Lifestyle

Get To Know LBV Created By Joss Sackler: The Face of Fashion, Business, and Female Empowerment

Published

5 years ago

February 18, 2021

Joss Sackler is a fashion entrepreneur, chief executive officer, doctorate degree holder, socialite, philanthropist, and mother of three. The female powerhouse became the face and founder of private social club, LBV, in 2017, when she decided she was tired of the male-dominated atmosphere within the existing social societies in New York City. Initially, the all-women’s club was created to discuss the attributes of wine. But as its member count grew, so did its list of interests. Now, LBV focuses on providing high-end experiences centered around culture, art, literature, and much more. Not to mention–the social club is the only one of its kind with its own designer clothing line.

The ready-to-wear collection comes from a combination of member-inspired interests, according to Sackler and the brand’s creative director, Elizabeth Kennedy. Kennedy was brought on as the head designer of the line shortly after the release of LBV’s heavily criticized inaugural collection in 2019 consisting of rock climbing themed athleisure wear, merely meant to serve as “emblematic” gear for the social club. She is a Parsons graduate with extensive experience in the couture realm of fashion, priorly working with prestigious fashion houses such as Isaac Mizrahi, J.Mendel, and Donna Karan. Since assuming her role, the female duo has successfully ventured six seasons of remarkably designed capsules, each of which have participated in three consecutive years of New York Fashion Week. The brand aims to embody the style of a powerful, strong-minded woman who is ready to conquer the world with her confidence and professionalism, while not losing touch of her femininity.

All collections are released direct-to-consumer through the brand’s e-commerce website. While previous collections have been found through high-end retailers in the past, the brand chose to make the switch to the new business model following the detrimental effects of a global pandemic on luxury department stores. Both entities of LBV have gone fully virtual since the nationwide lockdown in early 2020. “All the events for the social club are now done via Zoom, which has actually allowed us to incorporate more events for the members since we don’t have any of the stressors of the in-person events, like having to book a venue,” Sackler’s assistant, Allison Castillo, shared. “For our tasting events for example, we’ll send the wine over to the members and then discuss it on a video call.”

In philanthropic efforts, Sackler redirected all garment production resources to assist in generating over 5,000 face masks for New York City while it experienced a severe shortage on the front lines. Masks were donated to local organizations and hospitals in need, including New York Presbyterian and Mount Sinai. They have also become available on the brand’s website in a small range of neutral colors.

The newest member of the LBV family is a recently launched editorial magazine, which made its debut in November 2020. Issue One of the publication contains several detailed photographs of the most recent Fall/Winter capsule, along with spreads of articulately written articles centered around topics it shares in common with the social club: fashion, wine, and lavish lifestyle. The writers behind the stories are also members of the female driven society. While the magazine is not accessible to readers who are not part of the LBV community, Sackler, who is the editor-in-chief, shares that she’d like to broaden her audience in the issues to come.

In the end, regardless of negative press and undisclosed hardships, the down-to-earth socialite icon continues to commit to her brand, her team, her family, and herself beyond any obstacle. “I’ve learned that it’s okay to fail. We’re always working to make our experiences better,” she says. “The important thing is to keep pushing forward.”

Lifestyle

Wanda Knight on Blending Culture, Style, and Leadership Through Travel

Published

5 hours ago

December 24, 2025

Michelle Langton

The best lessons in leadership do not always come from a classroom or a boardroom. Sometimes they come from a crowded market in a foreign city, a train ride through unfamiliar landscapes, or a quiet conversation with someone whose life looks very different from your own.

Wanda Knight has built her career in enterprise sales and leadership for more than three decades, working with some of the world’s largest companies and guiding teams through constant change. But ask her what shaped her most, and she will point not just to her professional milestones but to the way travel has expanded her perspective. With 38 countries visited and more on the horizon, her worldview has been formed as much by her passport as by her resume.

Travel entered her life early. Her parents valued exploration, and before she began college, she had already lived in Italy. That experience, stepping into a different culture at such a young age, left a lasting impression. It showed her that the world was much bigger than the environment she grew up in and that adaptability was not just useful, it was necessary. Those early lessons of curiosity and openness would later shape the way she led in business.

Sales, at its core, is about connection. Numbers matter, but relationships determine long-term success. Wanda’s time abroad taught her how to connect across differences. Navigating unfamiliar places and adjusting to environments that operated on different expectations gave her the patience and awareness to understand people first, and business second. That approach carried over into leadership, where she built a reputation for giving her teams the space to take ownership while standing firmly behind them when it mattered most.

The link between travel and leadership becomes even clearer in moments of challenge. Unfamiliar settings require flexibility, quick decision-making, and the ability to stay calm under pressure. The same skills are critical in enterprise sales, where strategies shift quickly and no deal is ever guaranteed. Knight learned that success comes from being willing to step into the unknown, whether that means exploring a new country or taking on a leadership role she had not originally planned to pursue.

Her travels have also influenced her eye for style and her creative pursuits. Fashion, for Wanda, is more than clothing; it is a reflection of culture, history, and identity. Experiencing how different communities express themselves, from the craftsmanship of Italian textiles to the energy of street style in cities around the world, has deepened her appreciation for aesthetics as a form of storytelling. Rather than keeping her professional and personal worlds separate, she has learned to blend them, carrying the discipline and strategy of her sales career into her creative interests and vice versa.

None of this has been about starting over. It has been about adding layers, expanding her perspective without erasing the experiences that came before. Wanda’s story is not one of leaving a career behind but of integrating all the parts of who she is: a leader shaped by high-stakes business, a traveler shaped by global culture, and a creative voice learning to merge both worlds.

What stands out most is how she continues to approach both leadership and life with the same curiosity that first took her beyond her comfort zone. Each new country is an opportunity to learn, just as each new role has been a chance to grow. For those looking at her path, the lesson is clear: leadership is not about staying in one lane; it is about collecting experiences that teach you how to see, how to adapt, and how to connect.

As she looks to the future, Wanda Knight’s compass still points outward. She will keep adding stamps to her passport, finding inspiration in new cultures, and carrying those insights back into the rooms where strategy is shaped and decisions are made. Her legacy will not be measured only by deals closed or positions held but by the perspective she brought, and the way she showed that leading with a global view can change the story for everyone around you.