How Good American’s Emma Grede Built Her Empire
As the CEO and co-founder of Good American, EMMA GREDE is making it her mission to drive inclusivity in fashion. She talks to KERRY PIERI about creating what she wanted to be part of, using her success to make change, and how she hopes to inspire her daughters like her own mother inspired her
“What do I want my little girl to do? Do I want her to be worried that she’s not going to fit into her jeans? Or [do I want her] actually out there making real change?” Emma Grede asks, not entirely rhetorically. Grede is a modern woman who little girls might aspire to be like when they grow up, though they may be more readily familiar with her famed business partners, Khloé and Kim Kardashian, for Good American and Skims, respectively.
Grede is fresh from celebrating her 40th birthday, as well as landing a spot on Forbes’ Richest Self-Made Women list, a CFDA Innovator Award win, a place in the Entrepreneur 100 Women of Influence roundup, and a shared cover with her husband, Swedish fashion tycoon Jens Grede, for Business of Fashion’s 500 list for 2022. And that’s just her recent accomplishments.
“There was a lot of chat about body positivity, but the reality was that not many companies were actually creating clothes for women of all sizes
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But back to those jeans. Grede launched Good American with Kardashian six years ago. “In Khloé, I found a partner,” she says. “We are very different… but in those partnerships comes the magic. When we started the brand, it was a very different time,” Grede says. “There was a lot of chat about body positivity, but the reality was that not many companies were actually creating clothes for women of all sizes… and we just went, ‘We’re going to do it.’”
Embracing various lenses of beauty comes naturally to the LA-based entrepreneur. “My general world view as a Black woman is that I appreciate different body aesthetics… In the Black community, being curvy and having a nice butt is a great thing. It wasn’t something to hide.”
Clearly, she isn’t alone in that perspective. Good American sold $1 million worth of jeans on its first day of trading. But that success wasn’t preordained, it was built – and the same could be said of Grede’s own path to fashion titan. The eldest of four girls, she was born in east London to a single mom, a banker at Morgan Stanley. “I had great memories of her being very dressed up, putting on a fabulous suit to go to work.” That heady mix of style and business savvy left an indelible mark. “What I’ve been able to do in my life is really create what I wanted to be part of,” Grede says. “I do think that drive came from my mom.”
After a brief stint at London College of Fashion, Grede worked various jobs, culminating in a role at a fashion show production company. “The best thing about being in London then was that if you wanted to be in fashion, you would meet people… I met everyone.”
While the industry is filled with success stories and mega-brands, those who actually make space to give back are veritable unicorns. “What I love about what’s happened to me in my life is that I’m in a position now that I can really help people.” Grede also serves as the chair to the Fifteen Percent Pledge organization, a non-profit that works with retailers to contractually commit 15 percent of their annual spend to Black businesses. “I’m really working on what it means to actually close the racial wealth gap,” she says.
“Instagram gives you a view of a woman who runs multiple businesses, has four kids, a nice house and blah blah. The reality is that my life is a trade off every single day
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Part of Grede’s charm – and success – comes from her authenticity, so in the grand tradition of primarily asking women (not men) at the height of their careers how they manage to work and helm a family, we can’t help but enquire how Grede quite literally does it all? “I always want to be very honest about this part, because Instagram gives you a view of a woman who runs multiple businesses, has four kids, a nice house and blah blah. The reality is that my life is a trade off every single day,” she says. “I gave up trying to figure out a balance.” That said, she does make time for what she deems most important. “There’s nothing I love more than a moment on the sofa. My children pile up to watch a movie. It’s doing nothing… just being together [that] I love.”
In between running multiple businesses and chairing a non-profit, she took a family vacation a few months ago – “I am not an edited packer; I take everything” – and, naturally, her luggage included a solid edit of Good American. After all, you can’t hit the Italian Riviera without a good swimsuit. “We have this amazing scuba fabric, which is ultra-compressive,” she says of her current go-to. “I love a one-piece. I’m feeling that whole ‘Bond girl’ vibe, with a long-sleeve zip-up one-piece.” As for denim? “The ‘Good Classic’ is my favorite style because it’s a slim, straight [fit] and it comes in the most gorgeous washes,” Grede says. “We have a medium blue that’s on [NET-A-PORTER] – I wear it with a body suit because it’s so easy.”
Not that ease is her top priority in life. “I think if you’re doing something that you really want, despite the ups and downs – which are inevitable – then at the end of the day, at least you love what you’re doing.”