Business, Design & Style

Building a Team

Laura Kim & Fernando Garcia

Lesson time 07:21 min

When it comes to running a fashion house, it takes a village. Learn how Laura and Fernando built their MONSE team, and what it takes to be a respected and successful leader. They also share team-building tips they learned from Oscar.

Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars

Topics include: Building a Team Honor Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Point the Way Aspire to Inspire

Preview

[ELECTRONIC MUSIC] - Hiring people, building a team is something that I love to do. - One thing that you have to be OK with as you start your team is admitting to yourself what you suck at. - Yeah. - Um, gosh, like Laura and I have so many flaws. And you have to be OK, uh, with knowing what they are because that-- that'll help your team be more efficient and successful and be clear about what it is that you are not good at so that that person can do what you need. I think that what I look for is a person who can handle the pace. Um, you know, Laura and I do run two companies design-wise, and they have to be independent. They have to be OK to receive instruction, maybe less often that they wish, and run on their own. - We're both not, um micromanagers. - Oh, no. - So it is important that they're very independent. - And whatever we were micromanaging before, which I used to, I quickly learned it's just hurting you more than helping you. You have to let the person do what you're hiring them for. - You know, what I learned about how to be a leader from Oscar was he was always having fun and he was always laughing. I think that's very important in a creative environment. - Oscar opened people up to doing their best. I would see him, uh, tap into somebody who-- who flourished right in front of him once he made him feel comfortable to share an idea. And I was like, wow, look at how he just created something beautiful out of, uh, out of a simple dialogue. [ORCHESTRA MUSIC] - I actually love hiring people for so different than I am. And I think that's how they will add something that I don't have. I find it very interesting to hire and work with. - The amount of inclusivity and diversity that we have been surrounded with since day one working at Oscar, a company run by a Dominican man-- and it meant that he liked to be surrounded by people that like him, at one point felt uncomfortable to be in America surrounded by only Americans. So it was almost his subconscious mission to become surrounded with people that had that-- perhaps that insecurity too. So, um, so we've had every single race, uh, represented in, uh, in all of the companies that we work in. So it's always been the MO for us because of Oscar. - I think also because, um, when you're hiring diverse people they bring back diverse ideas, I think. So it's always been very interesting for me to meet different kinds of people, because they bring me something that I don't usually think about. - Yeah. - And our studio is very diverse. Like, no one's from one country. Everyone's from somewhere else. And the fact that I'm Korean, who grew up in Canada, and you're from Spain, grew up in Dominican Republic, and we met at New York and started a company in New York, I think that's very special, that we create something that's very different. And I want that in my team too. [DRAMATIC MUSIC] - I th...

About the Instructor

As founders of fashion line MONSE and creative directors at Oscar de la Renta, Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia have transcended their industry with a partnership that’s more than the sum of its parts. Now they’re teaching you their secrets to creative collaboration. Learn to cultivate strong business relationships, navigate the creative process, and join forces with others to improve the workplace—and the work.

Featured MasterClass Instructor

Laura Kim & Fernando Garcia

Fashion luminaries and Oscar de la Renta creative directors Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia teach you how to bring ideas to life through collaboration.

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