Passion Will Take You Far

Founded by Mario Arena & Peter Farrow in 2016, ENLIST is a contemporary brand that focuses on ageless pieces with exceptional craftsmanship and detailing. Following a great showing at London Fashion Week Men’s, Mario and I speak about his career leading up to the creation of ENLIST and how he manages a newly formed creative team.

What did you chose to work in fashion instead of say, open a restaurant?

I keep threatening one day I’ll do that. I think that once fashion gets into your blood, it sticks with you. I started learning how to sew at age three. I had a little toy angel who I made clothes for. The interest has always been there.

What was your first job in fashion?

The very first job was retail sales for the Australian retailer, David Jones, when I was 17. All of the other associates were older but because I dressed up and sewed my own clothes they hired me.

Mario Arena, left, with co-founder, Peter Farrow, right.

What opportunities came from this first job?

I think I was lucky to work for one of Australia’s best lifestyle brands, which had such an international reach; they were the first Australian brand to work FOB with China. I became the menswear designer for their US, Middle East, Japan, and Singapore markets. Rather quickly they put me in charge of global menswear design. I was lucky to have such a big role at such an early age. They taught me to focus on the details and don’t compromise.

How do you balance the practical need for flexibility with the pursuit for perfection?

Flexibility would be deciding whether we wanted three checked shirts, or just two. You have to be uncompromising on the details. We won’t compromise on using French seams instead of interlocked seams, because it makes a better product. We also bind our seams and not everyone does that. These details are critical. It comes down to your relationships with the factories because they are always trying to find a way to increase output and improve their margins . To ensure that your quality remains high you have to communicate your values to them and get them to emotionally buy in to your brand. ENLIST doesn’t produce huge orders, but we have very dedicated partners who treat the brand as their own. We have one supplier who normally will not dye fabric without a minimum order of 3,000 pieces but they do it for us for as little as 100 pieces. They want to be a part of a brand that they feel will be a big success. 

How are you able to convey your passion for the brand?

We work with a great PR agency , when they met us they said that our passion was leaping across the table so they wanted ENLIST to be part of their portfolio. It’s difficult to convey this degree of passion to a customer unless you’re speaking with them one-on-one. We try to put emotion into our copy on the website and through our ENLIST.ed customer profiles and stories.

Where did the name ENLIST come from?

We didn’t want to use our personal names because the business retains the rights to your name. Peter and I spent a good year developing our business plan because there are two sides to the business: our retail brand, ENLIST, and our manufacturing division which develops and produces collections for luxury brands. When talking to factories we wanted them to join us on our journey. In these meetings the word “enlist” kept coming up. We were so sure that the word enlist was probably not available but funny enough it was so we registered it globally.

What have you learned about leading creatives?

When I am interviewing a potential new hire I try to paint a dark picture for them to break any preconceived notions they may have about working in fashion. If they are still interested then that’s a good sign. Every 6 months we have a one-on-one to catch up and see if I’m providing enough support. Many of our team has actually approached us. They researched the brand and wanted to work with us. For someone like our Commercial Director, Eliot, who I’ve known for over 25 years – he’s a god in what he does – my role is more about creating, collaboration and strategizing.

How do you build a good work culture?

Australia and the US have similar work cultures where each person knows about the whole process from end to end. It’s different here in Europe. People are trained to do a specific job in the collection creation and are often not involved in other areas of the process. We’re a growing brand, so as new roles become available people may adjust their role to develop their interests. We like our team to be more autonomous with their roles so they understand how their actions affect others along the chain.

What is your workspace like?

We’re in an old piano factory. You walk down a street of Georgian mansions and behind an archway is this quirky building. There’s a nice eclectic loft feel. It’s peaceful. There are no external distractions which I find very good. We’re always playing music that reflects the brand’s mood to bring people into the zone. We set up one room called “The Lab” where we can be creative, pull through fabrics, measure, etc.

When time is short, what do you do to help yourself during that eleventh hour?

It’s planning. We finish at 2:30pm on Fridays because China has gone to sleep; you can’t get any emails answered. Once you get into the fashion cycle it doesn’t change. You know when each step needs to be done. We’ve done the creative for SS18 so we’re beginning to look at AW18. We’re always living in a mix of past, present, and future.

How do you find a balance between work and personal life?

I walk across Regent Park to switch off and clear my head. Regent Park is beautiful. There are always dogs running around having a great time. The other morning the whole park was covered in mist. The lake was frozen. The birds were landing and skating on the ice. Those few minutes of freedom help me click my thoughts on and off.

Thank you for your time Mario. I wish you continued success! To see more of the ENLIST brand you may visit their website, or browse their Instagram.