Our Founder

Couture Staff is owned and managed by Erik Perez, a graduate of the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations. At Cornell, Erik formally studied Human Resource Management and the Psychology of the Workplace.

Erik received a Bachelor of Science Degree from Cornell in 1995.

About Erik Perez

Upon graduation from Cornell, Erik was accepted into the Saks Fifth Avenue Buyer Training Program at 12 East 49th Street where he studied Luxury Merchandising for the top rated Division 1 Women’s Buying Office covering Donna Karan, Calvin Klein and Giorgio Armani under the leadership of Rose Marie Bravo and Marla Sabo. Erik dealt with all of the Division 1 Department Managers and served as a liaison to the Vendors. Erik then moved into an HR Analyst position in the Tower 49 Corporate Human Resources office at Saks where he handled Training and Development for the Full Line stores dealing directly with the Store General Managers and Retail Service and Selling specialists.

After 3 years at Saks, Erik was approached by several staffing agencies for positions in Luxury and ended up taking an interest in the world of Executive Recruitment for himself. Erik chose the top staffing firm in Midtown and went on to serve as a lead Recruiting Director for seven straight years before eventually launching his own agency, Couture Staff. 

Erik’s Intro to Interviewing & the World of Luxury

Erik was first introduced to Interviewing & the World of Luxury when he was just 13 years old. Erik’s father took him downtown on the number 1 train to the original Barney’s New York on 17th Street and Seventh Avenue to shop for a suit to wear to his Interview for Regis High School, a prestigious Jesuit High School on the upper east side. 

The actual event of going downtown shopping for a first suit by itself seemed daunting to a 13 year old and, when Erik walked into that Luxury Store, he was overwhelmed by its prestige. Erik was immediately greeted by friendly Barney’s Staff everywhere and eventually made his way over to the Men’s Boutique where he was approached by a very Senior Level Sales Associate named Anna. 

Anna gave Erik a strong handshake and welcomed him into the Private Boutique where she pointed to an array of perfectly hung suits, folded shirts and magnificent ties. Anna told Erik the names of all of the designers and explained the differences in styles, fit and colors. She made it clear that Navy Blue and Charcoal Grey were the perfect colors for a serious interview.

Erik felt extremely relaxed and comfortable with Anna. He thought he had come to Barney’s just to buy a suit, but ended up walking to the register with a complete outfit for his interview, including a pair of great shoes. Anna thanked Erik and his dad for shopping with her that morning and wished Erik the best of luck on his Regis High School interview. She even gave Erik her business card and asked that he call her after the interview to hear how things went.

Erik felt like he made a friend that morning and walked away from Barney’s feeling excited, confident and ready for that interview.  Several weeks later when Erik received his acceptance letter to Regis High School, he thought of his shopping experience at Barneys and immediately called Anna to share the good news.

Erik has dedicated this site to his father and his late wife who both passed away from difficult battles with cancer. Erik’s wife was always a fan of designer brands and was the driving force who pushed Erik to eventually start his own agency.