Should every dress have pockets? Yes. Should the clothing brands we shop from support our values? Yes. The founders of Duster, a new label beginning with a line of house dresses, wholeheartedly agree.
Started by Melissa Magsaysay, a Filipino-born fashion journalist and brand consultant, and Andrea Racey, founder of silkwear brand Helena Quinn, Duster is checking all the boxes for what women’s clothing should be in 2024: slow, sustainable, versatile, women-led, American-made and mission-driven.
@shopdusterLaunched this past summer, Duster has already been featured in WWD and Harper’s Bazaar. The dresses are inspired by designs worn by Filipino women, often for housework, that Magsaysay saw members of her family wearing often. The fact that domestic labor has been routinely overlooked and undervalued, especially during the pandemic, is a core tenet for the brand. For every dress sold, two percent of the proceeds benefit Moms First, a national nonprofit fighting for affordable child care, paid leave and equal pay for moms (which counts Meghan Markle among its supporters).
Expect to see the dresses—eight styles with more on the way—crop up on both your fashion-obsessed bestie and the moms at after-school pickup.
Don’t be afraid to admit you don’t know something. “Knowing the things you don’t know is a major strength,” Magsaysay told us. For a business owner and in life, “being able to pinpoint the fields you’re the weakest in is essential—and not at all a weakness. Know what you don’t know.”
