A New Chapter on PEI: The Story of Stara Fashion

From Footwear Manufacturing to Children’s Boutique

Rachel Pham was born and raised in Phú Yên, a coastal province in central Vietnam. She began her career in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s commercial capital, eventually rising to become the country director of an American company before pivoting into entrepreneurship 23 years ago. “In Vietnam at that time, there were very few footwear manufacturing companies owned by Vietnamese people. My husband and I wanted to prove a point to ourselves and to the world,” she says. Rachel had worked in the textile, furniture, and pottery industries, and her husband previously had a career as an auditor at a global consulting firm. But footwear manufacturing was an entirely new terrain. Nevertheless, they felt that they could learn along the way and set up the factory. This decision paid off and the couple began to produce for many global brands, shipping their products across the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Spain. They also developed and launched their own footwear brands, which were sold at major department stores in Vietnam.

Years later, as their business and family grew, Rachel and her husband began to consider a change of pace and opportunities for their children to see more of the world. They placed their children in a Canadian international school in Ho Chi Minh City and planned to move as a family to Canada after the graduation of their eldest child from high school. “We wanted to stay together as a family and, especially after the pandemic, we were ready for a quieter, more peaceful pace of life,” she says. The family landed in Charlottetown in September 2022 and were immediately taken by the Island’s natural beauty. One week later, Hurricane Fiona struck, severely damaging hundreds of kilometres of coastline, downing millions of trees, and throwing tens of thousands of people into darkness in its wake. In the midst of this devastation, the selflessness and care Rachel and her family witnessed gave assurance that they had made the right choice.

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Finding Community and Support

Once a semblance of normalcy and electricity was restored, Rachel began to work on her business, bringing her business acumen and creativity across borders. Her business, Stara Fashion, is a boutique in Charlottetown specializing in hand-smocked clothing and shoes for babies and children. Hand-smocking is a special embroidery technique applied to pleated fabric by hand for a decorative effect. Rachel wore hand-smocked dresses as a little girl and had an aunt who made these dresses. “A major benefit of running my previous business is how familiar I am with brands that make shoes for babies and young children. We carry only products that can meet the needs of children whose feet are still growing,” she says. Three years in and with locations at the Confederation Court Mall and the Seaport Market, Rachel is at peace with the decision to make Prince Edward Island her home. “PEI Connectors has been a big help for my business. Especially in Stara’s first year, there was a lot to figure out, and having resources and networks to lean on was extremely valuable,” she says.

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