Meet Kristopher Harvey | CEO & Founder and Fashion Stylist

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

Hi Kristopher, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
As a young boy growing up in Mississippi, I loved high fashion but never had access to it. Then after 6+ years of working in fashion, I had become frustrated by the lack of diversity in the fashion industry and the horrendous impact fashion had on the environment. The fashion industry contributes more carbon emissions than maritime shipping and international flights combined. People always talk about the lack of diversity on the runways but never enough about ownership. There are very few black owned luxury fashion companies. I enrolled at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania to gain my MBA and build my entrepreneurial skills and my network. During my final year of business school, I built a website through Shopify and launched TheLuxeLend.com in March of 2022. I launched TheLuxeLend to: – Establish a black-owned luxury retail company
– Create access to designer and contemporary brands for the budget conscious
– Democratize fashion for gender non-binary consumers
– Mitigate the harmful impact of fashion on the environment
– Support emerging and upcoming designers, particularly BIPOC

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
TheLuxeLend is a luxury retail startup that offers designer and contemporary apparel and leather goods for rent or for purchase for men, women, and gender non-binary consumers. We are the first and only luxury retail company that offers both rental and purchase options for all genders across multiple designer and contemporary brands. We do not use gender onsite. Instead of “Men” and “Women,” we offer “Masc” and “Femme” categories because we want you to shop however you choose to shop without judgment. I know some men who often buy skinny jeans or tops from the women’s section because of fit or just because some of the pieces are more exciting fashion wise, and these are men of all sexual orientations. Fashion is about self-expression and looking/feeling your best so if this sweater is fire, who cares if it was “supposed” to be for a woman or a man. This path has not been easy at all, but with every order and with every positive customer rating, I feel we are closer to this company becoming a household name. Fashion profits so much from people of color, and yet, we have little to no ownership in luxury fashion. I want my black, queer-owned luxury retail startup to become the next Nordstrom or Saks and make a way for more black and brown entrepreneurs in luxury fashion. Customer acquisition has been the most difficult, and sometimes, I am my own enemy because I get afraid to talk about my business sometimes. I don’t want to feel like I’m begging someone for business or trying to sell to them. However, word of mouth is one of the best forms of marketing, and no one can talk about your own business better than you. As they said, “closed mouths don’t get fed.” Similar to how in the workplace, you have to advocate for yourself and your skills and tell people about what you’ve done and can do so that you can get promoted, this applies even more so to entrepreneurship. You have to promote it. You can’t get a customer if no one knows you have a product or service to sell.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I don’t get to visit Houston as often as I would like. However, my favorite spots in Houston are Emancipation Park, the Houston Museum of African American Culture, and the Lost & Found restaurant. Then, of course, no trip to Houston is complete without going to the Turkey Leg Hut and the Houston Galleria mall. If I’m lucky, a sighting of Beyonce, Solange, or Megan Thee Stallion would make it the perfect visit.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First, as a southern Baptist, I have to thank God for giving me strength and patience throughout this entrepreneurial journey. I also have to thank my parents for believing in me and supporting my venture. I want to thank my classmates at Wharton; I launched this venture in the spring of 2022 so they were my first customers and first support system. I also want to thank Leonard Morrison and May Chiu, two members of our team at TheLuxeLend who have helped me grow and develop this business. I will forever be indebted to them for all they’ve done for me and this business. I also want to thank my angel investors because without their financial help, I would not have been able to get the business this far. Finally, I want to thank every customer we have ever had on theluxelend.com. Thank you for believing in my dream and for supporting our business.

Website: https://theluxelend.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theluxelend

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/82301899/admin/feed/posts/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLuxeLend/