Karis Durmer always knew she wanted a career in fashion. But it took a stint in finance (Bear Stearns), a stop-off at Columbia Business School, and experiences in publishing (Martha Stewart and Conde Nast) and startups (Make Meaning) to get there.

Today, Durmer is the ceo of Altuzarra, the maker of powerfully sexy clothes for women. (Not girls, women. Carine Roitfeld is a champion and muse and the team tells me that Helen Mirren is a “dream client.”) Durmer, who sits at a desk off to the side of company’s SoHo showroom and design studio, might have been an unlikely candidate for the gig in September 2011, when founder Joseph Altuzarra brought her on as his business partner. His mother, Karen Altuzarra, was his first ceo and is now chairman of the company.

Durmer was introduced to Altuzarra by a mutual friend at Proenza Schouler, where she was working for a brief time. While that certainly sounds like a convenient connection, it wasn’t always that easy.

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