Carly Cushnie: Fashion, Interior, and Furniture Designer

Second Life

Who What Wear

Business, Careers, Society & Culture, Arts, Fashion & Beauty, Personal Journals

4.8 • 3K Ratings

🗓️ 19 August 2024

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Carly Cushnie is a designer in every sense of the word, perhaps best known for her mold-breaking womenswear line, Cushnie (formerly Cushnie et Ochs). She was born and raised in London, and studied at the Parsons School of Design, where she met her future co-founder, Michelle Ochs. After graduating, they launched their label, Cushnie et Ochs, and immediately received attention for their sleek yet flirty designs. In 2011, they were finalists for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, and in 2012, were nominees for the CFDA Swarovski Award for Womenswear. Carly continued to design collections and ultimately rebranded as Cushnie when she went solo in 2018. After struggling to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, Carly was forced to close Cushnie, which—although was heartbreaking—gave her a moment to think about her next steps. In the years since, she’s pursued different creative projects; including nurturing her longtime love for interiors and architecture by beginning to work as an interior designer. Her work in the interior space culminated this year in the creation of a furniture collection with the luxury furniture brand Lulu and Georgia.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi everyone I'm Hillary Kerr, the co-founder and chief content officer of
0:10.1	who what where and this is Second Life, a podcast spotlighting women who have truly
0:16.2	inspiring careers.
0:18.4	We're talking about their work journeys, what they've learned from the process of setting
0:22.0	aside their doubts or fears,
0:24.0	and what happens when they embark on their second life.
0:27.0	Today on the show, I'm speaking with the multi-talented fashion and interior designer Carly Cushney.
0:35.1	Carly was born and raised in London and studied at the Parsons School of Design in
0:39.2	New York where she met her future co-founder Michelle Aix.
0:43.3	After graduation they took the plunge and founded their own label
0:47.1	appropriately named Kushney at Ox.
0:49.9	They quickly became favorites among fashion insiders for their feminine, sophisticated, and
0:55.4	sensual designs that were beloved by Vogue and carried by Bergdorf Goodman.
1:01.0	They also had a mainstream breakthrough when in 2011 former first lady Michelle
1:06.8	Obama wore one of their designs a gorgeous custom emerald green dress to a White House Christmas event.
1:14.0	Carly spent the next decade establishing Cushnet
1:17.0	ox as a major voice in women's wear design.
1:20.0	Then in 2018 Michelle left the partnership and Carly took on the role of both
1:25.1	designer and CEO, rebranding the company to Kushney. In 2020 after the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, Carly was forced to close
1:36.3	Cushney's doors. After 12 years of working at a breakneck speech, she finally had a
1:41.0	chance to pause. She began consulting and exploring partnerships,
1:46.0	and during that time, she also dipped her toes
	...

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