Lisa Seskin is the founder and owner of LMS The Brand, a range of women's footwear that specialise in day to night heels.
In this interview Lisa shares with us her creative process, the importance of influencer marketing and being your brand's number one ambassador.
Q1: Hi Lisa, welcome to the Woman Of Series! Can you tell us what it is you create?
Thank you, I’m excited to be featured 😊. I create women’s shoes that are designed with comfort in mind. LMS shoes are classic in style yet transformed by unconventional fabrics. We specialise in day to night heels.
Q2: When did you start creating footwear? What inspired you to go down this path?
I launched LMS in January 2019 and I was working on the brand for about a year and a half leading up to launch. My background was actually in women’s clothing, I was a womenswear buyer at Glue Store and I worked with a lot of our in house brands and developed many collections. I had always seen such a gap in the market between low quality/low priced shoes and super high-end luxury shoes. I wanted to create shoes for the fashion forward girl at an accessible price and my background with product development gave me the confidence to do this on my own!
Q3: Talk us through your creative process. How do you reach your signature style?
A lot of people are surprised to hear that I’m not a designer by trade, I can’t draw to save my life! So this provides some challenges when I’m trying to explain to my factory what I want. I do a lot of moodboards and end sending a lot of images and in depth explanations, The most important part in my design process is visiting my factory in Guangzhou, where I spend the day at the fabric markets and go on a mission to find interesting and unique materials.
Q4: What is your favourite piece you’ve created? Why?
Oooh this is a tough one, they are all like my children haha! I’d have to say The Lyla in Zebra – I wear these all the time and this has actually been a favourite across some amazing celebs and influencers including Emma Roberts, Julie from Sincerely Jules, Danielle from We Wore What and Josefine J to name a few.
Q5: What single tool or strategy have you found invaluable to your business so far?
It would have to be influencer marketing. In today’s world I’d say the quickest and most effective way you are going to get to your customer is through Instagram. A customer wants validation that your product/brand is ‘cool’ or loved by others. It takes a customer multiple touch points before converting to a purchase so it’s important to get your product out there and gift as much as you can!
Q6: What (and who) is involved in the process of bringing your products to life?
So I am a one man band, I am the only full time employee at LMS and am across all aspects. I work with my factory in Guangzhou, China who hand make my shoes and I outsource PR and Digital Marketing to create further exposure for the brand.
Q7: What is your big hope and dream for your work?
I want LMS to be an internationally renowned brand and to become a household name. To build a successful and well-known brand can take years so it’s my mission every day to hustle and get the brand out there as much as possible!
Q8: What are your top 3 superpowers?
Speed – I work really fast, I tend to pull together a whole collection in 48 hours.
Confidence – put me on a stage or in a meeting and I’ll surprise myself with the words that come out my mouth. I work really well under pressure and with adrenaline!
Vision – I have to say that I somehow manage to always bring to life an on point campaign shoot with very little help and resources. I love styling and I can put together a killer look (side note: I always use my own clothes when I style my photoshoots).
Q9: We’re all about women inspiring women. Who inspires you?
A few of the major influencers coming out of the US are doing some amazing things with their platforms. This is across charity/giving back (very much needed at this time) and creating their own amazing brands. It’s one thing having a big following but it’s another thing in what you do with it! To name a few of these women – Danielle Bernstein from We Wore What, Arielle Charnas – Something Navy and Negin Mirsalehi – Gisou.
Q10: What advice would you impart on the next generation of women, and women in business?
Be confident (fake it till you make it if you have to!). Wear your business on your sleeve – talk about it to everyone you meet, put yourself out there and be your number 1 ambassador.
We’d love to ask....
In what ways are you supporting your favourite creators during these uncertain times? I’ve been doing some online shopping with a focus on small businesses. I’ve also been doing an Instagram takeover on the LMS page hero-ing some local brands, artists and influencers.
