Shopping in Marrakesh & Hacking Your Own Closet The Joy of Shopping with Friends—in Marrakesh On Style Ruts, Far-and-Wide Travel & Prioritizing Your Friends Sarah Easley Wants to Clarify Your Closet

Intro by April on Sarah…

Sarah, before we get into your recent travels, take us back to the start of MaisonMarché. How and why did you start the business?
I really love the ritual of retail. When I founded MaisonMarché, the top strategic pillar was Discovery—the idea of finding new ways to introduce emerging brands to clients. 

There’s a curation component that brings the woman that much closer to the right pieces. 

When we curate a mix of unknown global brands and merchandise them into a “boutique” inside a friend’s home, suddenly the shopper feels like each piece was chosen especially for them. There is a new relevance—and a kind of magic—to seeing products this way.

It sounds like a totally novel way of shopping.
It is. I started MaisonMarché to resurrect the joy of shopping with friends and also instigate local discovery of global, sustainable brands.

You’ve referenced moments where you felt compelled to “level up” the MaisonMarché experience. Tell me more.
Over the years, I have done a lot of mentor work for the CFDA and Latin American Fashion Summit. I also spent nearly two decades as co-founder and owner of —aka “Kirna”—a destination for the best edit of the best designers. So, you could say I have built a career around launching new fashion designers. And it’s greatly influenced how I think about shopping.

I launched MaisonMarché on May 1st, 2018. It started with me testing a pilot event in my own home in New Canaan, CT. I called up 20 designers and asked them to ship me the best fashion they had on-hand for a pop-up at my house. And they did! All of my friends—and all of their friends—came. And year-by-year, we grew to 15 states. 

Something unique is just how loyal our customer is. Today we have so many repeat clients, which means simply changing up the fashion is not enough. To elevate the experience, I started inviting the designers to attend the events as surprise guest stars. They can tell their own brand stories while styling and inspiring the clients. It’s next-level.

Bringing designers into the home was groundbreaking. But now you’re taking customers out of their habitats and around the world.
Yes, the travel really started back in February of 2025 when, frankly, I was really uncertain how the new tariffs would affect our global imports. We wanted to maintain our fair, below-luxury price points and the new tariff rules felt arbitrary and unpredictable. 

So, leaning into that Discovery pillar, I thought it was time to level up again and transport our clients to shop right with the designers in their studios. I literally sent an email out to our database with the subject line: “Who wants to go shopping with me in Marrakesh, Mexico City and Paris?” The majority chose Marrakesh!

“What surprised me most was what ultimately felt like 

the best part: just being together.”

Marrakesh. How sublime. What drew you there of all the places on the map?

I know so many talented designers there that I could introduce to my clients. And obviously, I love the culture, the music, the food, the energy of the medina and, most of all, the people. I am fluent in French, which helps, and am slowly learning Arabic. A little goes a long way to gain respect from locals.

Did anything about the trip surprise you? What did it teach you about what women want?

I was confident that I had organized very special, insider access experiences for my guests. And they really were delighted and appreciative. But what surprised me most was what ultimately felt like the best part: just being together. Sharing the adventure with such intelligent, dynamic company went above and beyond my expectations. 

So, for those of us back home… tips for architecting your closet? Hacks for a style rut?

I am currently building some useful programming around this! It really does come up a lot and people want clear, easy systems. 

“For so many of us, our personal presentation is not in sync 

with our inner genius. The process of aligning these brings joy and power.”

A quick shortcut for someone in a style rut: ruthlessly choose your best and favorite items. Twelve of them to be exact: sweaters, shirts, blazer, denim, pant, dress, boot, shoe, scarf, belt, etc. Then, put them on their own rack outside of your closet. Wear only these dozen pieces in constant rotation for a few weeks. Perfect the combos as you go. Repeat often. 

Gradually, layer in three new items on week 3. Via this process, you’ll avoid obstacles that get in the way of good outfits (from overthinking to feeling rushed) and you'll start to truly understand your own signature style. 

It’s a new year. What’s on the horizon for you and MaisonMarché?

I am really enjoying sharing my experience on systems like this shortcut. Currently, I’m building out my curriculum on using fashion for self-discovery. For so many of us, our personal presentation is not in sync with our inner genius. The process of aligning these brings joy and power. I want to teach women how to turn on that magic. 

I’m certainly in. How can the rest of our readers find you?
 Email me sarah@maisonmarche.com, or find me and MaisonMarché on social at @thesaraheasley and @maisonmarchestyle.

SARAH EASLEY is a fashion entrepreneur and retail leader. She co-founed Kirna Zabête and is the current founder of Maison Marché, both known for championing emerging designers and  experiential retail.