The importance of being well dressed was stressed to Dayanne Danier from an early age, so it’s only natural she ended up in fashion. She studied at the Massachusetts College of Art and worked her way up in the industry, holding positions at Perry Ellis and Phillips-Van Heusen.

While she managed to achieve great career success, Danier wasn’t going to stop there. With her line, Bien Abyé, and her non-profit organization Fleur De Vie, the designer is paying her success forward by incorporating charitable giving and community leadership in her work. We spoke with Danier about her efforts in Haiti and her inspiration.

What drew you to fashion? Was this a field you always wanted to work in? 

I had elements of fashion all around me in my life growing up. Both my mother and my godmother were constantly sewing and creating something new. And many of my early images of my grandmother would be of her praying and embroidering a new home décor piece. Living among these women coupled with loving art drew me to wanting to be a designer ever since I was nine years old. I was very focused as child so I did everything to make this dream happen.

Where does the name for your company, Bien Abyé, come from?

Bien Abyé means well-dressed in Creole. I am the child of Haitian immigrants and it was a term my siblings and I repeatedly heard from my dad. At an early age, whenever we would get dressed to leave the house, my dad would stress the necessity to be well dressed or as he would say it, “make sure you are Bien Abyé, you don’t want people talking bad about you.” When it came to choosing a brand name, it made sense to go with a term that been ingrained in me. Constantly hearing this phrase subconsciously led me down the path to becoming a designer.

How would you describe the collection to someone not familiar with the brand? 

Bien Abyé brand personifies a simple philosophy: make a client look fabulous at all times, effortlessly. It is a fashion lifestyle brand that is sophisticated and chic with a Creole influence. What started as an apparel collection has expanded to included handbags, silk accessories, and home décor.

Can you tell us a bit about the construction and materiality of your designs, and what makes them so special? 

It’s all about the details. The majority of the product is created in Haiti by women artisans. Years ago after Haiti’s earthquake in 2010, I wanted to design a style in the collection that was “Made in Haiti” and projected a different image of the island other than what we see/hear in the media. Immediately, I thought of an accessory piece like a scarf. I connected with a Haitian painter, Patricia Brintle, and we created this gorgeous image of black women coming together.

That scarf has turned into the mustard seed to where I am today. In researching construction possibilities in Haiti, I started learning what can be and what couldn’t be done. As I was connecting with different people, I got introduced to different artisans groups. I started to work with them by training them on construction, patterning, and techniques to perfect their art. Then we started creating together which after so many years has brought us to the expansion of Bien Abyé today.

The hand beaded bags and hand embroidery are what captivated me. The way these women work is just so beautiful, I knew I had to design something to highlight this Haitian skill.

You also use the collection as a vehicle to give back to the Haitian community. Why is this important to you? 

Giving back is important to me for so many different reasons. For starters, it’s a part of my DNA. I was raised in a household where I watched my parents constantly give back to the community. My parents were one of the first Haitian families to build roots north of Boston. They were like pillars in the community.

And after years of being in the fashion industry designing millions for big brands, I came to a point in my career where I wanted to do more with my talent. I want to make fashion truly impactful. Fashion is one of the biggest industries in the world, aside from making fabulous merchandise that a selected few can afford. Fashion has the ability to make real positive impact. That is the aspect that I want to pursue. I want Bien Abyé to be life changing, not just for the person who wears/uses it but to also include life changing for the makers.

Can you tell us about your nonprofit organization, non-profit organization Fleur De Vie? Why did you launch this? 

Thank you for this question. I always say I have a heart and a soul; Bien Abyé is one and Fleur De Vie is the other.

Fleur De Vie’s mission is to support struggling organizations whose focus is to implement social change in the areas of education, health, and environmental sustainability in Haiti. We do this by partnering with elementary schools. It started after the earthquake in 2010. I was working for PVH at the time and management agreed to help with whatever outreach I had planned for those affected. When I connected with my aunt and asked where I should focus the aid, she advised the importance to help the youth.

So I traveled down and connected with a school that had been destroyed and had 125 students. After two weeks of activities I asked the 5^th graders, what they wanted to be when you grow up. The room fell silent. I thought it was my accent so I asked the principal to translate for me and still no student had a response. At that moment I felt crushed because for me, it was at that age/stage in life that I knew I wanted to be a fashion designer. Here I am looking at a room filled with Haitian students who look like me and not one knew what they wanted to be when they grow up. It was at that point, I knew I wasn’t going to just turn my back and leave these students. So a close friend, Jenny Batista, and I started Fleur De Vie. What began with one school and 125 students has grown to numerous schools in different regions throughout Haiti and close to 1,000 kids.

Looking forward, where do you hope to see the brand go? 

I am growing Bien Abyé to include more product categories with the “made in Haiti” element. For example, I would like to relaunch apparel. Creating jobs in a place I call my 2^nd home is very important and keeping female artisans working is just as vital.

Haiti is filled with so many forms of artistry that are truly exquisite. It has so much more to offer in terms of fashion other than t-shirts and Bien Abyé is exploring all of this. Our beadwork techniques on our handbags are similar to the way beading is done in Europe, maybe even better! And getting the artisans accustomed to using fine fabrics like silk with our hair accessories is just a prequel to bringing back our apparel collection. We are also tapping into men’s fine accessories and personal care products. It truly is a lifestyle brand.

I also hope to grow our retail partners and direct to client business model. Currently, our major retail partner is Nordstrom, both in stores and online. We are also available in boutiques like Ibu Movement and Incase, who both share the common mission of supporting artisan made merchandise. So there are growth opportunities in retail which will then lead to more artisans working. More product, more work, more artisans working equal more impact. That is the fashion I wish to grow.

dayannedanier.com

@bienabye