Fashion People | Episode: "Corpcore"

Host: Lauren Sherman (Puck)
Guest: Sally Christison (CEO & Founder, Argent)
Date: December 19, 2025

Episode Overview

In "Corpcore," Lauren Sherman sits down with Sally Christison, founder and CEO of Argent, to discuss building a “workwear for real life” fashion brand outside traditional industry pathways. Their conversation dives deep into Sally’s non-traditional entry into fashion, the evolution of working women’s style, insights from navigating fundraising as a female founder, Argent’s pivotal moment during COVID, and sharp observations of the fashion business's outdated practices. The dialogue also explores the brand’s celebrated use of color, loyalty-driven business strategy, and how content and editorial are integral to their mission.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Sally's Non-Traditional Path into Fashion

• Background: Not a fashion-school graduate; business and tech background with an entrepreneurial spirit from childhood.
• Grew up in South Carolina, helping her Turkish immigrant father’s rug business.
• Persistent irritation over the lack of thoughtful professional clothing for women led to Argent’s founding in 2016.
• Inspired by studies showing women's appearance affects career outcomes.
• Quote:

  "I saw an opportunity to celebrate professional women as I saw them, infuse them into the brand in a way that was very much not being done, tell their stories and really redefine how we think of power..." —Sally, [07:51]

2. Redefining “Workwear” for Today’s Professional Women

• Argent’s mission: make it easy for women of all industries to find clothing for life and work, from suiting to denim and everything in between.
• The brand celebrates versatility, quality, accessibility, and functionality.
• Takes the stress out of workwear for women who don't want to spend energy fussing over outfits.
• Professional women’s appearance is scrutinized; Argent aims to give them confidence through both product and storytelling.

3. Fundraising & Gender Bias in Fashion Entrepreneurship

• Early fundraising (2015): $1.5M convertible note took over a year, compared to male-led apparel startups raising the same in a week for weaker ideas.
• Quote:

  "We got the feedback that we've seen so many pitches for workwear brands like yawn. Essentially, I would argue the reason you're seeing so many pitches is because it is a massive opportunity..." —Sally, [14:54]

• Ongoing challenges: Being women-led, serving women, and not being “tech”—makes for a tough investment sell, but Argent’s growth and product-market fit have made securing funding easier over time.

4. Fashion vs. Function: Striking a Style Balance

• Argent avoids “trendy-for-the-sake-of-trendy,” focusing on polished, stylish essentials with personality.
• Creative director Stephanie Soberville’s eye keeps the line fresh but timeless, catering to high-achieving women who don’t obsess over trends but want to look—and feel—great.
• Quote:

  "We're dressing a woman who doesn't consider herself fashionable...she wants to look good, but she doesn't want to invest any time in this." —Sally, [17:49]

5. Color as a Brand Identity & Marketing Lever

• Argent helped pioneer bold colors in suiting, finding a hungry market for non-black/navy options.
• Color became a signature: a hot pink suit campaign during COVID went viral, saving the business during lockdown.
• Quote:

  "There’s always an audience for a bold color...it’s a really good vehicle for, like, marketing...for the women we dress who need to reinforce their personal brand." —Sally, [24:10]

6. COVID’s Impact & Argent’s Pivotal Moment

• Near-shutdown: Sally negotiated out of leases, paused production to save cash.
• The viral Supermajority hot pink suit campaign was a lightning rod for sales and team morale, helping survive the tough period.
• Quote:

  "And we made this hot pink suit, and in one day, we made our year. And we were able to survive because that campaign went viral." —Sally, [33:41]

7. Collaboration & Expansion: Citizens of Humanity

• Ongoing collaborations with Citizens of Humanity for denim capsules—a direct answer to customers’ needs for work-appropriate denim.
• Thoughtful product expansion, not simply chasing trends.

8. Business Observations: Fashion’s Broken Systems

• Industry is outdated (“Can I wire you money? No, we only take checks.”).
• High exclusivity, cliquishness, and often weak business fundamentals.
• Sherman and Christison critique the disconnect between fashion’s image of trendiness and its slow, old-school practices.
• Sally’s tech/business background positions Argent to disrupt with a more modern approach.

9. Editorial as a Competitive Advantage

• Argent invests deeply in storytelling, featuring real professional women rather than standard models.
• Editorial efforts (like the "Work Friends" series) build loyalty, create community, and open new channels for engagement.
• Quote:

  "If I had to say right now what our unfair competitive advantage is, it is our editorial arm...I can make decisions that aren’t directly tied to ROI." —Sally, [55:50]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Making Suits Cool Again:

  “Traditional suit might be out at some of these places, but we're making them cool and different and giving you all the tools that you need to show up in these roles in a suit that is appropriate too." —Sally, [13:43]

• On Tariffs & Global Trade Hurdles:

  “No business leader is going to tell you it's not the dumbest move, but it's crushed our competition...We haven't had to compromise on quality or raise pricing." —Sally, [37:13]

• On the Industry’s Resistance to Change:

  "There's a lot of 'oh, that's just how it's done.' It's very fun to come in and be a bit of a maverick." —Sally, [47:08]

• On Fashion Elitism:

  “It can be very exclusive...snooty in a way that feels almost like bullying. Mean girly.” —Sally, [47:22]

• On Founders’ Emotional Connection:

  "It is an actual drug...We dress senators, and they're just coming on your site and buying from you. You'll see these names, and they're like icons in some capacity." —Sally, on still getting Shopify sales alerts, [41:54]

Timed Highlights

• 06:48 — Sally explains her journey into fashion entrepreneurship.
• 10:16 — Lauren discusses the gap in women’s workwear, Sally talks scaling options for working women.
• 12:07 — The funding process, gender bias, and lessons from raising capital.
• 17:42 — Achieving a timeless-yet-stylish product line, credit to Argent’s creative director.
• 23:40 — Argent’s approach to color and its critical role in brand identity.
• 27:46 — Citrizens of Humanity partnership origins and the rise of denim at luxury and workwear.
• 32:20 — Surviving and innovating during COVID: from crisis to viral success.
• 37:04 — The rare upside of tariffs, and the competitive edge in direct-to-consumer manufacturing.
• 46:10 — Sally’s critique of the fashion industry's outdated practices and exclusivity.
• 55:50 — Editorial as core to Argent’s mission and what sets them apart.

Tone and Closing

Throughout, both Sherman and Christison candidly share sharp, sometimes wry observations, balancing fashion industry skepticism with clear-eyed enthusiasm for their work and the power of community. The camaraderie and curiosity between host and guest create an inviting, honest atmosphere—making the episode both insightful and enjoyable for fashion people and business outsiders alike.

Recommended Segments:

• Sally’s story and industry entry [06:48–10:16]
• Fundraising, challenges, and industry bias [12:07–16:10]
• The power of color and viral marketing [23:40–33:41]
• Fashion industry critique and solutions [46:10–52:15]
• Editorial and content strategy as competitive advantage [55:50–61:07]

In a sentence:
Sally Christison and Lauren Sherman deliver a power-packed masterclass at the intersection of entrepreneurship, workwear fashion, woman-led business, and brand storytelling—pulling back the curtain on what it really takes to disrupt and thrive in today’s fashion industry.