Eileen Fisher

In 1984, Eileen Fisher started EILEEN FISHER for a very personal reason: she was having trouble getting dressed. At the time she was working as an interior and graphic designer. In her mind she kept seeing these simple shapes for clothes. She knew they had to be beautiful colors, great fabrics and have certain shapes and proportions that worked together. This was her "aha" moment: a system of dressing that she had been looking for ever since she abandoned her Catholic school uniform back in Des Plaines, Illinois.

Although she couldn't sew and only had $350 in the bank, she believed in these simple shapes. Eileen had four shapes made up and took them to The Boutique Show in New York. Encouraged by $3000 in orders, she expanded her "line" to eight pieces. The second show brought in $40,000 in orders. Suddenly she wasn't just Eileen Fisher. She was EILEEN FISHER, INC.

Today they are 900 people strong with 58 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Their warehouse-style corporate offices, located in Irvington, New York, were recently remodeled using natural lighting and they moved their New York City offices and showroom into loft-like spaces in the Flatiron district. These new spaces have contributed a lot to the way they work. They are a company of passionate, engaged people who value collaborative culture and are committed to connecting with one another as well as with their customers.

Design is what drives their business. They find that good design is a result of paying attention to what women want and need. The women who wear their clothes want to experience the magic that happens when you put on a piece of clothing that has been pared to its simple, pure essence. It comes alive on your body. It makes you move differently. It changes the way you think and feel about yourself.

Eileen has two kids in their twenties, great friends, five sisters, a brother and on most days, a very full calendar.