"Gabrielle Katz, I stalked you on Instagram first and then our paths crossed in true Coven style when our friend Victoria Lampley introduced us and I was immediately inspired by your incredible energy, your positive outlook and your infectious laugh. I feel like you're the true definition of a hustler, your life's work has been to lift up others in this crazy industry we both inhabit."

View jewellery worn by Gabrielle

WELCOME TO THE COVEN, GABRIELLE

Let’s start with your story and how you’ve got yourself to this point. Give us some background about your business, what it does, what sparked it and what continues to fuel it.

I started my career as a PR assistant at Oscar de la Renta and I knew very early on that I never wanted to work at an agency or own my own business, so, here we are, coming up on four years of me owning my own agency. I will give myself credit, I do eventually get everything I want, just never the way I planned it, and I couldn’t be happier.

Before I started my own, I worked for two of the most prestigious agencies and I always say I have a very big debt to the people who gave me my chances in this industry to make good on their teachings.

I started Accent as I found the traditional agency model in the fashion space to be broken – the world had changed but nothing we were doing was any different. I started a transparent business model, where my senior person on the team gets paid on commission, so the client knows they are truly invested in the long-term growth and success of their brand. We have a more in-house approach and therefore can be more fluid in our scope, striving always to be a natural extension of our in-house teams.

Can you share some of the big things you’ve learnt since you started out?

Trust your gut. Sometimes it’s just not worth the check. The one thing you have autonomy over is who you do business with, and I am so fortunate to have not only the clients I have, but the incredible people (mostly women) behind the brands.

What have been your big successes or your moments that have felt huge?

I would say everything that we’ve done over the past nearly 3.5 years with St. John. I’ll never forget when I got the email inquiry about exploring working together. I think we had been in business about four months, and I had to read it a few times. It has been the project of a lifetime to work with the incredible and talented teams there to breathe new life into one of the oldest American Heritage luxury brands. We just got a feature in print in The Wall Street Journal “How St. John Got It’s Mojo Back” and one of the proudest moments I've had was running to Casa Magazines and ripping the page open and seeing that title at 7:30 on a Saturday morning. This was my big break at Accent, and I don’t take a second of that for granted.

What has surprised you about running your own business?

How much I love it. The first nine months were total hell, but then some wins started to materialize, and I became a bit more comfortable with the new direction of my life. It doesn’t get easier; you just get better.

Anything you would have done differently?

Started sooner.

Is there anything about your industry that you’d like to fundamentally change? Or anything that you think isn’t given enough attention?

Our industry has changed a great deal. I think the mean girl mentality is out of trend and those that still subscribe to that are pretty obsolete. Starting my business, I wanted and needed a personal and professional re-set. I don’t want that energy anywhere near me; I don’t like what it brings out in me, and I certainly don’t want it being practiced within the office. It’s pretty hard to have office drama when you are six people, but I always say we are family owned and operated, and I practice that every day with the team.

 

Give us an idea about what’s coming up for you in the next year. What are you excited about?

I am so excited about our current roster and the brands we are in conversations with. I’m looking to grow the team and celebrate those who have been with me for a while with more responsibility and that is exciting. Getting over the three-year hump felt daunting at times, and now it’s getting really fun around here and I’m looking forward to enjoying it (by working harder).

And tell me about the people who form your Coven. Whether they’re mentors, colleagues, peers within your industry or other founders who you’ve met while building your own brand. Who are the handful of women who helped you? What is the impact they have had on your success and growth? And importantly what are they doing that we should know about?

Oh, I am staffed up. I have the most incredible female friends from different moments in my life that I am gravely indebted to for their love and support. And humour. And fun. I will say my coven is pretty stacked with women (and my gays) from every job that I’ve had throughout my career. My fashion family is integral to my success from sharing intel, to bouncing ideas, to reading tough emails before I hit send.

Sara Fay has been one of my best friends since the beginning of time aka High School. Sara is an incredible source of strength and wisdom and above all patience. Many years ago, she began the tough journey on self-improvement and heeling and I benefited greatly from one, being encouraged to do the same and two, using her far more in-depth learnings to supplement my own. She’s like my spiritual cliftnotes. No topic is off bounds with us, and she is one of the few people that makes you feel completely safe when talking about how you feel, with no judgement or shame and complete honesty that is immensely helpful. She is by far my greatest cheerleader at Accent, and reflecting, probably life. When I first started my company, I had zero savings and a terrible credit score and no AC in my apartment. I was crying to her about all the above and more and the next day an amazon delivery came with an AC from Sara, a true sign of love but also, to shut up and get to work. And I did!

A lot of my best friends I met through work, one of whom is Giada Bufalini. I guess we met going on 10 years now at my previous agency and we instantly connected over nothing to do with work (boys of course) and honestly since then she has been a big sister role in my life. I rely on her expertise in life and work above most others and, she just happens to be one of the more fun people walking around, and that always helps!

I met one of my best friends Rachel Bankston through work, but we didn’t become close until she not only left the agency but also moved to LA. Naturally. Rachel and I have had a lot of life mirror the other’s and she is so incredibly level-headed that my mania really needs that. She is one of the most selfless and generous people, I essentially moved in with her last year when I was working on Accent West Coast endeavours and there is only so many Byredo Candles and dinners at Fountain Oyster to show your gratitude. She is just one of the best people I know, but get her at a lunch table and that is really where she shines.

Lastly obviously because at LD, jewellery is our lifeblood, talk us through yours, both the old and the new.

Jewellery is so deeply personal; it’s one of my favourite things about working with the category. Each piece is representative of a time or a milestone - even if you just buy a pair of earrings because you like them, it’s a far more considered purchase than anything else. Since I’m always changing outfits for client events and am fortunate to work with some of the most talented jewellery designers, I really keep it quite simple. I have my Gabrielle necklace my friend Kylie made for me when she opened her shop, Tarin Thomas and a gold pinky ring friends got me for my 30th birthday I never (and cannot physically) take off. I was into mini piercings for a bit, the last one I got after a bad dating experience. I regret both the piercing and the guy.

From the old, is there something that you inherited, and you can tell us who it belonged to and its significance to you now? Or from childhood do you remember any of the jewellery that your mother or grandmother wore?

I have my Grandmother Sybil’s pearl necklace, which is my dearest piece of jewellery. She was my father’s mother and my earliest memory of someone that possessed incredible style. There are a pair of diamond earrings of Her’s my mother is hoarding but I plan to borrow for a special occasion. I was also given a self-portrait painted by her mother, my Great-grandmother Rose. I have her to thank for my bottom, which is evident from the painting.

And for the new, what have you bought or been given more recently? What kind of piece are you drawn to? And what have you got your eye on for the future?

I’ve always wanted a diamond pinky ring. Always, always, always. I got my Lucy Delius Pave Signet Ring at a really special time in my life both personally and professionally and I will cherish it forever.

Six of the best. Give us some of your recommendations. What are your favourite -

Podcast: Fashion people, Lauren Sherman or The Materialist, Marc Bridge

Book: I’ve hated the last three I’ve read.

Hotel: Hotel Vernet in Paris

Beauty product: Bioeffect 30 Day Serum is my new favourite and I don’t leave without my Barbara Sturm Lip Balm

London restaurant: The Cow (but downstairs)

Holiday destination: Greece