If you’re into fashion at all, you’ve definitely heard of The RealReal. Who you probably haven’t heard of, though, is one of the women behind it: Rati Sahi Levesque.
In 2011, Levesque joined founder Julie Wainwright on a mission to rewrite the luxury business. Then a shop owner, Levesque had noticed there was “something there” when it came to buying and selling used designer goods: Her customers would pay a higher price for Prada shorts through her than they would pay at the actual Prada boutique, and she and Wainwright knew they could capitalize on this.
Since then, The RealReal has become the world’s largest luxury consignment destination valued at $641 million. With the site’s almost 25 million users and 23 million items sold, it’s clear Levesque was onto something 11 years ago. Now more than ever, people are embracing used goods and realizing the value of buying secondhand—especially when it comes to the luxury space. Not only do you score a deal on a unique designer piece, but you’re also buying into a growing endeavor focusing on sustainability, something Levesque tells Glamour is at the core of their business.
“We have a whole task force dedicated to just sustainability and changing some of the laws. You don’t get any kind of tax write-off for consigning. A lot of times, we’re treated like a pawn shop,” she says. “We’re spending a lot of time trying to figure out how we change and update these laws so people get the benefit of upcycling and reselling.”
The act of shopping on The RealReal couldn’t be further from that of a pawn shop, however. First, there’s an element of gamification to it all when you’re scouring the site for that holy grail item. But there’s also a level of curation that The RealReal provides for its customers, with the programs like Editors’ Picks and editorialized themes that make sourcing pieces easier than simply combing hundreds of pages of listings. Levesque and her team do it for you without taking away any of the thrill.
From operating out of a living room as The RealReal’s first employee to becoming its president and leading high-profile collaborations with Burberry and Gucci, Rati Sahi Levesque breaks down her career highs in Glamour’s latest Doing the Work column.
My morning routine
I get up around 6 a.m., and I usually go for a walk or just do something active because I’m mostly sitting all day. Then, getting my kids out of bed, getting them fed, getting them to school, and then into work. It happens really fast. I always feel like I have a full morning, by the time I get in to the office at 9 a.m.
A job people may be surprised I’ve had
I was a project manager at WellsFargo. I actually thought I was going to be there forever at the time. It was one of my first jobs after school, and I liked it. And it was going well. Then a friend of mine had an idea for a store—it had secondhand goods in the back—and I ended up joining her.
How I found myself in my current role
I met Julie Wainwright almost 12 years ago; we had a mutual friend in common. She had the idea to start a luxury resale business and was looking for a merchant at the time because her background wasn’t in fashion or styling. I met her at La Boulange, a cafe on Polk Street in San Francisco, and we hit it off. At the time I had a clothing boutique in Russian Hill that also had consignment in the back of the store, and that stuff was selling at a higher price than the stuff in the primary market. I knew that there was something there. I would go to every single Goodwill store looking for whatever to sell at my store. And so we met; she had this idea, she was looking for someone, and I ended up closing my store. We were just in her house working out of her living room, like a true start-up story.
My favorite item I’ve gotten off The RealReal
There are so many for me to just chose one. Maybe it’s my wedding ring that I bought myself after I lost my first one. I bought a lot of just beautiful knits from The Row that are so pricey in the primary market and that I wear daily because I love to be comfortable. Whenever I see a Phoebe Philo piece, even from 10 years ago when she first started designing for Celine—I couldn’t afford it at the time—whether I need it now, I’ll go ahead and buy it because I have that memory of not being able to afford it at Barney’s.
My office uniform
It changes every season, as fashion does, but I’d say right now I’m into comfort. I’m wearing a sweatshirt and a pair of slacks and some sneakers, and that’s kind of what I’ve been doing pretty regularly as my go-to. I have a couple of nice tailored pants in a few different colors and fun colored sweatshirts. I bought an Aimé Leon Dore sweatshirt in a couple of different colors and some sneakers. It’s so easy and basic and takes me two seconds in the morning to get dressed.
My go-to thank-you gift
I think time is a good one. Whether it’s babysitting someone else’s kids or something like that—I know I would appreciate that if someone could do that for me. I don’t buy myself really nice oils or candles, and I think that can feel so luxurious, so maybe a nice oil or beauty product—of course, I usually go to our stores to get them. It’s one or the other.
On navigating the male-dominated start-up world as a woman
I think it’s more around being in a room with a lot of men. Men talking to each other. You have to kind of fight for your voice a little bit. You have to be clear. It also makes you stronger. I grew up with immigrant parents coming from India. My dad was that guy with $10 in his pocket, and my parents worked really hard their whole lives and were really resilient. I think it does rub off on you to grow up in a situation like that. And it does make you more resilient. I’m used to being scrappy and fighting for things and making sure people can hear me. So I would say, I think it takes more effort to sit in this place where we are and it takes a little bit more energy because the things don’t come as easy all the time.
Who my biggest role models are
My dad’s an entrepreneur and scrappy and always thinking about his next thing. He’s in his 70s, and he’s still thinking about his next business, which is really funny. I’ve been really lucky to have a lot of really great role models, a lot of whom are women. Julie, who’s our cofounder, is a great mentor. I’ve had teachers since the sixth grade who are amazing role models. It just takes that one person who believes in you and sees something, and gives you that confidence to move things forward.
One thing I wish more people knew about luxury consignment
A few different things. When we first started, I’d say brands were threatened a bit by us. Now I’m seeing less of that, and I think they’re starting to understand that we actually play well together. There is that lifecycle of luxury that’s really working. We see it in our partnerships with them: Gucci and Burberry, and Stella McCartney. They’re starting to understand the sustainability. So I think that knowing that [consignment] doesn’t take the place of luxury, but actually, it’s something that all works together because people are more likely going to buy that luxury piece if they can think of it as an investment and they think of it to have resale value.
The most rewarding part about my job
It comes down to liking the people you work with. I think we are a very powerful women-led company, and they all believe in sustainability. To work around that type of energy created by women who believe in the company and want to solve this problem on a more macro level is really special. That’s really what has kept me here. The growth that’s happening—30% to 40% a year— also keeps us here and knowing that we’re making these small, incremental steps forward.
How I create a work-life balance
I think I’ve gotten better. I’d say I’ve made progress. Because again, that was one of the things I just kind of had to take a hard look at myself. When you hit milestones—for me it was my 41st birthday—I think you start to realize what is important and how to no one’s going to take care of you except yourself. I definitely have had to set some boundaries around phones. I get a massage once a week, and I know that sounds so luxurious, and it is, but I just value that time because I can’t do anything else but be in the moment. I started meditating, and I meditate every morning for 10 minutes and every night before bed.
