Julie Chaiken

Early life and education

Chaiken, who was born in Detroit, grew up in Northern California, the daughter of Carole Chaiken, who raced, bred, and trained horses, and Donald Chaiken, a real estate developer. She attended high school in Lafayette, California, and received a BA in history from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1989.

Her interest in entertainment prompted Chaiken to move to New York City following graduation; she worked in the original programming department at the USA Network before deciding to pursue an MBA. Enrolling at the New York University Stern School of Business, Chaiken earned an MBA in corporate finance in 1993.

Career

In 1994, recognizing the then-limited clothing options available to fashion-forward women, Chaiken teamed with a friend, Pamela Capone, to found Chaiken and Capone. "I wanted to create something that spoke to who I am, and I came up with the idea of a clothing company to create clothes for women like myself," Chaiken said in an interview in 2004. Chaiken and Capone's first offering included a successful line of pants, which were described as "revolutionizing the pants market."

Initially, Capone focused on design while Chaiken focused on the business and business strategy. In 1998, she bought out Capone; by 1999, the line was being carried in more than 400 boutiques and high-end retailers, including Barneys New York, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Nordstrom. Chaiken, while primarily focused on growing the company, subsequently expanded her role as CEO to include clothing and accessory design.

In 2001, at the request of Chaiken clients including Cindy Crawford and Vendela, Chaiken created a maternity line, Chaiken With Child. Chaiken and Capone's signature pants, with elastic in the waistband, and an "emphatic lack of ugly front pouches," were successful and orders at high-end department mandated wide production. "Business school 101 is find a need and fill it," Chaiken said. The Chaiken with Child spring collection in 2012 represented 15% of Chaiken and Capone's overall sales.

in 2008, Chaiken—a single mother of two—went on a two-year hiatus. Returning to the company in 2010, she reconfigured her late-1990s dress line Anonymity to include all categories and relaunched it through QVC. A ready-to-wear collection returned to the market in 2010 and, although successfully relaunched as Chaiken and Capone, the company became known as simply Chaiken in 2012.

In 2014, she was honored as a "Woman to Watch" by Jewish Women International.

In 2015, she retired from Fashion and is currently focusing on her family and her philanthropic work.

Philanthropy

Chaiken sits on the board of directors for the Center for Reproductive Rights, an international non-profit organization which uses the law to advance reproductive freedom as a fundamental human right that all governments are legally obligated to protect, respect, and fulfill. Chaiken is also on the board of The Chaiken Family Foundation.

She is a founding board member of The Weekend To Be Named Later, which she co-organizes with Nancy Lublin, the founder of Dress for Success. LinkedIn's Reid Hoffman, also a co-organizer, describes the event as a "Franklin-inspired gathering of ambitious friends, to brainstorm ways to change the world."

Personal life

Although frequently in New York, Chaiken lives in Marin County in Northern California. She has two children.