Kym Gold, 58: Crafting a Life of Passion and Purpose

Kym Gold is a force of nature with a side of Cali cool.

At 18, Kym Gold embarked on a journey that would redefine fashion and design. Her approach was to avoid following trends and to instead create them. As a co-founder of True Religion, she didn’t just enter the industry; she transformed it. With a style more reminiscent of a rockstar than a business tycoon,?Kym’s rapid rise to success established her as an influential female entrepreneur.

But Kym didn’t rest on her denim. In 2008, she launched Babakul, a successful women’s fashion brand. She then shifted gears to embrace motherhood, and a pottery class from her son sparked a fresh passion, leading to the birth of dum? (formerly Style Union Home) in 2020. Here, she marries her fashion expertise with home design.

Whether practicing Pilates or enjoying family dinners, Kym Gold’s life is a testament to the balance of creativity and joy. With dum?, she’s not just building her next empire but also demonstrating the art of integrating personal and professional life. Let’s delve into her vibrant world.

How old are you?

I’m 58.

Where do you live?

In Sherman Oaks. But I’m from Malibu.

Are you married?

Yes.

Do you have children?

I have three grown boys with my ex-husband, with whom I co-founded True Religion, and a grandson.

How has growing up as an identical triplet shaped you?

Being a triplet means going out of your way to be an individual because you share everything.

My parents, especially my mom, knew that being an individual and expressing yourself was incredible.

I did two years of college, got bored, and started my own business. That’s just my personality.

With various swap meets, I was making about $50,000 a month. That put me into buying real estate, where I made so much money. I got my real estate license. I was learning how to manufacture, buy damages, resell them, and go to factories. It was intimidating to go into these big factories and ask people if they had damages, but I didn’t let that stop me. I would buy T-shirt damages, take them to a dye house, redye them, and then sell them.

“I would buy T-shirt damages, take them to a dye house, redye them, and then sell them”

But I would buy people’s overages and one-offs, T-shirts, sweatshirts, socks, and other cool things happening in the marketplace at the time and then sell them at swap meets and colleges. One of my sisters worked for me, and I had about five people working for me. It was fun.

You buy something for $5 and sell it for $20. I started on the crazy boardwalk of Venice with my first husband, Mark Burnett.

Unbelievable. Tell us about True Religion.

My actual expertise is knits, but I’m a denim girl. I try to find something that isn’t being done, like more oversized pockets, a particular type of stretch, or more technical, sexy jeans because there are jeans out there, but my jeans were incredibly technical. I designed it from the inside out, so it looked as beautiful on the inside as on the outside. No one will see it, but I will. It’s all in the details, and I’m passionate about every single one of them.

“I designed it from the inside out, so it looked as beautiful on the inside as on the outside. No one will see it, but I will. It’s all in the details”

The stretch at the time was very gummy. So, we worked with DuPont to make a 98% cotton, 2% stretch, which became a comfort stretch. Then, we engineered the seams to go forward, the knee to go in, and a slight flare on the bottom, making you look the best you could for every body shape.

What jeans do you wear now?

I like R13 and Mother. I don’t like high-waisted jeans. Personally, I like something that’s not tight, like the drop-crotch jeans. I like them baggy, too. I think it’s sexy with a pair of low-slung baggy jeans and cute loafers; it’s just a cool look.

What do you wish you knew about starting businesses earlier than now?

Wow, that’s a good question. Don’t be intimidated by things you don’t know. It’s okay to ask questions. And you’re only as good as your team. Everybody should talk to each other with dignity and respect.

It’s about the team and like-minded people. Everybody shares the same vision. Everybody’s as essential as the next person. So, I’ve always felt that way. I’m just more empowered by it now.

“You’re only as good as your team. Everybody should talk to each other with dignity and respect”

What advice would you give to people just starting?

Be prepared for a lot of no’s. It doesn’t have to be a massive business. If you are having fun, it’s the most important thing.

The journey is the most important. It’s not just about reaching the destination but about the experiences and lessons you gather along the way. Enjoy it, and you’ll find that the destination is even more rewarding.

What are the Kym Gold tips for being in the moment?

I’ve worked hard at that because I’m a grandma now, and I have boys. Everything the journey entails could be a lot of mistakes, a lot of highs, or a lot of lows. Those are lessons, you know? So, as my mom would always say, “Everything that you do leads you to where you’re supposed to be, and everything that you do will lead you to where you’re supposed to go.”

Right. Tell us about the new venture, dum?. How did you transition from fashion to home?

What’s interesting to me is that it’s all the same thing. It’s just a different medium.

How I am in my house, aesthetically, how I want to be out in the world, how I present myself, how I want to be true to what I like in my home, and how I dress — it’s all one free-flowing, cohesive thing. So, it wasn’t difficult to transition; I just had to learn this medium, which is a very fragile medium like fabric.

“It wasn’t difficult to transition; I just had to learn this medium, which is a very fragile medium like fabric”

How do you start creating?

I love a good board. It all starts with the board, from travel, from experience.?

So, everything is very well thought out, meticulous, and detailed. It inspires me. Whatever I do, I like to put it in my house. I want to live with it, all my dishes, everything, accessories, and the vases. It’s my memory of carrying on for my mother. It’s all inspired by family.

Home and family are so intertwined. That’s very cool. Take us through a challenge and how you got through it.

I am obsessed with my grandchild and cannot always be there. I minimize my challenges. The challenge is navigating my business differently.

Where do you seek guidance?

Well, I have a great team. I’m also with the Female Design Council, so I have a community to ask questions like: What do we do? Do we do one less show a year? Should we do other shows? Do we reach out to more hospitality, more interior designers? We’re not only doing retail. The community is so inclusive that you start meeting new people, meeting new interior designers, talking to people, getting introduced, and shifting the showroom. It’s just really outside-of-the-box thinking.

“You could die of a broken heart, but you cannot die from a bad business”

You sound like a person who doesn’t have a lot of fear.

Business is business in the sense that, what are you losing? Okay, so you may lose money, but it’s okay. It’s not kissing you at night before you go to bed. It’s not giving you a high five. It ebbs and flows. You could die of a broken heart, but you cannot die from a bad business.

That’s true.

I’ve said this many, many, many times. I’m more afraid of could have, would have, and should have.?

So, tell me about your beauty routine.

I work out a lot. I was a huge runner and a heavy-duty worker-outer. Now, every morning, it’s more yoga and Pilates. My beauty routine is an oil cleanser, collagen powders… going through menopause and doing things over 50, we need help with the massive number of changes. I’m on top of things that I must do now regarding supplements.

There’s magnesium, DHEA, estrogen, and progesterone. There’s also methylene blue, which brings oxygen back into your body because stress can cause things to change. I don’t drink anymore. That’s a huge thing for me.

“People don’t realize that your body changes so much through menopause”

How long has that been?

A couple of years. People don’t realize that your body changes so much through menopause.

Yeah, the sugar in the wine or the sugar in an alcohol. It doesn’t make me feel good in the morning anymore. I’m a clean eater. I like to buy stuff that doesn’t come from a box, so everything is grass-fed, fresh, and organic.

I know you’re asking me that because I’m from Los Angeles. [laughs]

You have such a cool “Kym Gold” style. Do you have any fashion advice for women over 50?

I pay attention to the details. All my glasses are tinted, and it’s a fun accessory. If you wear glasses, make them fun. I love DITA’s frames.

The best advice is to wear jewelry that means something to you. Make it personal because it’s fun. It shows who you are and what you like.

But my style is always the same. It’s a cool vest, a blazer, cool trousers, clean. Everything is monotone in color. Nothing stands out. So, if you have a brand of T-shirt you like, buy it in many colors. Blazers, buy those in a myriad of colors. Wear pants, keep it simple, and dress it up with accessories. Find your brand, stick with it, and don’t change your story.

“Wear jewelry that means something to you. Make it personal because it’s fun”

What are some of your go-to brands?

R13. The Row. Officine Creative shoes. Norma Kamali is the best.

I love it. Your autobiography captured your resilience, flexibility, and ability to survive. Tell us what you’re most proud of in life.

My kids. They’re 27, 30, and 31.

But raising them on my own — We’re best friends. They’re my most significant accomplishment. If you’re at home, and your kids call you and text you and just want to hang out, you’ve done your job.

So, how did you manage it all?

Well, I had a nanny. But I think the biggest thing for me — my mom always taught this, and it’s so cliché because it’s so true — it’s not the amount of time you spend with them; it’s what you do with the time you spend with them. So, there was no TV during dinner. I always drove them to school.

So, they remembered having dinner and the weekends, which was our time. Mom went to work so now the women that they’re with are career women, too. [laughs]

“I really don’t give a shit what people think anymore. I just don’t”

What are you enjoying about getting older?

That I really don’t give a shit what people think anymore.

Amen.

I just don’t. It’s true.

How do you stay relevant? What inspires you?

My travels. I’m looking at my boards now. I was in Milan, and everything was inspiring to me. The architecture, which we don’t have here, and the mixing — that’s what I’m working on now. I love seeing these new collections in older buildings.

There was newness in it, which is what my brand is about to me. It’s like taking my mom’s and great-grandmother’s heirlooms and making them new. I got the chills because I had so much fun there.

I’ve also always collected vintage nudes. My dad and my stepmom are the most avid antique collectors.

“Women’s issues are big for me. I also love to mentor young women who want to be entrepreneurs or need guidance. We should all give back and pay it forward”

You do a lot of charitable work and support many different things.

Well,?one of my closest friends is the CEO of Susan Komen. My mom passed away from breast cancer. Women’s issues are big for me.

I also love to mentor young women who want to be entrepreneurs or need guidance. We should all give back and pay it forward.

You found love again. Tell us about that.

Well, it’s interesting. After my divorce, I went into therapy and said, “I’m not going to let this be a death sentence because I’m better now than I was in my 20s, 30s, and early 40s.” So, I met a guy who is the most supportive. He’s a fighter pilot from the South, and I’m from Malibu. He’s Black. I’m Jewish. He grew up in not a very easy situation, in segregation.

But what brought us together was wanting to do the work to be together. Not just because it’s cool.?It took a lot of fucking work; I’ll tell you that much.

How do you continue to work on it?

Never mention divorce. It’s off the table. We always talk to each other respectfully and never take anything personally.

“I love a good nap. In my opinion, sleep is the most important thing that we can do for ourselves as we age”

Are you a traveler?

Yes. My parents are huge travelers. We had my brother’s bar mitzvah in Israel because I have a lot of family in Israel and Masada. I love Japan. Like, LOVE love Japan. I love the way the people are very service-oriented in the retail business. Even down to the pottery and how people love working in stores, restaurants.

I like to go to off-beaten paths where there’s little traffic. I love the countryside in the south of France, Italy, and Japan.

How do you recharge your batteries?

I love a good nap. In my opinion, sleep is the most important thing that we can do for ourselves as we age.

What music are you listening to?

I love ’70s music. I love Fleetwood Mac and anything by Steely Dan. Living in London, I remember seeing The Smiths and Elvis Costello. I love Simply Red and Adele.

Carole King. Carole King!

What are your three non-negotiables?

Trust, non-positive energy, and lack of support.

What’s next for you?

So, a lot is going on. The pottery is great. It’s all fantastic. We’re doing lighting. I’m always looking into more significant projects like Dum? Hotels. That’s really what I want to do.

Describe your perfect Sunday.

Bagels, lox, and cream cheese with the kids.

Swimming with my guy and Francis, my grandson, and family. That’s what I did growing up with my mom. We do it with our kids now. That’s it.

Do you have anything else that you want to share?

Get that fear out of your lexicon. What do you have to lose?

You’re fabulous. Thank you.

Thank you. This was so much fun.

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