Inspiration comes from the small things in our lives that move us – we just need to let ourselves get out of the usual box and cease the very moment that happens, so that we let those small things make the difference. Creating something for the women in business I spent the last years surrounded by, something that would be in perfect accordance with my entrepreneurial formation, came as a natural choice. I had the idea of it spinning at the back of my head for quite some time, but couldn’t quite pin it out of the many opportunities I was circling around. It was bound to pop out in that sort of rare occasion I told you about:

In 2013, on my birthday in summer, I received from a very close person to me a unique gift that showed that person’s understanding of my spirit: a crisp, clean and wonderful white shirt, especially monogrammed with my initials. As I tried it on, admired it on me, felt glamorous and fit, I went to ninth heaven – it was one of those gifts that, above all, has such a personal significance that marks the moment in a way one will never forget it. Of course, you already imagine I will continue with the sudden revelation a had at that moment, that gave birth to ALISIA ENCO. It was not quite so, though, since true life stories tend to be more intricate than that, especially when their main actor – me in this instance – has a way of balancing natural impulse with constant analysis…which is a pain at times, but has gotten me on the right track in all sorts of complicated contexts. That’s why, although receiving that shirt marked, in retrospective, the beginning of the ALISIA ENCO project, it took me a while to realize it in full clarity.

It was a time I was so happy with my new shirt, I felt like wearing it at all times – I think all of us can relate to that feeling, at some point. Wearing it made me conscious of all the little ‚flaws’ it had to me and gave me the chance to analyse it with greater thoroughness. After all, since it had my name on it, it had to suit me perfectly in all ways! I had gathered years of experiences, more or less satisfactory, of wearing shirts – being as they are the core of business apparel – and I had grown a clear perception of what makes me happy or unhappy about them. Still, I had never put all these thoughts together until my monogrammed shirt, which should have been an epitome of my sense of style and confort, but was not. So I took my time to notice everything about it and I realized that the only way to have the shirt represent me was to make it my own. That is how ALISIA ENCO came to life – out of my realization that beating around the bush is not an option, or otherwise said…it you want to have something done right, you have to do it yourself. 🙂

Of course, you must understand this was no small deal, since it took me quite a while to synthetize my vision of the ideal business shirt and quite some more to put in in action. You know by now that I am an entrepreneur that steadily embraced her own style profile and nuanced her perception of women’s business wear. That is why I openly admit having no theoretical background in this field I decided to conquer, but only my flair, my inspiration and, most of all, my experience – in business and wearing business clothes. That is why my approach and developing the signature ALISIA ENCO shirt profile was practical, sensible and very personal: I first thought of the issues I came by wearing shirts and tried to solve them, then I added my personal vision of style. That’s how, first of all, the ALISIA ENCO Manifesto for Creativity in Business came to life and, together with it, the ALISIA ENCO shirt prototype – trialled, tested, modified, tested again, until perfectly suited to me expectations…an then, embroidered on the collar with the brand logotype (you don’t want to know how many trials we had on this one, too). That was the actual first ALISIA ENCO shirt and it became the ALISIA ENCO Signature shirt and my personal favourite at all times.

Apart from its special emotional significance to me, the ALISIA ENCO Signature shirt stays at the heart of the shirt collection from many other reasons, equally important: it is a must-have item in the wardrobe of any business person, either woman or man, due to its immense versatility against all possible contexts; the white shirt is rightfully considered the little black dress of business wear. Also, its rich history – adorned with memorable episodes from Hollywood classic glamour created by both Hepburn, Audrey and Katherine, and other golden age divas, historic photo sessions from Vogue, featuring the all-star team of legendary supermodels, modern reinventions on contemporary catwalks that feature the white shirt at the core of pret-a-porter collections – stands proof of the timeless fascination for the white shirt. I am thus proud that the ALISIA ENCO interpretation of this ageless piece, proposes a shirt which is equally classic and sizzling, as it has both rigor and personality, all under my own expression of style and comfort.

With style and attitude,

Alice Botnarenco