When an Ohio University freshman first walks through Alumni Gateway, creating a successful career is both a goal and a priority. For Stefana Avara, diving headfirst into academics and exploring additional passions was at the top of her undergrad checklist.
Avara graduated from OU in 2020 and decided to stay busy with hopes of transforming her dreams into reality. Not only was she a sports management and marketing student, but she was also a shot girl at Red Brick Tavern, a member of the Sigma Kappa sorority, an employee at Charles J. Ping Recreation Center and the creator of the athleisure brand, Liaison The Label.
Avara said she got her first taste of entrepreneurship in 2019 after hosting several “Shots and Squats” events at Red Brick, which included a workout class in the basement and happy hour to follow.
“I was posting workouts on Instagram and TikTok,” Avara said. “This was before posting on TikTok was a thing; this was before COVID.”
Avara said once the pandemic hit and quarantine started, her social media accounts and workout videos skyrocketed with thousands of followers and views.
“I already had months of content (and) months of workouts for them to do before I ever had any following at all,” Avara said. “... I was posting on these different platforms, COVID hit and then all of a sudden, I had a huge audience to sell products to.”
For most, the pandemic put the world on pause, but for Avara, it signaled a new beginning. Liaison was launched from Athens in December 2021 and inspires women to “bridge the gap between movement and style” by offering comfortable, “ultra-flattering” and “functional activewear” for all sizes and body types.
Avara said the initial idea to start a clothing brand formed in 2017 after reminiscing on her high school lacrosse days and each clothing sample she ordered cost $80.
“I started to work on a sample production of activewear,” Avara said. “I was working on a brand and designing these clothes and trying to figure out how to make a really good product with no education in fashion design and no experience doing anything with manufacturing.”
Several Bobcats can be found working out at Ping or exercising on the Hocking River path. Sidney Hazard, a senior studying nursing, is an employee at Ping and said the gym environment can be intimidating and finding a trustworthy brand is crucial.
“I think it is really important … to feel comfortable in what you work out in, especially because working out is, I think for a lot of people, an uncomfortable experience at first,” Hazard said.
Hazard said she typically spends $30 to $50 on a workout set with the hopes it will last for years to come.
With a variety of leggings, biker shorts, sports bras and matching sets, each shopper is bound to find a perfect and affordable piece on Liaison. Liaison’s sports bras are typically $44, with biker shorts starting at $55 and leggings at $69.
Grace Lusher, a junior studying nursing, said she saw a TikTok about Liaison after the influencer, Sydney Adams, announced a collaboration with the brand.
“I think it is nice that it is a smaller brand and for the quality and the price, it is just really good and I recommend it to a lot of people,” Lusher said.
Lusher said Liaison is comparable to high-end brands, such as Lululemon, and her favorite pieces are biker shorts and sports bras.
Since its first launch five years ago, Liaison has done nothing but flourish, with over 200k followers on Instagram and over 14k on TikTok. Avara said 86% of customers who buy pieces return for a second order and the brand broke the $1 million revenue mark in just two years with sales from across the U.S.
“We have done Boston, we have done Charleston (and) we have done Tampa,” Avara said. “I am also a Pilates instructor, so we just go and I host a Pilates class or a workout class … I would say definitely the most fulfilling part would be getting to meet our customers in real life and seeing the products on them.”
Avara said the brand is opening a new warehouse in Chicago for packing orders and encourages those interested in shopping with Liaison to join the family and wear their new workout sets with pride.
“We really just wanted to create clothing that was extremely functional for the athlete, but also equally as beautiful for the yoga (and) Pilates girlies or the girls who just wear their activewear sets to go get coffee with their friends,” Avara said.
