Anine Bing may be best known for building a global fashion empire around effortless wardrobe staples, but behind the brand’s polished exterior, the designer was quietly struggling. Speaking to marie claire Australia Editor Georgie McCourt on the podcast You’re Gonna Want To Hear This, Bing revealed that years of relentless work, motherhood and personal upheaval had left her burnt out and disconnected from herself.
“I think as a woman we evolve,” the 43-year-old said. “For me, it was many layers. It was in my marriage, it was in the business, it was in actually many areas of my life, and I needed to make a change.”
Bing did exactly that, making significant changes in both her personal life and the business she founded almost 15 years ago.
“I think I had some kind of awakening, which I hear happens to a lot of women when they hit their 40s,” she said. “It’s been a deep inner journey, but I’m on the other side now, and I feel so good.”
Looking back, Bing believes the shift had been building for years. She was simply too busy to acknowledge it.
“I was so busy just building, building, building. Little kids, business, life,” she explained. “I didn’t have time to actually sit with myself and truly feel how I felt.”
Her eventual burnout did not arrive all at once. “It kind of creeps up on you,” she said. “I’m a very ambitious person, and I love what I do, so it’s also a fine line because, when you love what you do, you just keep going.”
For more than a decade, Bing balanced raising her two children with opening stores, travelling internationally and expanding her namesake label.
“Looking back, I don’t even know how I did it,” she said. “But then one day, it just hit me, and I could almost not get out of bed.”
At the time, self-care was virtually non-existent. “I didn’t work out, I didn’t take time for self-care. I barely saw my girlfriends,” Bing admitted. “It was truly just family life and building this.”
Today, she has radically changed how she approaches her days. Bing begins each morning by writing down 10 things she is grateful for, before making time to move her body through walking or Pilates.
“My nervous system was fried,” she said of the aftermath of burnout and divorce. “I can feel now when it’s getting too much.”
“And I come first now because everything else is so much better when I take care of myself. I just really try to nurture my body and be kinder to myself.”
The change has been profound. “I truly feel I’m the happiest I’ve ever been,” Bing said. “I just feel like I’m back to myself, to the joy. Almost like when you’re a teenager and feel joyful. I feel like I’m back to that Anine.”
For women currently navigating the end of a relationship, Bing offered a message of hope.
“A lot of women are going through divorce, and it takes a year or two to really get to the other side,” she said. “They shouldn’t lose hope, because it’s so nice when you get to the other side.”
Her advice is both practical and deeply personal: lean on friends, seek therapy, journal, explore new interests and remember that healing does not have to be relentlessly serious.
“Self-care, girlfriends. It’s so important to have a great group of friends around you for the ups and downs,” she said. “Inner work, whatever that looks like for the individual. Therapy, journaling, having fun, have a martini with your girlfriends. Dive deep, but also remember to have fun.”
Bing has channelled much of her experience into music and is currently working on an album titled Chapter Two.
“Each song is really about this whole journey that I’ve been on, from divorce to where I am today,” she revealed. “For me, it’s been my inner journey, my therapy.”
While fashion remains a global business, music offers her a creative space without commercial pressure. “It’s just my thing,” she said. “There’s no pressure of anything. It’s just for me to create.”
She is also preparing to launch a Substack after receiving an outpouring of messages from women experiencing similar challenges. One of her first posts will share 20 things that helped her through divorce.
“I want to share, I want to help other women with anything from going through a divorce to finding the perfect blazer to the perfect lipstick,” she said. “I just love connecting with women and helping empower them in some way.”
Bing’s personal evolution has also reshaped her definition of success. It is no longer simply about the size of her company or its international reach.
“Success now is to walk into the office and still wake up every day loving what I do, but also having the balance to be a mom, have girlfriends and write music,” she said. “Success is that I could buy my own house and buy the couch that I loved. It’s small things, big things. It’s everything in between.”
After leaving her former home behind, Bing chose not to bring any furniture into her new space. Instead, she spent a year slowly sourcing vintage pieces and creating a home that felt entirely her own.
“There’s something really special about doing it all on your own,” she said. “I kind of wanted a fresh start.”
For now, that new chapter does not include rushing into another relationship.
“I love love, but right now I’m so happy being alone,” she said. “I’m not looking to jump into a new relationship or live with a man. I’m very happy on my own right now, and that’s a powerful feeling.”
“I have a lot of love in my heart, but right now I’m putting it into my business, my kids and everything else.”
That renewed confidence is evident in the way Bing now leads both her life and her company. She describes herself as “super direct, super decisive” but also “a kind leader”, and says she no longer doubts her instincts as frequently.
“I always have a very good gut feeling,” she said. “I’ve had that since I was a little girl, and I listen to it.”
After years of feeling she had not fully used her voice, Bing now sees speaking openly as part of her purpose.
“I’m a much better communicator today than I was before,” she said. “I feel it’s almost my obligation to use my voice and share my thoughts, because if I can just help one woman out there, it’s worth it.”
As for the best part of being in her 40s? Her answer was simple: “Being comfortable in my own skin.”
And the message she most wants other women to hear is equally clear.
“Don’t give up,” Bing said. “I’ve been really deep in darkness myself, so if you are there, don’t give up, because it will get better. Keep working on yourself and manifest your dream future.”
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