Can sisters really be successful business partners? Fashion brands Manu Atelier, Matteau, Otiumberg and Lié Studio are thriving, showing sceptics that family and business can mix
From Istanbul and Australia, Copenhagen and London, fashion’s sibling founders talk business, friendship – and telepathy
We’ve all been warned against working with family and friends – “don’t mix business with pleasure” and less elegant versions of the saying have been repeated time and again. In the start-up age, industry publications have covered many a founder falling-out; dramatic and sudden exits have pervaded industries from tech to beauty to homewares. In fashion, however, a growing cohort of successful sister-led brands are proving naysayers wrong.
“Of course, we sometimes have heated debates about what’s best, and being a family means we can be brutally honest, but it’s all forgotten very quickly,” says Beste Manastir, who founded Istanbul-based bag brand Manu Atelier with her sister Merve in 2014.
The duo grew up with the smell of leather and collectively centred their business around their father, an esteemed craftsman who started working in leather goods in 1961. They oversee every aspect of the brand – from production to finance to design – together.
Some may see this arrangement as a breeding ground for friction, but the Manastirs make it work – and produce timeless, city-chic totes while they’re at it.
According to Merve, the best part of working with her sister is how their personalities complement each other and feed into a sort of symbiosis, which empowers them when making business decisions both big and small. “One of us [has] a more creative, big-picture approach, while the other excels in detail and execution … we’ve developed an unspoken synergy that allows us to move forwards with shared intuition.”
Merve and Beste aren’t the only sororal pair who tap into such a bond: Amalie and Cecilie Moosgaard, the twins behind Copenhagen-based accessories brand Lié Studio, launched their jewellery business in 2021 after years of modelling side by side. More recently, the duo branched out beyond their category to venture into bags, belts and hair accessories, all of which bear their signature sleek style.
“It’s always felt very natural – we know exactly when to step in or leave each other [alone]. But sometimes it’s intense and a lot, especially for the other colleagues,” Cecilie says.
“People will ask, are they fighting? But we’re just brainstorming and the next moment we ask, ‘Do you want milk in your coffee or not?’ We’re sisters at the end of the day, and we bicker,” adds Amalie, noting that the two will often show up to the office in the same outfit despite living separately.
