She Didn't Want to Just Create Brands Anymore. She Wanted to Create a Revolution.
For Roanne El-Alaili, fashion was never just an industry, it was a language. As a creative director, she spent years building campaigns and crafting brand identities that told other people's stories. But somewhere between the mood boards and the marketing briefs, a different kind of vision began to take shape: one that wasn't about selling more, but about consuming smarter.
So, she built &Again, a circular fashion marketplace designed to make preloved feel premium, and secondhand feel like a statement. Not a trend. Not a compromise. A cultural shift.
In a region where fast fashion still dominates and preloved carries a stigma, Roanne is doing something quietly radical: making sustainability aspirational. Through curation, community, and a relentless obsession with experience, &Again is rewriting the rules of how people discover, buy, and relate to the clothes they own.
In this interview, Roanne opens up about the personal values behind the platform, the emotional turning points that sharpened her leadership, and why she believes the future of fashion isn't about what's new, it's about what's next.
Interview Highlights:
Q. What drove you to pursue a change from a creative direction career to establishing a business with a sustainability-driven focus in the fashion industry?
Being creative is exactly what pushed me into this. I have always expressed myself through clothes and visuals, and that naturally evolved into wanting to build something. I did not want to just create campaigns or brands anymore, I wanted to create a solution.
Preloved is something I genuinely live by. It is not a trend for me, it is how I shop, how I think, how I consume. So, building &Again felt like a very natural extension of who I am. It was also about challenging the status quo around marketplaces and secondhand fashion, and making it feel more exciting, more expressive, and more culturally relevant for this day and age.
Q. How have your own personal values contributed to the mission and strategic vision of your business?
Completely. I am very conscious about how I shop. I exclusively shop secondhand or slow fashion, and that mindset is embedded into everything we are building.
&Again is not coming from theory, it is coming from lived behavior. That shapes everything from product decisions to tone of voice to community building. It also keeps us honest. We are not trying to convince people of something we do not believe in ourselves.
Q. What, in your view, are the most pressing issues currently facing the circular fashion industry, and how is your business addressing them?
The biggest issue is perception. Secondhand is still seen as less than in this region by previous generations.
The second is experience. A lot of platforms still feel transactional and outdated. Discovery is not inspiring, trust is inconsistent, and the process can feel like work.
For us, it is about rebuilding that experience from the ground up. Making secondhand feel aspirational, easy, fun and part of everyday culture. We focus a lot on curation, storytelling, and community so it does not feel like you are just buying something used. It feels like you are discovering something special.
Q. Entrepreneurship can be tough and tiring at times. Is there one experience that has particularly stood out to you as a defining moment in your leadership, and how did you handle it?
I lost my mother recently, which is the hardest thing you can go through. That completely shifts your perspective on everything.
It made me really understand what is worth stressing over and what is not. At the end of the day, I am building something I believe in and I will fight for it, but it is still just a business. Worst case, it does not work. Best case, it succeeds. Life continues either way.
That mindset changed how I lead. I am calmer, more focused, and less emotional but definitely more motivated. You stop sweating the small things because you realize most things are small.
Q. How do you seek to balance innovation and commercial success with encouraging sustainable consumption patterns?
For me, it is not about forcing sustainability. It is about making it desirable.
If the product is good, if the experience is seamless, if the brand feels right, people will come for that first. Sustainability becomes a layer, not the only message.
We focus on building something people genuinely want to use. Once they are in the ecosystem, the behavior naturally shifts. That is where real impact happens.
Q. From a personal perspective, are there any habits or mindsets that have served you well in staying focused and motivated?
I am a yes person. I believe it is free to try things.
When you truly understand that the worst case scenario is not that serious, it removes fear, guilt, and hesitation. You move faster, you experiment more, and you do not overthink every decision.
That mindset has helped me a lot. It keeps things light even when things are hard.
Q. Looking forward, what kind of lasting impact do you hope to make in the fashion industry and in terms of consumer behavior around the world?
I want to be part of a generation that fundamentally shifts how people consume.
There is already a cultural and generational change happening, and I want &Again to be one of the global players shaping that. Making people more mindful, more intentional, and more excited about circular fashion.
Q. Creating a platform focused on circular consumption requires a mindset shift from consumers. What strategies have you found most successful in building trust and inspiring change?
Community, authenticity, and being relentless with experimentation.
We listen a lot. We do not assume we know everything. We test, we learn, we adjust.
Trust comes from consistency and transparency. And shifting perception comes from showing people, not telling them. Showing them that secondhand can be just as exciting, if not more.
Q. How is &Again leveraging technology and partnerships to make pre-owned fashion more accessible and appealing to mainstream consumers?
Technology for us is about removing friction and building trust.
From onboarding to listing to discovery, everything needs to feel simple and intuitive. We are also very focused on how we present inventory so it feels curated rather than overwhelming.
Partnerships are key in helping us scale credibility and reach new audiences. Whether that is brands, creators, or communities, it allows us to position secondhand in a more mainstream and aspirational way.
Q. As &Again grows, what strategies are you using to scale operations while ensuring environmental impact reduction and ethical standards remain core?
We are building ESG into the foundation, not as an afterthought.
We are working on tools that make impact visible, like tracking CO2 and water saved through transactions. When users can see their impact, it creates a sense of accountability and pride.
From there, it opens up opportunities for rewards and initiatives, like tree planting or textile recycling. The goal is to make sustainability tangible and part of the user experience, not something abstract.
“More is more. The more you put out into the world, the more you get back. Don’t hold back.”
Connect with Roanne El-Alaili
If you find this interview valuable, you can follow Roanne’s work and connect with her directly:
LinkedIn: Click Here
Website: &Again – Click Here
About Business Outstanders
Business Outstanders is a business magazine featuring interviews, growth strategies, and leadership insights for entrepreneurs and small business owners. If you know a business leader with a story worth telling, nominate them for a feature interview.
