Building La Ligne: How Molly Howard’s Finance Roots Shaped a Fashion Brand

In this episode of The Retail Pilot, we sit down with Molly Howard, cofounder and CEO of La Ligne, the beloved fashion brand known for its effortless aesthetic, powerful storytelling, and slow burn sustainable success. Molly shares her fascinating path from private equity and investment banking at Credit Suisse to working at Rag & Bone and ultimately launching La Ligne with former Vogue editors Meredith Melling and Valerie Macaulay.

You’ll hear how her finance background uniquely shaped the brand’s business model, why La Ligne prioritized profitability over hype, and how her cofounder chemistry laid the foundation for trust and longevity. Molly also opens up about navigating tariffs, scaling e-commerce thoughtfully, and the turning point that made her realize they needed to “drop product like a magazine” to keep customers returning weekly.

Whether you're a founder, fashion lover, or just obsessed with good retail strategy, this is a must-listen conversation filled with lessons in leadership, resilience, and intuition.

Show Notes:
• Molly’s unexpected journey from Credit Suisse to the fashion industry
• The early days at Rag & Bone and the deal that flipped her role from banker to brand-side strategist
• How a boat ride in Hawaii turned into a cofounder pitch
• The vision behind La Ligne’s name and how they built a brand rooted in non-fussy French minimalism
• Why La Ligne raised under $4 million and how they’ve remained profitable ever since
• The benefit of launching without institutional investors
• Dividing responsibilities among three cofounders and why “three is easier than two”
• Building a direct-to-consumer first model with mindful wholesale partnerships like Net-a-Porter and Shopbop
• The challenges and creativity that came from growing without an early e-commerce hire
• Influencer marketing, ShopMy, and keeping authenticity at the center
• The La Drop strategy and why weekly product releases became key to customer loyalty
• Facing down supply chain shocks and rising tariffs while keeping the brand nimble
• The joy of physical retail and Molly’s passion for designing store spaces
• Denim, menswear, and collaborations as La Ligne’s next frontiers
• Rapid fire: Molly’s favorite brands, best advice received, go-to pieces, and the Tupac class that shaped her thinking

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