Sabine Noyen on fashion and entrepreneurship: ‘I have 45 pairs of sneakers’

Sabine Noyen received entrepreneurship with a bottle of milk administered. And the love for fashion right away. Her father, Jan Noyen, ran the shoe empire Paul Noyen together with his brother Paul, creating her sweet spot to always want to dress the world, and herself, just a little bit more beautifully. “I always say: I was born in a shoebox.”

I know Sabine from the pilates studio that we both visit several times a week. Our daily schedules run just a bit differently, so we always see each other at the transition moments when one is leaving and the other is arriving. If you see a perfectly composed ALO-combination with a Celine bag or, why not, a Chanel bag, you can bet your savings that Sabine is coming in. Because we both have a big heart for fashion, I visited her beautiful showroom just outside Haarlem.

Sabine, that love for fashion has always been in you, I think. When did you think: this is what I’m going to make my job?

“That’s really true. From the moment I could talk, I threw back the outfits that my mother lovingly laid out for me into the closet and made my own sets. Of course, I didn’t look at the weather, right? So I could just wear a summer dress in winter and vice versa, but I was and still am always busy with fashion. After my education at the Graphic Lyceum, I started working in my father’s business and, even though I didn’t have much money at the time, I always went to look in stores to get inspired and make combinations.”

“After working for my father for 3.5 years, I started working at Otazu, a great time. Rodrigo Otazu made incredibly striking creations that were really worn by everyone. It was amazing. Grace Jones was flown in for an event and we showcased the jewelry in the most spectacular places. After that, I worked for a long time for the clothing brand Ibana, which had just started. A really fun time, during which I built a whole network as a representative. I wanted to get more involved in management in the form of shares, but the founder thought differently. From that moment on, I decided: I’m going to start my own business.”

Of course, there are many professions imaginable in the fashion industry. You chose an agency. What makes your heart beat faster?

“I really love fashion anyway. But I saw with my father that a store can also be a golden cage. You always have to be there, you can never start an hour later, because what if a customer is standing at the door? As an agent, your life is a lot more varied and flexible. I work hard too, but I can for example work out for an hour in the morning before going to the showroom. It was an exciting step because I had to borrow money, needed a car, a laptop, and as an agent, you only get paid eight months after the clothing is ordered from you. So I had to bridge that period as well. A friend tipped me to go to Copenhagen, where there was a kind of speed dating event where you could connect with brands. There I met Dea Kudibal, whose beautiful brand I have represented for 16 years. That’s where it all started.’

“And then I just hit the road by car. Through Ibana, I had built a nice network, but I also just visited stores that I thought would fit the brands I represented.”

You have special (and particularly fun), slightly different brands. If you had to describe a ‘signature’ of your agency and everything you sell here, what would you call it?

“I would say: for the working woman with an elegant twist. The brands I represent are not everyday, there must always be something extra. That can also be the fabric or the print. I really love beautiful fabrics and good quality. Dea Kudibal is such a beautiful classic brand that also works with designers from Zimmermann and Nema is also a huge favorite. I just sold that to Little Soho and I’m so happy with it. Making a perfect match between a brand and a selling party is of course the most fun for me. Furthermore, One T is really a hit, it fits everyone and everywhere and Dirty Laundry is a really fun Greek brand that I recently started selling.”

I’m so curious what an average workday looks like for you. That you first start with your husband and son and then go to Pilates for fifty minutes at Crush Studios, I know, but then… Tell me everything.

“Well, I always start the day with a workout and then I pick up nice things for the people I have appointments with. I also make healthy yogurts for my clients because they often sit in the car for a while and they are always with me for a while. I count about an hour per brand, often I try it on so the client can see how it looks. It often happens that a client is in the showroom for four hours. That goes on until about five or six o’clock and then I go home. At least twice a year, I go to Copenhagen to shop and for a number of years, I have had really beautiful Greek brands and I then attach a little vacation with a friend to that.”

You obviously have an extensive wardrobe, but what do you wear on an average workday?

“I often adjust my clothing to the client or I wear something that I think they would like to buy. It’s a kind of invisible dress code that I have, where you know that one client prefers a tough look and the other leans more towards feminine and classic items. I want to make their entire visit as pleasant as possible, so my showroom is cozy, there are beautiful flowers from JasmijnBloembinders, it smells nice, I have tasty and healthy food, and I wear something that I think they will like.”

Do you have a particular perfume that you wear on workdays or do you have several that you alternate depending on the moment?

“I have several, almost all from Skins, but my favorite at the moment is from Céline and is called Saint Germain des Prés.”

Your showroom is really a creative place that I can imagine is wonderful to be in. How did you end up there?

“In the first years of my agency, I didn’t have an office, but worked with a laptop and phone from home and my car. When I got pregnant, I thought: this can’t go on, I need a base. Then I found a place in the Fashion House, but we eventually had to leave there. Then I found this place and it’s perfect. It’s a creative place where several brands are located and where you can also park for free. My clients often make a day of it and then go to several agencies. I always hope that people leave inspired.”

As an entrepreneur, you don’t always have the wind at your back and the sun in your face, but still, some lesser periods can push you in a different direction. Do you have an example of a moment when you realized that something dark led to something light?

“I once experienced that a brand left me and I found that terrible, but because of that, I was open to a brand that ultimately brought me much more. Sometimes you don’t know where something unpleasant can ultimately lead, so when something like that happens, you just have to trust that it will turn out well.”

I think little Sabine would be very happy if you told her that this would be her future. What did you envision as a future when you were younger?

“I think so too, being busy with fashion all day long would have sounded like music to her ears. I really love clothing and I have no hands, right? I shop so much that sometimes I don’t even remember that I already had it. I once cried halfway when my Dior sunglasses disappeared in the sea. When I got home, the exact same sunglasses were in a drawer in my closet. I had just bought them twice. Furthermore, if I really like something and the budget allows, I often buy items in multiple colors. That’s the case now with the balloon pants from By Lotte, I think they are so cool, I immediately ordered them in four colors.”

Your husband is an entrepreneur, you have a son who is in the first year of high school, how do you combine work and private life?

“On Mondays and Tuesdays, we usually pick up a ready-made meal from the greengrocer, then we really don’t feel like cooking. But otherwise, it runs very smoothly and we are really a trio. My husband is a realtor and also works a lot from home, so he does a lot too. And I am ultimately flexible, so it always goes very well.”

Are you the type that separates work and private life or does everything blend together?

“Everything blends together perfectly, but I love that. I am always busy with fashion, so that switch never turns off.”

And then a bit about fashion: what are your current favorite clothing items?

“Those mash ballerinas from Alaïa, I ordered them in several colors, those balloon pants from By Lotte, a really nice jacket that I ordered from the Frankie Shop, I also really like Blaze Amsterdam and I’m crazy about jewelry, especially those from Marie Lichtenberg. I also really had a Golden Goose sneakers period, I think I have about 45 pairs.”