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The World’s Laura Lynch tells the story of one former Lehman Brothers staffer in London who’s made a new beginning as a designer.
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MARCO WERMAN: It was one year ago today that Lehman Brothers went bankrupt. That collapse triggered a cascade that led to a global financial crisis. Today, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the global economy is on the road to recovery, though many may not be feeling that just yet. Still, a number of former Lehman employees have found work again in other banks and investment houses. For one of them, the end of Lehman’s inspired a creative about face as The World’s Laura Lynch reports.
LAURA LYNCH: This is the day Caroline White is unveiling her new career.
CAROLINE WHITE: Now the decision is do you want a white or black one?
LYNCH: Decisions, decisions. This is a small one whether to use the white or black business cards that have just been delivered announcing that Caroline White, formerly Lehman’s banker on the London derivatives desk is now Caroline White fashion designer.
WHITE: A lot of people are like, “What are you doing? Banking to fashion? Howe does that work? I’m like, yeah. They’re not highly correlated, I know but it’s been a passion of mine for so long.
LYNCH: At a gallery in London’s trendy Shoreditch neighborhood workers are preparing for White’s big bash where she’ll officially reveal her first piece, a very special laptop bag.
WHITE: On the inside, you’ve got the linings and these are like a patchwork basically of the emergency evacuation kits that we had under our desks at Lehman. So it’s kind of a little piece of Lehman that survived.
LYNCH: She’s referring to the emergency kits issued to all Lehman employees. White took hers with her a year ago. So did a lot of the other employees. Embossed with the Lehman Brothers logo, the kit held goggles, a face mask, and a flashlight to be used in case of a fire or even a terrorist attack. But it couldn’t protect White or Lehman’s from financial disaster. It’s still easy for White to recall the emotions of that time.
WHITE: Oh, anger, I think. That was a huge one. Disappointment and kind of betrayal as well because I think it was seriously mismanaged by some of the senior management out of New York, and I think Europe really suffered as a result of some of the decisions made there.
LYNCH: White says the anger propelled her to get out of banking and inspired her to design this one-of-a-kind bag. Making it, she says, was cathartic and she doesn’t have plans to sell it. Instead, she’s using it as a marketing device for her new line of what she calls affordable luxury bags. White is launching this new venture because of her interest in fashion, but also she admits because she needs to earn a living.
WHITE: There’s quite a large sort of generalization out there that anyone who works in a hedge fund or an investment bank is earning squillions, and it’s quite not the case. I was earning a very well paid salary, but I also wasn’t the kind of person that would go out spraying bottles of champagne in night clubs and ridiculous bar tabs. It’s not my style.
LYNCH: As the caterers wheel in wine glasses and serving trays for tonight’s event, White is right there supervising every little thing. Most of her former colleagues have remained in banking working for smaller outfits, and she says in some ways she’s grateful for what happened a year ago today.
WHITE: I don’t want anyone to feel sorry for me. I’ve already felt sorry for myself for a few months and I’ve felt that’s enough time to sort of pull myself up and get on with it.
LYNCH: Tonight’s opening, White hopes, will allow her to banish the ghost of Lehman Brothers or at least keep it zipped up firmly insider her new designer bag. For The World I’m Laura Lynch in London.
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