEO, Sarah LaFleur, about her experience in the business and fashion worlds, the impact of the shifting workplace dress code, and about how women shop today. 

M.M.LaFleur Sweater Collection

The Birth of Power Casual™

PlaceLab: How have multiple business pivots and the birth of your three babies (congratulations!) impacted your approach to the styles your team creates? 

Sarah LaFleur: More than ever, we’re designing for the woman who needs to navigate the shifts between work and life quickly and elegantly, especially as the boundaries between these spheres have all but disappeared. However, we had been anticipating workwear becoming more casual long before the pandemic: We even launched a category called Power Casual™ in early 2020. COVID simply accelerated our efforts here, and now 80% of our assortment is focused on Power Casual™ looks.  

We define [a Power Casual™ outfit] as an outfit that helps you look and feel your best and is comfortable, stretchy and easy to wear. Power Casual™ takes into account the way we want to be perceived — confident and stylish) — along with the on-the-go lifestyles and flexible work environments to which we have adapted. While we’ve always been intentional about making clothes that are comfortable, help women feel pulled together, and are easy-care (many pieces are machine-washable), we now think of comfortable clothing as liberating, kind to your skin, and able to help you show up as the best version of yourself. 

PL: At a high level, what would you say the role of clothing is in the workplace, and similarly, the hybrid workplace? 

SL: M.M.LaFleur is built around a core belief: The world is a better place when women succeed. Our clothes are just one way that we bring this mission to life. We aim to take the work out of getting dressed, so women can focus on what matters to them. I don’t think there is a distinction between the role clothing plays in a traditional or hybrid workplace — what you wear can be a powerful form of self-presentation that helps you to show up, feel confident, and perform as your best self. 

It’s clear that the pandemic has not diminished the role that clothing plays; in fact, professional women are looking to leverage what they wear to show up more authentically than before.

In September, we worked with the Harris Poll to survey over 800 working women, to learn more about the effects the pandemic had on them — including their careers, passions, and life goals  — and we learned that 66% of women surveyed are more interested in refreshing their wardrobes to better reflect their personality than they were before COVID. Forty-one percent of women indicated that they are looking to leverage their personal style as a powerful tool of self-presentation, with 39% interested in perfecting a signature style to set them apart from others. It’s clear that the pandemic has not diminished the role that clothing plays; in fact, professional women are looking to leverage what they wear to show up more authentically than before. 

PL: Describe some of the pivots that M.M.LaFleur has made around Back-to-Work Styles in response to the rise of hybrid work. What conversations went into making these shifts?

SL: The increasing casualization of women’s workwear was an ongoing trend before the pandemic, and we’ve been ahead of that trend for the past few years. So when COVID hit, we were better prepared than others in our space and could move much more quickly to execution. In 2020, we found success in showing our customer products she’s always loved, but in fresh, more casual ways:

• We launched new styles: For example, we introduced cut and sew (T-shirts) in April 2020, which is our fastest-growing category (now 16% of sales). Our cut-and-sew line was (and continues to be) perfect for our more casual customers.  

• We renamed some of our products: When we renamed our Colby Origami Suiting “Pant” as “Jogger,” sales increased sevenfold. 

• We reshot our bestselling pieces, styled more casually. We photographed some of our products styled with jeans, or more casually, to show her how they work for her current life. For example, we reshot our bestselling Woolf Jardigan, with jeans and a tee, which led to an 167% increase in sales. 

• Virtual Expansion: We launched our virtual appointment offering to bring the one-on-one stylist experience to customers across the country. The format has been so popular that now it’s here to stay.

PL: Your company’s core belief is powerful: “When women succeed, the world becomes a better place.” The Wall Street Journal reports that nearly 1.5 million mothers are still missing from the workforce when compared to February 2020, reducing their numbers to below those seen even as far back as 1980. What conversations are you having around workwear and mothers/caregivers?

SL: We were early adopters of paid parental leave (we have had a policy in place since 2015), and without a doubt, this issue is one of the most critical to address as we grapple with the impacts of the pandemic on women in the workforce. I am an active participant in the work that Paid Leave for the United States (PL+US) is leading, and we often talk about this issue in our own digital magazine, the M Dash.

As an employer that has hired hundreds of people in New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta, Houston, and more, I have seen firsthand that access to paid leave leads to happier, more productive employees and parents.

As an employer that has hired hundreds of people in New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta, Houston, and more, I have seen firsthand that access to paid leave leads to happier, more productive employees and parents. Speaking personally as a new mother of three babies, I know that I would never have been able to lead my company through the last two challenging years of COVID had I not had that time off to recover, and the same is true of my husband: He managed to secure four months of paid leave, and as a result has bonded with my children just as much as I have. The result is that he continues to be an equal partner, which has enabled me to focus on ensuring M.M.’s success, as we navigate the new world that COVID has shaped. 

Sarah LaFleur — founder and CEO of womenswear brand M.M.LaFleur.

Dressing for Your Day

PL: One of the foremost conversations amongst our customers is around talent retention and talent acquisition. What role do you see workwear playing in employees’ choosing to work from home, coming into an office — or even looking for another role?

SL: We have been seeing a transition toward employers relaxing dress codes for a long time. (This change was ongoing before the pandemic as well, even in firms like Goldman Sachs or J.P. Morgan, where employees are now allowed to wear jeans, depending on their schedules). That said, I think employees, especially women, have more power than ever in this job market, and they will prioritize working for companies that allow them the flexibility to work where and how they want to, as long as they are getting the job done. Flexibility in choosing the clothes they want to wear to show up for work they are doing (in person or virtually) will be one part of that overall decision hierarchy.  

I think employees, especially women, have more power than ever in this job market, and they will prioritize working for companies that allow them the flexibility to work where and how they want to, as long as they are getting the job done.

PL: Historically, some industries fall to the business-wear-only side of the spectrum (finance, government, consulting, etc.) and some fall to the trendy-clothing-and-practical-comfort side of the spectrum (publishing, startups, etc.). Do you see a shift in this pattern, as we re-enter the workplace with a more hybrid approach, post-pandemic? 

SL: I think that most industries will move toward allowing their employees to dress for their day. For example, if you are a lawyer and you have to show up at court, you are still likely to dress formally for that occasion. However, if you are still working from home a few days a week, you may decide that you want to sprinkle some more relaxed or fashion-forward pieces into your wardrobe for your Zoom meetings or in-person lunches.  

M.M.LaFleur NYC Showroom

How We Shop

PL: What does the future look like for M.M.LaFleur in terms of brick-and-mortar versus e-commerce? Do you plan using your Washington, D.C., and New York City in-store shopping experiences any differently “after” the pandemic?

SL: Experiential retail has long been core to M.M.LaFleur’s business model, as both a revenue driver and a brand-awareness tool. (We used to travel around the country hosting pop-ups in new markets until 2018!) Our stores offer a very high-touch, personalized shopping experience that we know the customers in our target markets are craving as we emerge from the pandemic. We’ve had many customers come to us confused about how to dress in a post-COVID world, and our retail spaces provide us with a great opportunity to work one-on-one with these customers to give them guidance and styling advice

We’re excited to activate the full potential of our store spaces, both via in-person activations with partner brands as well as through hybrid experiences, such as live shopping events, which our stylists can host in-store. 

We’ve had many customers come to us confused about how to dress in a post-COVID world, and our retail spaces provide us with a great opportunity to work one-on-one with these customers to give them guidance and styling advice.

PL: We have talked a lot about what has changed. From a customer demand standpoint, is there anything that hasn’t changed that surprised you? For example, are women still shopping for your Jardigan, regardless of in-person or work-from-home?

SL: I’ve been most surprised by the consistent demand in suiting since March of 2020. With customers going back to the office, we’re seeing both the traditional suiting needs (sharp tailoring and luxe fabrics, like the Italian wool we used for our Yiyan blazer), as well as more desire for “set” dressing. We are evolving our suiting assortment to be more diverse, offering tailored tops (such as the Rivka) that can be worn in lieu of a more traditional blazer, as well as more casual fabrications that provide versatility, stretch, and comfort (like our Scuba, Ponte and Jardigan knits). This interpretation of suits has performed extremely well for us and is something we will continue to champion as our customer’s lifestyle and her dressing needs become more hybrid and dynamic.