Xenia Chen, Founder of Threads - Female Founder Feature

We are highlighting the Founder of Threads tights, Xenia Chen. We love Threads and how they pair so nicely with ALLY Shoes. Threads was born out of the idea that there should be better quality tights at fair prices out there. Well she certainly delivered and now you can shop high quality tights at fair prices with Threads.

ALLY Seize the Gray Suede Pump

Ally Shoes: Tell us about yourself and how Threads was born? 

Threads: I’m the Founder of Threads, a direct-to-consumer tights and hosiery brand, born out of my own personal frustrations with the shopping experience when I was working in finance. I was wearing tights and pantyhose almost every day as part of my work wardrobe but really struggled with finding a brand that was high-quality and comfortable, and also affordable. So I decided to create my own. We take the traditional supply chain and we shrink it. So instead of paying for all these markups, we go work directly with our factory in Italy and sell online and direct to you. The result is a luxury pair of hosiery for fraction of the price you’re used to paying. I started the company in 2018 working nights and weekends while I was still working in private equity, and took a leap of faith and left that job in March of 2019 to try to build and grow the business.

Threads: Absolutely! I think the root of my frustration was the fact that all this money we were spending on tights for work was really adding up and that there are so many women who wear hosiery for work. Not just women with office jobs but flight attendants, people in the service industry, hospitality, etc. I felt really strongly that this work wardrobe staple needed an improvement. 

The industry is made up of large, old-school players with deeply fragmented supply chains and heavy markups. By modernizing our supply chain, Threads is able to offer high quality tights at a fraction of the price you're used to paying,

It is our mission to give women convenience, affordability and a great product. We want Threads to be the go-to solution for every working woman, helping them keep more of that hard-earned money in their pocket.

Threads: Like any other entrepreneur out there, I’ve faced lots of challenges but I think navigating COVID-19 has to be one of the biggest ones. Especially as an early-stage business where momentum,cash flow and business runway is so important, the uncertainty of how long this will last has definitely been tough. I’m really proud of our team and the way we’ve navigated the last 12 months.

Threads: When I first started working on the idea of Threads, I took feedback from over 200 women to really understand what they loved about their tights and what they hated. Our tights are the culmination of all those pieces of feedback. We’ve taken the little things that bother women about traditional tights and made them better. So things like a longer leg length that actually corresponds to size (instead of all being the same length), or a contoured waistband that actually hugs and is flattering on the right areas (instead of feeling constricted). I think if you sampled a group of our customers and asked them what their favourite part about our tights is, each person would tell you something different.

Ally Shoes: Who is your ally?

Threads: My husband! He’s my partner in life in every sense of the word. He’s my biggest cheerleader and I’m so thankful every day for his support and love.