Majestic Measures of Being with Sarah LaFleur

POPULUXE

A company visit to the Whitney Museum of American Art to view the novel paintings of Toyin Ojih Odutola, the celebrated Nigerian--American visual artist whose work challenges the traditions of storytelling through portraiture, led Sarah LaFleur to an inner journey of desire and the meaning of narratives in forming one’s character.

Popular fascination with royalty, Sarah ruminates, is a manifestation not so much of our desire to share their wealth or material possessions but rather to be able to trace our legacy back to multiple generations.

“Luxury is to know where you come from,” the entrepreneur and young mother of three utters while reminiscing of the many times her family had to relocate although, admittedly, without the pain or stress that marks the experience of modern refugees. For Sarah, a daughter, who has internalized the generational narratives of a multicultural background, and a mother, who faces the inevitability of a partial erasure of precious cultural elements that are the hardest to transmit to her kids and their kids, “luxury is [synonymous with having a] home.”

Sarah’s visit with Populuxe sets a tone of self-awareness and openness to the unpredictability of one’s personal journey. In essence, legacies that last are those built on the warmth of a glowing hearth and not on blobs of caviar.

Sarah LaFleur is the Founder & CEO of M.M.LaFleur. Sarah founded M.M.LaFleur in 2013 with a mission to help women take the work out of getting dressed, so they can focus on the work that matters to them. Prior to founding M.M.LaFleur, she worked at Bain & Co. in New York and TechnoServe in South Africa. Sarah sits on the board of International Rescue Committee's Airbel Impact Lab and on the business advisory council of the New York Fed. She graduated from Harvard University. M.M.LaFleur is named after her mother, whom she calls her biggest inspiration.

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