Second Life

Jess Rona is a content creator, the founder of Jess Rona Grooming Salon, and the founder of the new dogcare brand Shmoop. Before she had her own dog-grooming empire, Rona dreamed of becoming an actress. At 18, while pursuing her acting dreams, she got a job as a dog bather at PetSmart in Los Angeles. While working this job, she slowly began to learn how to groom as well. She took a break from dog grooming to move to New York City and start doing improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade. She ultimately returned to Los Angeles and began dog grooming once again, even participating in grooming competitions. Eventually, she opened her own grooming business out of her garage, transitioning into being her own boss. Then, her slow-motion dog-grooming videos on social media began to go viral, which helped her business take off. She moved her grooming salon to a brick-and-mortar location in Larchmont Village, and now, Rona is about to launch Shmoop, "a beauty brand for every dog."

Marissa Schwartz is the costume designer behind the hit new Amazon Prime Video series Sterling Point. The show has gained acclaim for its fresh perspective on the YA genre and its commitment to representing its Gen Z characters authentically in the dialogue, the acting, and, of course, the outfits. In this episode, Schwartz shares how she approached dressing each of the characters and which brands she leaned on—from Chanel to Bode to Still Here—to help tell the story.

Watch this episode on our new YouTube channel⁠⁠⁠⁠, and be sure to subscribe!

Roxana Saidi is the founder and CEO of Táche. However, before she founded her pistachio-milk brand, Saidi graduated with a degree in marketing and got her first job out of college in public relations in Los Angeles. She then founded a social media agency that eventually grew into a creative and brand strategy agency called Rx Social. She later moved to New York and transitioned into consulting, but while on a trip with her family, she was struck by an idea for a brand offering nut milk made from pistachios, which were a staple in her Middle Eastern household as a child. Her research proved that pistachio milk could be more sustainable than almond milk and more nutritious than oat milk, so she started Táche by experimenting in her kitchen and launched the brand in 2020. Táche quickly found its way into high-end cafés and grocery stores, such as Erewhon and Sprouts, and the brand recently entered Whole Foods with its three-ingredient pistachio milk.

This week, Who What Wear Editor in Chief Kat Collings chats with Sunna Yassin, an expert on all things weddings and cofounder of Bash Please. Yassin was one of the creative minds behind Alex Cooper's stunning destination wedding in 2024, and today, she is talking about where wedding trends are headed in 2027. Perhaps the most notable shift? Couples are moving away from overproducing their weddings, instead focusing on guest experience and making the details feel personal. Yassin shares how to achieve this level of authenticity through the invites, table arrangements, food, florals, and more.

Watch this episode on our new YouTube channel⁠⁠⁠⁠, and be sure to subscribe!

Isabella Hughes is the cofounder and chief revenue officer of the sour-gummy brand Better Sour. However, before founding her candy company, Hughes, who was born and raised in Hawaii, began her career in the arts, curating and coordinating exhibitions for a variety of organizations in the United States and UAE. She always had an interest in entrepreneurship, so in 2014, she started her first company—a Middle Eastern–inspired ice cream brand called Lezzetli. Around the same time, she came up with the idea for her second business, a Hawaii-grown herbal iced tea brand called Shaka Tea, which was acquired in 2022. After the acquisition, Hughes and her lifelong best friend Semira Nikou cofounded Better Sour. As daughters of Iranian immigrants who both grew up in Hawaii, Hughes and Nikou used their shared cultural backgrounds to inspire their flavors. Today, Better Sour is in over 4000 stores, including Erewhon, Whole Foods, and Sprouts.