Nasty Gal founder gets her own Netflix series
By Brittney MacDonald, Life & Style Editor
Buying clothes online is such a common occurrence nowadays that it’s hard to imagine a time before, in the long, long ago, when someone looking to start a boutique website was breaking new ground. One such pioneer was Sophia Amoruso, the founder of online clothing store Nasty Gal.
According to her autobiography #GIRLBOSS (2014), Amoruso began her online career with an Ebay store called Nasty Gal Vintage. Making good use of her formal education in photography and her passion for vintage clothing circa the ’60s–’80s, Amoruso was able to turn a profit on clothes she bought for next to nothing. She eventually took her business to its own domain after she was banned from Ebay. The cause of the ban is up for debate, though Amoruso said it was due to her posting hyperlinks in her replies to customer feedback, while others claim she was artificially inflating bids. Amoruso denied this.
Nasty Gal, as we know it now, launched in 2006 and boasts over 500,000 customers worldwide. In 2012 it was named one of Inc. Magazines’ fastest growing companies, and Forbes named Amoruso one of the richest self-made women in the world. Currently, her net worth is approximately $280 million. That’s not bad for someone who used to steal her clothes out of dumpsters.
In January of 2015, Amoruso decided to step down as CEO of Nasty Gal, and in November of 2016 Amoruso resigned as executive chairwoman after Nasty Gal had to file for bankruptcy.
Despite all this, Netflix decided her rags-to-riches story—as well as her jumbled and often comedic autobiography—was interesting enough to put their spin on. With a plethora of powerful women at its helm—we’re talking names like Charlize Theron, Pitch Perfect’s Kay Cannon, Young Adult’s Beth Kono, and Amoruso herself—it’s hard to imagine that Netflix’s Girlboss will be anything less than fascinating television.
The series will star Tomorrowland’s Britt Robertson, and the first season will be available on April 21.
