The PRISM Brand: Courageously Carrying On With Purpose
After meeting Rachel and Helen-Sage Lee, co-founders of PRISM, I'm convinced there is nothing the two can’t do. Sustainability trailblazers in the fashion industry who simultaneously advocate for gender equality, perhaps the greatest beauty in the identical twin business partners is that they cannot be bound to labels.
Best known for identifying the pink tax and beginning the Change.org petition calling for its elimination, Rachel and Helen’s journey advocating for gender equality in the workplace began during their junior year at UCLA. Traveling across the United States, the activists gathered more than 40,000 signatures, all the while remaining committed to identifying and breaking down the embedded persistence of gender inequality based and bred in higher level law.
As the sisters hopped from one legislative hearing to the next, they struggled to lug their Kate Spade totes and Trader Joe's grocery bags on every bus, train, plane, and car they encountered. The sisters soon realized that their luggage lacked the flexibility and ease that shouldn’t have been so difficult to find. There was no proper space for their laptops, pens, and never-ending pile of papers. Becoming frustrated with their inefficacy in finding one bag that could carry all of their necessities, the Lee sisters realized there was a larger problem at hand: why couldn’t they find a large, visually appealing, functional bag that could accomplish the needs of the everyday working woman? Self-starters in their own right, the sisters decided that if they couldn’t find the perfect bag in stores, they would have to create it themselves. With that, the original PRISM bag was born: A functional, easy, sustainable, and attractive bag “that works as hard as women do”.
After graduating from UCLA in June 2019, the Lee sisters officially incorporated the PRISM brand. In creating the novel bag, there were two main features the Lee sisters were most determined to embed into the PRISM framework: accessibility and sustainability. Familiar with the idea of budget travel, Rachel and Helen wanted to create a bag that spoke to the hard-working individual- one that doesn’t come from the extreme wealth that most designer bags are made for. “Origin is important, and it was important to us that we made PRISM accessible and affordable to the average person”, they shared. The pair also chose to commit to a sustainable approach in the engineering of PRISM products, as they believe the future of fashion rests in the allegiance to environmentally sound means of production. Created from cruelty free, vegan leather, all PRISM products are made with 100% recycled materials and come wrapped in biodegradable packaging. “Traditionally, fashion has been more wasteful. It’s been more about producing and seeing if there is a hit rather than getting to know the customer. At PRISM, we take a different approach,” Rachel reflected. Through data-driven analysis and a multi-faceted approach to gathering user feedback, the two have found an economically accessible and environmentally friendly alternative.
Born out of devotion to the crusade for gender equality, PRISM is about giving back and serving the needs of the everyday working woman. PRISM’s slogan, “Carry On With Purpose”, reflects just that; “Every time we do anything here at PRISM, we ask, ‘does this have a purpose? Is this idea serving a purpose?’ And if the answer is no, we reconsider our options,” Helen explained.
When asked what she hopes PRISM conveys to the consumer, Rachel’s answer was simple: “We want our brand to convey three things. First, sustainability can be accessible. The more people that can be a part of a movement, the more successful a movement will be. Second, PRISM bags are functional, and they aim to help people carry on with parts of their life- especially in the workplace- while feeling empowered. And finally, PRISM has a social component built into it.” The brand does take its corporate social responsibility very seriously; PRISM makes an effort to work with women of color throughout the design process, they offer numerous avenues for collective feedback, and their Resilient Collection partners with organizations around Los Angeles, such as the Downtown Women’s Center and the ACLU, to reinvest in the community.
I asked the Lee sisters what the next step was for PRISM, and they said they have no plans of slowing down anytime soon. “We want to see PRISM grow in scale, and we want to create designs that are life altering. We want to change the landscape of women’s fashion, and we hope to bring new and fresh innovation to an industry that hasn't seen it”.
Personally, I think PRISM has all of the makings for success, and although the fashion industry is anything but linear, I hope we continue to see PRISM’s tremendous growth over the coming years. Sustainable fashion is on the rise, and with fervently ambitious young women dedicating their livelihood to making this transition possible, there might be hope for the longevity of the ever-changing industry after all.