SUTTON STRACKE: MOGUL IN THE MAKING

Sutton Stracke

A CHIC, SUSTAINABLE & FASHION MOGUL IN THE MAKING

— By Paul Zahn

Sutton Stracke went from a socialite Southern Belle to a fan-favorite reality television darling almost overnight after debuting on Season 10 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. The fashionista joined the cast as a “friend of” for her first season and quickly rose the ranks to a diamond-holding, fulltime housewife for her second season. Showing no signs of a sophomore slump, Sutton has proven herself a strong contender amongst the ladies of Beverly Hills, as well as within the retail and fashion world in Los Angeles. She opened the Sutton Concept in 2019 in the heart of West Hollywood to great acclaim. Sutton has used the chic boutique to showcase two of her passions - fashion and sustainability.

“I had been wanting to do a store for ten years, and it took me a while to get the nerve up to do it. I love fashion. I love art. I love collecting. I love jewelry. Through my travels and my fashion knowledge from going to fashion shows for the hot couture - I finally did it,” Sutton excitedly shares.

Sutton meticulously created a stunning retail space that was a very personal experience. She even included her late father in the process. “My father did my logo - well, he didn’t do the logo, but the logo is my dad’s writing - it is very spiritual to me,” she shares.

The very personal outlet serves two distinct purposes for Sutton. First, the boutique operates as an actual retail space - “it is a concept store, so everything is for sale,” she shares. However, Sutton also wanted to utilize the space to elevate other creatives, as well as under-the-radar designers.

She says, “the idea of the store was to do events with artists we bring in. We want to have artists celebrated - we want to have designers celebrated.”

Sutton recently collaborated with her friend Susan Rockefeller to highlight Rockefeller’s passion project, Muses - a CBD potion. “We have both always been talking about how we can work together. Susan has a really beautiful farm, and during the pandemic, she pulled a lot from her farm and made essential oils - Muses has CBD, and you can roll it on. It is really for tech neck - we are all looking down all the time! We are excited to bring it into the Sutton Concept store,” Sutton exclaims.

Another way Sutton goes green in her life is by living sustainably. “One thing I love - whether home or fashion - is being very conscientious of sustainable living and buying smartly. When you buy something - you want to be able to pass it down. We have items that are eco-friendly in the store and items you want to collect and pass down to your daughter or granddaughter. Buy smart - so that it is not in high quantity but very good quality,” Sutton suggests.

Next up in the pipeline for Sutton Stracke is taking the Sutton Concept on the road and launching a new fashion collection of her own. “We have about eight trunk shows and popups we are working on. We did one in Toronto - it did very well. I think we will be in Capri this summer. We are doing a big tour, and we want to bring our store to other towns all around America,” gushes Sutton. She is also collaborating with local designers in Los Angeles to craft her own line of chic and fashion-forward wearables with her own cashmere line. “Our cashmere is made in LA; it is eco-friendly. It is important for me to have local designers,” she says. Sutton’s plan is grassroots in the beginning, “whenever we do a trunk show or pop-up, we like to leave a cashmere piece. Just drop it - little seedlings, see where that will take us,” she says with a giggle.

With the filming of the next season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in full swing, Sutton Stracke is all systems go. She continues to grow her presence in the fashion and retail world while keeping sustainability front of mind. She shares, “I am slow, and I wanted the store to be created in an organic fashion for me.” The juggling of multiple projects seems to prove successful for Sutton as she gleefully exclaims, “The Sutton Concept is growing at a rapid pace.” Keep your eyes peeled for Sutton’s trunk shows and cashmere line to hit your city soon - we know we will.