From Basement to Brand: The Journey of a Fashion Line

Alyssa Wasko Stein is the founder and designer of Los Angeles–based womenswear brand Donni. Stein has had entrepreneurial tendencies since childhood, but she didn’t always know her love of fashion would take her down the designer path. She studied a different part of the fashion industry (retailing and consumer sciences) and secured a coveted internship in Chanel’s visual merchandising department during college. But after her father’s passing at the beginning of her sophomore year, Stein sought out a creative outlet for her grief. She began handmaking and selling scarves, naming the business Donni Charm after her father, Donald. Stein slowly grew her side business while continuing to work at Chanel after graduating, but after some early wholesale success, she decided to focus on Donni Charm full-time. She moved operations to Los Angeles and rebranded to simply Donni. Most significantly, though, she stumbled into designing ready-to-wear clothing, as she wanted specific pieces to style with her scarves. While Stein had no prior clothing design experience, it came naturally to her, and she surprised herself with a full line of 30 SKUs within four weeks, laying the groundwork for the Donni we know and love today.

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