Meet Marissa Mills of Style Firm Los Angeles + Style Firm Events in Beverly Hills

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marissa Mills.

Marissa, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born and raised in LA. I went to college in Boston and, after graduation, immediately came back to LA since I couldn’t handle the brutal Boston weather.

My first job at 21, right after graduating from college, was with Macy’s West in the PR department. That department operated just like a PR agency within the store. We handled all advertising, press, and events for all of Macy’s Southern California stores. Though I didn’t know it at the time, it turned out to be great training for running my own company years later. I learned so much from the corporate structure of Macy’s and its (then) parent company, Federated Department Stores.

With the merger of Macy’s/Robinson’s May, Lisa (my best friend and co-worker) and I saw the company going in another direction, so we took a huge leap of faith and quit our corporate jobs to start our own agency. We named it Style Firm. It definitely turned out to be the best decision we ever made. We were both seasoned and thought, “WHY THE HELL NOT!?”

In 2007, we bought an existing dressing service from a woman in LA who was retiring to Hawaii. We then went to work with our newly acquired client list, which included: Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, St. John, Louis Vuitton, among others. As luck would have it, Lisa and I started acquiring more accounts right away and also began to produce large scale events, including Project’s Angel Food Divine Design and the Chanel Cruise collection show by Karl Lagerfeld (RIP GOAT). We were off and running immediately – learning the cool stuff as well as the underbelly of business, such as taxation, insurance, and accounting.

In 2010, Lisa and I conceptualized a second company, Style Firm Los Angeles – a shaping activewear line.

Inspiration, Part One: As stylists and fashion show producers, Lisa and I noticed that the celebrities and models with whom we worked were passionate about the compression garments they used to smooth lumps and bumps. Those compression garments became an essential part of the stylists’ behind-the-scenes bag of tricks.

Inspiration, Part Two: To keep up with the physical demands of executing large-scale events and designer runway shows, Lisa & I hit the gym on a regular basis. We noticed that no matter how fit and fabulous the woman, her workout attire wasn’t necessarily the most flattering.

Marrying this observation with our experiences in the styling arena is how our activewear division, Style Firm Los Angeles, was born.

We wanted to create a fitness line for the Everywoman. The original objective was to create a pant that was stylish, that felt good, and that looked good on the body, irrespective of shape. The design also had to be street-wearable, taking you from barre class to brunch.

We were determined to create “a magic pant,” as nicknamed by our head designer – a pant that would slim the thighs, lift the butt, and flatten the tummy, while still being comfortable, true performance wear. We tirelessly worked with a team of designers and experts to fuse the perfect fabrication with the perfect cut. One pair of pants grew into a capsule collection of five pieces: a bootleg pant, a capri legging, a running tight, and two jackets, a line which we dubbed “The Little Black Dress of Activewear.”™

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No business owner can ever say that it’s a smooth road. Lots of daily ups and downs, like a nature program on Nat Geo. You have wins and you have losses. Every week you may ask yourself, “why the HELL am I doing this?”. As long as the answer is satisfying to your life goals, then you keep hustling and moving forward. Motion is lotion.

Definitely, the work/life balance is the most challenging for me – vacations will always involve calls, answering emails, etc…The phone can oftentimes be my enemy – so setting strict hours with the phone does help. A couple of shots of whiskey help too (shoutout to my boy, Jack Daniels!!).

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Style Firm Los Angeles + Style Firm Events story. Tell us more about the business.
I am proud to say that Style Firm LA was the first brand to do fitness pop-ups. As far back as 2011, I used to call venues and they all thought I was insane for even suggesting we bring yoga outside the studio. Many companies, event spaces, art studios, and others laughed at the concept (now they’re a dime a dozen). Our very first fitness pop-up was held poolside at Mr. C Hotel in Beverly Hills. Jen Cohen, both a friend and a client, was the first to support our proposal. I really cannot emphasize how many times Style Firm was either shot down or looked at like a bunch of lunatics for merely suggesting that we bring a yoga class to a non-traditional setting.

Back in 2013, we created Vino + Vinyasa – a ticketed event featuring a yoga class taught by a local LA studio instructor, plus a wine tasting, a Style Firm LA pop up shop and a country music concert all in one at a Malibu vineyard. These were the first of its kind and the winery continues to do this concept to date.

Organically, we created a fitness following through these legendary events – even SoHo House came to us to create a members-only fitness program. In addition, we’ve done fitness pop-ups at The Bel Air Hotel, Sundance Film Festival, Coachella and Stagecoach -before it was the norm!

We are also the only activewear brand that curates the fitness programming for Bloomingdale’s in Southern California – creating the fitness series called “Bend + Burn” which began in 2015 – an incredibly successful fitness event that continues to garner rave reviews.

Make sure you follow @stylefirmla to learn about the next pop up!

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Business is 40% smarts, 30% each of talent and luck. There is great validity in being in the right place at the right time. Luck is both king and queen.

Contact Info:

• Address: 415 N. Camden Drive #212
  Beverly Hills, CA 90210
• Website: WWW.STYLEFIRMLOSANGELES.COM
• Phone: 3104028569
• Email: MARISSA@STYLE-FIRM.COM
• Instagram: @STYLEFIRMLA
• Facebook: StyleFirmLA
• Twitter: StyleFirmLA

Image Credit:
Craig Hemme www.iShoot.photos

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