Building the Best You

Anne Fontaine: Empowering Women Through Fashion

• Jeanne Collins

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A new podcast name deserves a bold beginning. We launch Building the Best You with a rare, in-store conversation with fashion designer Anne Fontaine that links personal growth to intentional style. From a ten-year-old’s scissors reshaping a dull dress to a global brand anchored by the iconic white shirt, Anne shows how small, precise choices create big, lasting impact.

We dive into her design process—quiet weeks of sketching on reused paper, themes that evolve into custom laces and prints, and the relentless pursuit of fit that makes women feel seen. Anne’s philosophy is generous: the compliments belong to you; the garment simply reveals your personality. She opens up about sourcing materials from heritage makers, like Italian leather artisans and Greek knit specialists, and why details—zippers that transform sleeves that showcase shirts, and collars that collect like art—turn clothing into tools for individual expression.

We also tackle sustainability without shortcuts. Anne shares how the Anne Fontaine Foundation restores forests in Brazil and beyond, and how durability, quality, and responsible partnerships reduce waste while preserving beauty. Beyond the atelier, we talk about mother­hood, entrepreneurship, and balance, and we get hands-on with live looks: reversible jackets, sculpting knits, statement collars, and those surprisingly comfortable “Cinderella” heels that had the room buzzing.

Be sure the check out Anne's latest styles at www.annefontaine.com.

If you care about style as self-expression, craftsmanship with a conscience, and building a life you design on purpose, this conversation will meet you where you are and invite you forward. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves a perfect white shirt, and leave a review with your favorite insight so we can keep growing together.

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WELCOME TO OUR HOUSE!

SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to Building the Best You. I'm your host, Eugene Collins, and this is an incredibly special episode for two reasons. The first being this is the first episode of the show with the rebranded name of Building the Best You. The House of Germar podcast had the first 76 episodes under my business brand of the House of Germar. And those episodes were incredible. And in fact, the last episode, I recapped some of my favorite episodes from the first 75 episodes. But today marks a transition for this podcast. Today we are launching under the new brand Building the Best You. And I decided to change the brand name because I really wanted the name of the show to really talk about what we talk about here on the show. And so this show is really about giving you tools, resources, concepts, ideas, ways that you can proactively become the designer of your own life and build the best you. So as the first episode of Building the Best You, this is also special because it's a completely different format than our normal show. Normally we record online in the studio. And that will be our normal format next week as well. But this week, I'm bringing you something special. I had the privilege of getting to interview Anne Fontaine at an event at her store in Greenwich, Connecticut. And Anne Fontaine is such an inspiration. I am such a huge fan of her, not just as a person, as an entrepreneur, as a fashion designer, and also as a woman. But I also only wear her clothes when I speak in public and I am filmed. I believe in her brand. I believe in what she stands for. And I also happen to adore her clothes because they fit me really well. So I had the privilege of getting to meet her and getting to interview her at an event that happened at the Greenwich store. So today, the podcast Building the Best You. First episode out will be that in-person interview. So it's a different format. It's not the format we're going to continue, but next week we'll go back to the studio version. But I want you to enjoy my conversation with Anne Fontaine. Have a beautiful day and welcome to Building the Best You. Welcome to Building the Best You, a destination for you to reimagine what is possible in your life and then create it. Thank you all so much for coming, and thank you, Anne, for coming as well. And the drive and the traffic. So before we get started, just so you know why I'm even here, you know who she is and why she's here, because we all love her clothes. But my name is Jean Collins, and I am a huge fan of Ann's clothing. I have a podcast, I'm also a speaker, and I only wear Ann's clothes when I speak in public. And so Only Only. Oh. Only only. Only if I'm gonna be photographed, I only wear your clothes. Okay. Yes. Yes. So I only wear her clothes when I get photographed. So I did a TEDx talk earlier this year. I am dressed all in her clothes. So, and I have a passion personally for this brand and for her your clothes. Because I wish my French was better. I didn't pay enough attention in high school. Um, because you have and you have a quote on your website that talks about it's more than just fashion. And fashion is about individuality and it's embodying women. And that is my entire business is about embodying women to feel their best, to become designers of their own lives. And I am so honored for the chance to get to talk to you because you represent this incredible iconic brand. So we thought it would be fun to bring everybody into the store, let everyone shop, everyone gets to meet you, and I will ask her just a few questions so that they can learn a little bit more about Vinon.

SPEAKER_00:

And if I could speak in French, do it in French when I can't. I love that idea.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh no, it's beautiful. So thank you. Yes, so thank you for coming. I appreciate it. I'm and everyone's been shopping. Yeah, this is so exciting. They've been shopping, which has been really fun. Okay, so let's talk a couple questions for you. I don't normally go off of cars, but we're into for today's purposes. All right, can you share with us a little bit about how you started to love fashion?

SPEAKER_00:

Oh my god. This story started very early in my life. I first I remember is when my mom bought me a dress for my cousin's wedding. She put a dress very boring, sorry. And I said, Oh my god, I cannot wear this dress. And uh I was 10 years old and I started to cut this dress, make flowers, make a little, how do they say um fufu? I don't know what I'm gonna say that very feminine because it was so clasky, so sad. And uh I was afraid too because if I show my mom this dress, why don't she go to think about it? No, and I keep in secret the dress for the day of the wedding. To be sure she cannot change mind. I'm gonna buy something else. And uh I put myself in this dress, I'm very proud of me, but I don't know my mom's gonna be proud of me. And um I enter out and my mom say, Wow, where did this come from? This dress? It's not the dress I bought you. See, mom, how am I yes? Yes, it's the dress you bought for me, but I make a little modification. So my my story starts here. Yes. Wow, yeah. And how old were you? I was 10. Okay. Yeah. So and after that, uh I I never think I'd make my business in the fashion. I really have a passion for the nature and I want to be a biologist. Yeah, make my studying biology. Oh, but I didn't finish. And I always say I come uh to the fashion by love. Yes. When I met my husband, my husband's just behind you. We don't talk. The kids stay home. And um this um when I met my husband, my husband uh we're in the um her family's in the factories business. Yeah. And I think you know about that. And um and I say, you know, okay, if you want some fun, someone for design design it. This is the beginning of the story, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, and it all started with the white shirt. Exactly, exactly. White shirt. And I personally, that's how I got into Anne Fontaine was the white shirt. I enter looking for a white shirt and found the perfect white shirt. And I've never ever had a perfect white shirt until I came in. And I think a lot of people probably do come for the white shirt. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

It's a big, uh, big, big star too. The white shirt. Yeah, but if you let me, I can talk all night. All night about the white shirt. Ask the the second I'll ask the second question.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, so I wanna know a little bit about your design process. Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

Um, I'm someone I I love design, sure, and I take a lot of time in details. My first for me, um, I needed to close my door and I stay, okay, minimum one week, and I try use empty paper, but I never design in empty paper, it's already used in one side. And I I just let my mind bring me things, no? And after that, for sure, I create a theme, I trust my fabric, I create a lot of my fabrics too. I design all the lace, all the how they say, all the prints, and uh I really have a passion for also design fabrics.

SPEAKER_01:

That's incredible. How long does it take from when it's in your brain till we see it in the store?

SPEAKER_00:

It's a minimum one year, but some products maybe take two, three years before it's come through the reality. My dreams become a reality. Right. Is there anything that helps inspire you? You. You are my biggest fire. Um is very important, like you talk about. And I think um I think you know I take a lot of time for the fitting because I want you to be beautiful. And uh for me is the most important. So when you when some kind of telling me, oh, I won't waste when you wear your clothes, many people give me so many compliments. And I say, no, it's not me, it's you, because you just put uh your personality out. No, and so this is for me the most um beautiful part of my work is to make everyone uh powerful. And I love that.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes. And it's all shapes and sizes, also. Exactly. Not everybody has to look like a model in order to be able to wear the clothes.

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly. Everyone's saying because I'm tall, and I say, Okay, oh, but maybe your clothes no go to me. I say, and no, I don't design for me, I design it for you first, and sometimes I need to make it longer for me because I have longer arms, and uh, but they never design it for me, design first for every woman, which is beautiful.

SPEAKER_01:

All right, so your materials, I mean, are so special. Can you share a little bit about materials? How do you get them? Where do you get them? Inspiration, anything you can share about your routine, because they're very unique.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, I'm obsessed about quality. I think uh if you're my client for many years, you know my quality is uh I hope you're happy. Yes, yeah, we are. And um I love lace. I in all my collection go to find a lace and I design my laces too. I love uh sparkles, everyone I think about a sparkle too. And I love the how they say the cotton, I love the lino, and uh I always try to find uh the know-how in different places. This for me is more important. For example, I work with a Greek factory for for my knit sewing coat because you have the knit for the sweaters, it's different. And for me, I try always, I love it to go to the factories. For example, you see my colours, you know, my I don't know, you have a colours here, yeah, I have a big collection of colours, and I work with an Italian family. This family is living in how they say in the farms on Venice, and um they work for the queen and the queens for centuries. So this is a factory, work for many centuries, and um I love to go there, I love to share the work with them. They they kind of offer them they are how they say um man de fe, I don't know, man de fe, I commanding man de fe. It's not uh perfect. Yes. So I love I always looking for the house for in different place to make the most beautiful possible for you.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, well, and you're succeeding because I mean this is stunning, right? Who doesn't want to home this? This is stunning. So I would love to transition that into sustainability and the environment because you take such care in the vendors that you work with. And I think in the world that we all live in today, many manufacturers do not do that. And I think that's very unique to you. Um, and you also have the Anne Fontaine Foundation. So I would love it if you would share with everybody so that if they don't know, they do know everything that you do and your husband as well for the environment and sustainability.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, I think it's um something very important. I start five biology because I have a passion for the nature. And for me, when uh our company started to be more mature, I we talked together with my husband, now you need to do something. Now it's time to create our own foundation. And for sure, uh how they say it's very difficult in the fashion because fashion is a very heavy industry, and uh today they needed to improve themselves too. I always looking for with my suppliers to how they say to make different ideas because you cannot do organic materials everywhere. It's very difficult. Today the quality is not enough, and you always now is have this kind of balance. And why I decided to my give back is to uh create my foundation. And for that, you help uh paint the trees in many different floors in Mat Atlantic in Brazil too. It for me is very important. I think it's always you needed to have a give back. So this is why you decided to which is a bit of a thank you for doing that.

SPEAKER_01:

We need more executives to do something similar. All right, we're gonna pivot again. I have two more questions, and then we're gonna actually talk about some of the clothes. Um, okay. So you are a mom, you're an entrepreneur, you're a designer, you run an international business. How do you juggle it all? Because many of the women here are moms and many of them run businesses and it's hard. How do you do that?

SPEAKER_00:

Do you know? I always tell my friends to when you're happy, your kids is happy. A husband's happy too. And um though I think you if you do think you are really love and you think you I think is the most important. You need to I sometimes you cannot have opportunity to do things if you love, but you can find a way to do these things behind on another time, but you need to be passionate. If you don't have a passion, it's very difficult. When you have a passion, you always have a space for everything because passion moving mountains, moving everything.

SPEAKER_01:

It does. And if if they always say if you love what you do for work, then it's not work.

SPEAKER_00:

For sure. I'm for a designer, I don't like to go all the time out because if you know and I cannot see my kids. And so I make a choice to be mom too. And I love to stay with my kids at home and uh share with them too. It's a case of balance.

SPEAKER_01:

Balance. I love that. That is true. All right, so speaking of your currents, do you always go out of the house looking stunning like this? So I really I would think in fashion.

SPEAKER_00:

I think a woman needed to show her femininity for me is something very important. I always also go and know shoes sometimes in the beach. I can can in my farm in Normandy. But I love when I go out. And now I think a life is a moment and you need to enjoy every day. And I have my my my brother always say to me, You high in high heels. I say born in high heels. No, sorry, born in high heels. I say yes, yes. And I I try not to do so high for you because I know no one everyone's like high, but I love high ones.

SPEAKER_01:

So we're gonna show some of your new shoes that are high, but they actually I'm told are really comfortable. Yeah, I try to make comfort as possible. Yes, I love that. Thank you. All right, so we want to make this a little fun for a couple of minutes for everybody. So we have two people here that are in your clothes, and I would love to have them come up. I'm going to move myself. I would love them to come up and you can talk about what they're wearing as well. Sounds good. Okay, perfect. But I would love for you to talk about for everybody who's here.

SPEAKER_00:

This is it. I want they're very happy. They're very comfortable. You'll see. I've they've been on my feet for two and a half hours. I feel happy. Yes, they're very comfortable. Okay. This is one of my high shoes. I have um very few of high shoes, but I I try to put very comfortable, like you told. I'm very happy you really find a comfort table. Don't she have all the panoply and all of that? Beautiful. Yeah, yes. Talk about the your flowers. This is a signature for you. Yes. I love flowers. I always have uh flowers in my home. This for me is making me happy, make it feel good. Uh, you want to see flowers, you uh you just breeze, you know. So I I want to give this breeze for you too. And so I try to make many details of flowers, like you have my belt too, and I love this belt. And I always design with many little details. I don't know you can see, but you have some uh uh stress, I don't know in English, some little um how do you say beans? I always mix materials. I try to make the clothes uh alive. This is for me is very important, and the quality of lead, I think you you feel and uh say the plongée d'Anneau, I don't know how you say that in English, but it's uh is a very nice quality of leather. And I love the uh the zipper. The zipper, exactly. I Zilma has showed me this where it is. Ah, Zilma showed you that. Yeah, so and then the sleeve, not on this one, but the sleeves will come right out there. I love the idea you can change the clothes um in different ways. And I do the shirt. So when I do something on the shirt, I always want to show the the sleeves to you. So it's why many of my check you go to find a zipper because I feel you can need to show also what is inside. Here you have also one of my um essential vlogs, and this is um uh a fit I love. Uh I my first fit of this is called Nuage because I feel like in a nuage is so comfortable. And this is in the mesh, all mesh, and I just keep the collar, the placket, and the cuff in Populina to make it very shake. So we have a camusole on, yeah, my sick. But I can wear it without the camusol, just much. Yes. I always have also camusole. I I try to I have a uh I don't know you, I know I have a essential collection too for me. It's a kind of piece you always need to have in your robe. It's very important. Yes. Mix and match. Mix and match, yes. Yes. I have the black uh and white camisole dress. Yes, yeah uh to mix and match underneath underneath dresses. And the pants, too, for me something important. In a classic pant, I always try to find a little details like she had here, the little detail, the see-fill. I always looking forward to make a little thing more. So these pants on you though would be more crop. Exactly. But on me, you're perfect. Exactly. So I don't have to ham them. Exactly. You don't need to ham them. And also my my colours, no, it's uh I always love to play something in the colors. I weak when I design a shirt, I always design a collar. For example, I have one shirt and I have maybe 20 different colors. And uh one day I decided to make this collar because I really love the idea of the colors. And the the collection of the colors started like this. In my first shop in Madison Avenue, I put a kind of wall of colors and I say for my manager you don't sell no of that this is my personal collection and I have one very very fancy and the clients arrive over there I say I want to buy this one she said no it's the collection of it's just for decoration I said no no my PDU one thousand ten thousand I said and I sold it now you saw my needs to do this call now for sale too beautiful thank you so much so much fabulous thank you all right we have one other outfit for you I just sort of threw this on I had another outfit and it was really cold today so I need to swear okay beautiful I love it too so here you have a one of my jacket I love this jacket too because like you wear now you have a how how do you say this reversible ribs reversible so difficult to say so I love this idea of ways to find a different way to wear the same clothes. This I have also the long sleeve my daughter loves she always picking my outrobes I need to go to the party today and this is part of the my new collection and here I play with many many different kinds of little flowers with the pearls I love pearls too and she has the skirt too in leather and I always put the zippers to try to make a little more open less open to make the details and this is the knit I really love like my dress too is the same knit but in the flat this is a boar coat I don't call this in in English but I love to work with this material because make your body always fitting and nice to think about it. I actually have you made the top in like a blue and a navy and white for summer and the skirt and I bought that summer yes and do you know when I like something I always try to continue the family now sometimes I go to see again the little star always uh goes through the collections. This is for me also is a kind of a way the lover cannot stop to do it. Merci.

SPEAKER_01:

Alright thank you and we'll do one more outfit that way she can talk about party holidays or yeah I love this I actually feel should I just stand up really tall. This is good for posture so here we go.

SPEAKER_00:

Let's I love I love the two uh truly represent really friends for me is a part of her culture too and he is my favorite top uh I put many many flowers this takes so much time to do if um in factories everything is like you cannot do it's only uh handmade and um she's she wear perfect because this top I have also this skirt but she can wear it with many different things like the party like you do today but you also attack pants but the name I love it to wear the things very very fast with the name material for me is very important. And you have my favorite colour the Carolina colour uh Carolina has become a kind of say in um Hansess uh I love this color Svarovsky I did it for many years now and uh it's a a huge piece it's so great yes it's so beautiful and this everyone just so you know they're little shorts that are under this skirt yeah so there's like this whole sexy thing going on here for the holidays with this and these shoes how you cover my princess shoes oh my goodness okay so these shoes just so everyone knows I feel like I have to take them off so you all can see these yeah these guys shoes I've been standing in these shoes for for for almost four hours and they are so comfortable these are amazing it's so funny because um many of people come to say wow this is a Cinderella shoes I say yes they are cinder and they're absolutely beautiful and they're so comfortable and they are so fun so thank you for some standing here without my shoes.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you so much truly you are a beautiful soul your store is beautiful your clothing line is beautiful my team also is amazing I love my statement yeah and thank you for coming out here to meet everybody and to see them and to talk and share a little bit we really appreciate it so thanks what cool thank you thank you for joining us for this week's episode of Building the Best You if you are ready to take a deeper dive into transforming your life check out my empowerment fundamentals course on my website houseofgermar.com Thank you and I will see you next week with another inspiring guest