SemSem - 327 West 36th Street

Today, we ended up at SemSem which is in the same building as the New York Embroidery Studio just simply a few floors below. Susan Lam, director of the factory lead the tour explaining to all of us the roles and responsibilities of her job along with sharing her professional journey. Susan shared with us that she originally went to school for Marketing and during the recession, she decided instead that she wanted to go to FIT here in New York City. Interning for numerous companies and designers, Susan eventually found herself at SemSem. The company founded by Abeer Al Otaiba originally from the UAE, but currently lives in Washington D.C. founded SemSem on the bond a mother has with her daughter. In fact, she was inspired to launch SemSem from the relationship she has with her daughter Samia.

Clients of SemSem generally come with the intentions of buying resort wear that can be worn around the world. This being said, money is generally not a concern for SemSem's clients. Most of the clothing that SemSem produces sold at retail ranges from $600-$2,000 USD. Susan explained that the high price points can be attributed to the amount of customization that is put into each garment. Susan works closely with sales teams to alter each design numerous times. A perfect example would be the rose quartz colored jumpsuit which we saw today, which in my opinion was exquisite. If you took the opportunity to feel the fabrics, one would notice the difference in quality from the original prototype to the final product. The original fabric was must heavier than of the second jumpsuit Susan had shown us. To put in perspective the amount of work and customization that is put into the clothing made at SemSem, on their website the exact jumpsuit we saw today at retail value is being sold at $2,200.00 USD. Not only is the consumer paying for customization and originality, but they are also paying a price for social responsibility.

SemSem prizes itself on their partnerships with sustainable companies. Although 80% of the production process is executed in the SemSem factory the other 20% is split between Madagascar and Italy. When completing any given collection, the rough timeline is on average 3-4 months and than another 6-9 months of getting the collection from runway to the store. As Susan described, overseeing each collection from ideation to execution requires flexibility. On any given day Susan will be traveling from SemSem to the Fashion District. With great flexibility requires organization and communication. Without the three, it would be nearly impossible for Susan to do her job effectively nor efficiently.