We had the good fortune of connecting with Caitie Dodge and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Caitie, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Fashion has always been in my blood. My earliest memory was wanting a specific dress for my American Girl Doll, and not being able to explain what I was imagining to my parents. So, I made it.

My goal was to be able to design for large companies and to see someone wearing the clothes I helped create. We were given a talk in school from Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue, about how there just was not room for new brands in the fashion industry, and how we should focus on designing for existing brands. We could still be as successful, just without our name on it.

After college, I got a job in retail management and was told by the company (and others) that that was how I was going to be able to work my way up in fashion, so that is what I did for about six years. I worked my way up, but never enough to get into the design department. I worked on sending my portfolio out to other companies, flew out for interviews, found design recruiters, and was just told the same thing over and over – you have to work your way up through retail.

About four and a half years into my career, as I had been working with the corporate office of my company and my manager on my career path, my manager asked if I was willing to work at another store with him for a week to help out with the black Friday sales coming up, and that if I did so, it would look good for corporate and they were considering a promotion for me. Desperate to finally work my way into design, I offered to help him out. Since there was no travel pay included, and I was “volunteering” for this trip, he offered to take me and some other managers out to dinner on the company card as a thank you. When I arrived, there were no other managers there, and he said that he had asked to last minute, and he was sorry about that, but he and I could still enjoy dinner on the company.

He ordered a bottle of wine, I drank half a glass, and remembered nothing after that, until the next morning when I was waking up in my manager’s apartment.

He told me he would fire me if I reported him. And for a year after, I was assaulted and harassed. It wasn’t until another coworker came to me with the same story that I realized – I was drugged and raped, and he has been doing this to other women, with the promise of a promotion.

We all wanted to design. We all were creatives, working towards a goal for this company. And we were all used and discarded. When we complained to HR, we were told “That is the company culture”, “if you don’t like the job, quit”, and “Everyone has to do something they don’t like to get a promotion”.

So, we got women together and called a lawyer. We fought, but we were fired and blacklisted pretty quickly from the industry.

That is where my decision to start my own business came into play. I was not going to let a corporation with, softly put, questionable ethics and “culture” stand in my way of doing what I have always wanted to do with my life. But, with a business, I could start changing the industry from the inside out. I could champion women’s rights, fight for those who have been exploited by the system, and give a sense of peace to those who want to work in fashion, and those who go to work every day in fashion. It is not a nice industry, and cutthroat isn’t even the word to describe it. Cruel is what it is, and it is time to change it. I know I am a small company, just one person, but my goal with this business is to bring to light that fashion can, and should, be an inclusive and safe place.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I was inspired for my first collection, and ultimately my business, while working with survivors of sex trafficking. The collections represent thriving and pulling yourself up through the ashes of trauma, and being stronger than before. I was inspired to create the “Ava Naked Dress” with some of the survivors, where we created something that represented reclaiming your body after trauma.

The silhouettes are sexy yet refined for this reason, and each garment (and this will continue into future collections) is finished with a rainbow bias, representing showing your true colors despite what you may have been through.

My saying for this business is as follows : “This line is dedicated to those women – women who still laugh, love, and believe after trauma. Women who live their life according to themselves, and not those who tried to take a piece of them. Women who let their colors shine through.”

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
12 south, especially the newer luxury shops, is one of my favorite streets to wander on a nice day. In terms of eating or drinking, I always bring my friends to the Patterson House – they have the best craft cocktails and a cheeseburger that tastes like gourmet in n out.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My partner has supported me in building a business and being stressed 24/7. As a creative himself, he understands the dedication and work it takes to do something like this.

Website: http://caitienicole.com

Instagram: @caitienicole

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/caitie-nicole-dodge-671526122

Image Credits
Brandie Johnson – photographer Madelynn Myers Koury – Model Cordova Bleu – Model Kasey Rees – Makeup artist

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutTennessee is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.