Sara Howell
While some want to be entrepreneurs their whole life, Sara’s path to entrepreneurship began in college, rooted in what she saw around her: cultural disparity. Her motivation to color the communities surrounding her initially took form as a sophomore on Princeton University’s campus, where she immediately noticed a deficit in diversity among the student body, extracurricular offerings, and outlets for originality. Complacency was simply not an option; driven by her diverse upbringing and interests, she started the University’s first fashion editorial, working every day to tell the stories of underserved minorities on campus.
‘TigerTrends’ was born when Sara and her best friend sat down on the floor of her college dorm at 1 am one January night and threw around ideas of a “fashion look book”. After two years of cold calls, sleepless nights, constant membership turnover, and juggling pre-med classes, Sara developed what would become the first tangible link between the fashion industry and the Ivy League institution, creating a platform that told the diverse stories on campus that pushed boundaries of what defined “fashion.”
By the time she graduated, TigerTrends published 3 digital magazines a semester, consisted of over 50 dedicated members, and had funded departments for stylists, graphic designers, photographers, and more. Sara then secured a partnership with Paper Magazine, creating a collaboration that guaranteed internships to two TigerTrends members each semester; these internships often manifested into full-time positions. Although side-railed by the pandemic, they were even in discussions with IMG to host a seminar on campus with Karlie Kloss. Sara laughs this off as she was visibly proud of everything that was done and hopeful for the future of TigerTrends; when it came to creating an organization that was sustainable enough to last following her departure, Sara understood the assignment. As for now, she's moved on to medical school at Howard University College of Medicine.
While in medical school, Sara is determined to still be active in the fashion community. TigerTrends was a journalistic approach to diversity issues she saw on her undergraduate campus; now that that problem was addressed, it was time to focus on another. Representation in fashion was the elephant in the room, and pAx was the solution she developed. pAx is the first luxury fashion brand ran completely by and built specifically for women of color; everything the brand does works to showcase talented POC models, stylists, photographers, artists, and so much more. Dedicated to those who were normally excluded from the Eurocentric standard, pAx was designed to holistically put women of color on the map.
As a Spanish minor in college who spent time in Argentina and Spain, she developed an appreciation for those cultures and the language. That being said, the name of the brand is partially inspired by this background; "Paz" means ‘peace’ in Spanish. The other inspiration is ancient, literally. The "Pax Romana" was a period of great peace and prosperity within the Roman Empire. The "A" in the name is upside down because an upside-down "A" is the mathematical symbol for "all for" or "for all." pAx is "all for" women of color and promotes peace between these women, their identities, and the high fashion industry. This aspect of the brand is taken very seriously. The entire team is composed of women of color from around the world, and in all pAx branding campaigns, styling projects, and other relevant imagery, they work to convey the strength, pride, abundance, and prosperity inherent to all communities of women of color worldwide.
Sara understands that building a luxury brand as a black woman is a tall task. Brands are historically very exclusive and bold in not having any representation. Many brands often publicize statements about standing with the black and brown community, but those messages and initiatives are usually short-lived. Sara hopes to change things from the inside out by creating an entity that is completely WOC-led. She has vivid memories of not being able to stop in certain stores because of the sizing, and consistently not seeing representations of herself in editorials. With pAx, she is determined to confront these issues head-on for the next generation.
Sara has managed to balance being in medical school and running a luxury fashion brand at the same time. The key to it all, as she says, is balancing time and God. She attributes her resilience to staying grounded in faith and being confident in herself. She knows she's going to accomplish whatever she sets her mind to and often reminds herself of her favorite mantra; ”If God made the universe, and there’s a piece of God that lives within me, what could there possibly be that I can’t do?”. That idea is as concrete to her as the sky being blue and water being wet.
This confidence is also nurtured by key people and mentors along the way. During undergrad, Sara met an inspiring doctor with whom she got an opportunity to shadow. Up until meeting this particular mentor, Sara's perspective of medicine had been jaded by her experiences with cold and disconnected physicians. This unfortunate outlook was remedied when this amazing black female anesthesiologist and HBCU-graduate proved that medicine and compassion go hand in hand. Sara was shown that doctors could be kind and patient, while still being incredibly focused, knowledgeable, and impactful. This experience continues to be an inspiration for her as she travels on her medical journey.
Her inspiration on the entrepreneurial and fashion journey is Rihanna. As a fashion icon and businesswoman, Sara sees Rihanna’s pioneering accomplishments as a beacon for where she wants to take pAx. Sara’s family is also from Barbados, Rihanna’s native land, which certainly adds an element of connectivity and shared pride between the two.
When she had an opportunity to pass on some words of wisdom to inspire others in the way she's been inspired, Sara stayed consistent with her previous themes of determination and drive. She states, “Be 110% convinced that there's nothing on earth you can't do. It doesn't matter what your friends or anyone else says. You have to believe wholeheartedly that you can do it, and just like that, it’s already done.”
If you’d like to support Sara and pAx, you can shop here!