If you happen to be at the right place on the right day, you might notice Mill Valley’s Chantelle Paige-Mulligan at your favorite coffee shop or park, taking photos of her adorable children in stylish outfits. Not an unusual site in this town. However, unlike most of the others, she has nearly one million social media followers awaiting her next snap. Beyond being a legit content creator, this mother of three has launched a color-forward gender-neutral clothing line. We’ve tracked her down to learn more about her journey.
How did you become an influencer/content creator?
About seven years ago, I was living in L.A., signed with Interscope Records and touring all over Europe as a musician (in the band Flipsyde), but I wanted a change. Around the same time, I started to date my now-husband. It cemented my wanting to part ways with music and move into a new area.
While I figured out what to do next, I fell into some promotional opportunities with Musical.ly — an app that we now know as TikTok. This was early in content creation, and being one of the first allowed me to substantially grow my followers from 10,000 to almost one million. I was able to secure brand deals and slowly started making a living creating content.
Highlights of your music career?
Having ~35,000 people shouting your song lyrics while you sing on stage. It was the most surreal moments of my life, singing for Sweden’s largest pop radio station, NRJ’s annual concert after our single “When It Was Good” had been #1 there for the last month or so.
How did your following increase so dramatically?
There were different phases. First was Musical.ly. My sister Savannah Labrant and I started to play around on the app during Christmas, right before it became such a huge sensation. Since there weren’t as many people in the U.S. on the app yet, we got featured often and it started growing our Instagram accounts. The second wave of growth was when I decided to fully do this as my job. I started posting fashion and lifestyle posts in the non-typical smiling vs model-pout way and found some amazing people to follow along on the ride with me.
What is the story behind Senna Case?
I’ve been creating content for other brands for over seven years, and I knew I wanted to create my own clothing line. It was initially a concept for a women’s line, but it switched to a gender neutral line for kids and adults. I had my daughter and when I got pregnant with my son I started buying gender neutral clothes, and her closet became a sea of beige, tan, browns. Love the basics, but it made me realize that there needed to be a gender neutral line of colorful clothing, because purple doesn’t have to just be for girls. So, the idea beat out my original and I moved forward creating Senna Case.
Where did the name Senna Case originate from?
Well, my daughter is Senna and my son is Case. I tried and tried to beat it, but realized I wouldn’t ever love anything more since one, I named them and two, I love them.
Any concerns about having your kids on social media?
Of course! I was doing YouTube for awhile and when I got pregnant my husband and I decided we personally didn’t want to have our kids’ day-to-day lives shared on YouTube. I do share moments on Instagram though. Every person is different and it’s choosing whatever feels right for you, I believe. We also love a judgment free zone over here so if you feel differently in either direction I will cheer you on.
Advice to parents about when kids should have their own accounts?
Again, judgment free zone. Everyone is so beautifully unique. For us, I think it will depend on our kids as they get older, but I’m guessing more junior high into high school. I also don’t know how much of my kids I will show on my own account as they get a little older and can read comments. My kids’ confidence, mental health, and wellbeing are my priority so we will just keep seeing how it all goes as we all grow.
Where do you design and produce your line?
All of our clothes are sustainably handmade in California, including our cutting and sewing team in Oakland, and our female-owned dye house in Novato. We also utilize a lot of deadstock fabrics — fabrics that are typically headed to landfills — and we use all of our scraps to make stuffed animals so we have zero percent waste. Usually, a cutter disposes of the remnant fabric scraps that get tossed into landfill, but with the help of my good friend KK Sample who had experience in sourcing, and a deep love of sustainability, Senna Case is entirely designed and produced sustainably in California.
What has been your biggest surprise with feedback from your line?
How soft everything is. Comfort was a major pillar of our mission as a brand, and I was so ecstatic when it was so celebrated by others. Our Rayne Set — a jogger and pullover — is my biggest surprise. Seeing it bought in sets for whole families makes me so giddy. It’s what I intended, but as we all know in life sometimes the plan isn’t what happens.
What do you love most about Marin?
The charm of Marin is palpable. It’s where I want to, and do, create all my content. I used to be slightly embarrassed that I’d run into acquaintances or friends from my kids’ school while creating content around town, but now I just own it and take pride in shooting content in the incredible surroundings that we get to live in. It’s too stunning to not soak in every ounce of it. So, you’ll see a lot of your favorite spots on our Instagram @SennaCase.
