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Date: 5/18/2021
NORTHAMPTON – The story began when two people working in corporate America randomly met in New York City. On their first date, now married Andy and Siyana Huszar, realized they had something in common – a passion for advancing women and girls globally.
Due to their diverse backgrounds, the two knew they wanted to use fashion as a vehicle for change and the betterment of society.
“Siyana has a long tradition in her family of design. Her grandmother was a famous designer in Bulgaria, which led to her passion,” said Andy.
He added, “We came up with the idea of doing a socially motivated fashion brand. Because we were new enough to be dangerous, so to speak, we decided we would take it step-by-step and first make sure we could really create a fashion brand that had residence before we introduced the social aspect of it.”
With this, Andy and Siyana Huszar became the co-founders of Marcellamoda.
“The whole idea of our brand is to use designer fashion to enhance women and girls globally,” said Andy.
Siyana said the brand was a “multi-year launch” because at the time, she was still working in finance. In the beginning, this was only a hobby and the brand wasn’t technically a “brand,” as there were only a few listings and products to be sold.
“It wasn’t until 2014, when I quit my job to really launch/build a brand in its true sense,” said Siyana.
Andy quit his job at the end of 2016 – right after their first child was born.
The Marcellamoda brand moved much faster than the Huszars would have ever thought – quickly becoming the second largest fashion brand on the Etsy platform.
Over the years, the brand has continued its rapid expansion and success.
According to the Huszars, their brand has a few pillars. The first pillar is accessible, minimalist designer fashion at an accessible price point. The second pillar consists of ethical production, in which they pay a predominantly female team dramatically above average wages and benefits for fashion to produce.
The third pillar, being their school days project is “For each design we sell, we sponsor at least four to five school days for a girl, which means we support everything a girl needs to go to school whether that be uniform, school fees, transportation, sanitary pads, etc.”
Siyana said, “We launched with primarily just apparel – garments – and slowly expanded in more complex garments such as coats made of Italian wool, and Italian made shoes. We experimented with leather jackets … so we basically have head to toe apparel and footwear.”
Their brand is largely designed in New York City, whereas their garments are handcrafted in Europe, along with all fabrics and materials also locally sourced in Europe.
Although their brand originated in the city, the Huszars wanted to venture beyond.
“I think we got to a point where we realized the life was challenging being entrepreneurs and having young children in New York,” said Andy.
One summer, the couple hopped between Airbnbs, in search of a home, before realizing Northampton had an “incredible and wonderful combination of a very passionate, intelligent, professional, sort of workforce, as well as a lot of energy around empowering women and girls,” claimed Andy.
In essence, this aligned with who they were, and what their company stood for.
In September 2017, the Huszars moved to Northampton.
Their fashion brand is mainly online, along with a presence in some boutiques. They believe going directly to the consumer is the best option.
Andy explained, they have about 80,000 subscribers to their newsletter which also continues to grow. Mainly, their company growth stems from word of mouth.
Besides Etsy, their company is promoted on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. They have over a 30 percent repeat customer rate, meaning three out of every 10 that buy from them come back.
The Huszars shared, their team consists of 45 people, 97 percent female, and is made up of “incredible professionals.” These professionals include fashion, logistics, market, and more.
Siyana added, they are also diverse in an area such as Northampton, which is not particularly diverse.
Andy said, “In the past year, we’ve hired about seven people in the Pioneer Valley.”
During COVID-19, their offices in the U.S. and in Europe closed. They decided to go virtual, however, in Europe, they have factories where their clothing is produced, resulting in a major financial hit.
In hopes of turning things around, Marcellamoda started making face masks when the pandemic began. The Huszar’s were proud of this product's quality and the speed of production. “We were so happy to use our expertise with a higher meaning,” said Siyana.
Marcellamoda was ranked second best fitting mask in the market by The Wall Street Journal.
The most recent accomplishment for the Huszar’s has been the creation and vision since the beginning – the company’s rebrand. Now known as “Marcella,” the couple has finally achieved their goal.
Siyana said, “We always wanted to have this brand, Marcella. Marcellamoda was the somewhat brand in training, in a way.”
The couple only intended on having Marcellamoda for a few years while they completed their MBAs.
Andy said, “Finally, we got to a place this year, which was delayed a year by COVID, where we actually launched the true vision of the brand we have thought of so many years ago.”
Marcella mixes the fashion they already created, along with a social motivation on top of it.
Additionally, Marcella developed a partnership with a premiere NGO, called Campaign for Female Education (CAMPFED), with whom they work.
Siyana believes, without Marcella’s growth, they would've never been able to be taken on by an established NGO.
The Huszars’ plan for the future, especially right now, is to prioritize telling their story. They hope to get their products and name out there through social media, traditional media, and even a kick start campaign that will likely take place in June.
“I feel very fulfilled and grateful that we are a part of the Northampton community and the Pioneer Valley. I was slightly hesitant to move to a smaller town, but I’m so happy and privileged to be here,” said Siyana.
Andy added, “When we started here, we kind of thought we were taking a risk because there’s not a lot of companies like us in the Valley, maybe no company like us in terms of a deep direct consumer, designer fashion brand. I can’t tell you how relatively easy it has been to build this team on the caliber of this community.”
The Huszars concluded, “Along the way, we want to make a larger impact on the world, for both of our employees and for marginalized girls around the world.”