Upcoming Australian fashion designer Priyanka Misra has a philanthropic vision “Dress To Impact” that is set revolutionise online shopping through her label SOVO Collection.
The Sydney born and bred 22-year-old Economics student is a creative visionary who never considered becoming a fashion designer, much less starting a label of her own. Her hobby was tweaking her outfits while her passion and interest were more in the stream of artworks and painting.
“I never thought to pursue fashion seriously.”
Designers and designer labels; the forerunners of the fashion world are slowly scraping away the perception that the fashion arena is a self-absorbed elitist with its increasing philanthropic outlook. It is just no longer donating a certain percent of the proceeds from a limited collection once but rather altering its business model to have an ongoing contribution. Gala nights, limited collection and the dependency of customers to purchase items to make a difference for cause is becoming a thing of the past. Fashion is becoming ‘wearable compassion’ statement pieces. Fashion clients are increasingly aware of the philanthropic side of fashion. Fitting fashion and philanthropy into an equation provide the clients with a positive shopping experience.
Newcomer Misra has embarked her voyage into the fashion world with the philanthropic outlook, not the usual standards and practices of an upcoming designer. Most new designers would aim to build their empire before turning towards a charity to contribute.
Misra has built SOVO on the foundation of high-end dresses with a charitable giving and draws her inspiration to create dresses from women of class and compassion, like Amal Clooney, Angelina Jolie and Emma Watson. Her frustration stems from brands “selling for the sake of selling” and are not reflective of the extraordinary, intelligent and elegant women . One of Misra’s mission with SOVO is to convey that there is more to a woman than just a pretty face – “Fashionista”, and her label is set out to focus on women with substance and depth.
“I see the modern woman is a very well rounded individual. She is intelligent, thoughtful, creative and elegant. That’s why SOVO is a mix of the sophisticated, strong independent women and the generous, caring side”. – Misra
The journey that led Misra to become a designer was the lack of unique dresses and the built-up frustration with ordinary dresses that have the standard designs in twenty different colours. She has created a business model that not only addresses and cater the frustration of lack of unique dresses through a premium online shopping experience but is also embarking on journey to feed a child for a week with 21 meals- 14 snacks and seven glasses of milk from 20 percent of the proceeds made from each dress sold.
FIB had an exclusive interview with designer Priyanka Misra about her philanthropic label.
How did SOVO and its concept of Dress to Impact come by?
I have been working on it for the past year and had the launch about two months ago. So, still very new. Dress To Impact started with my love for the concept of social business through doing development economics as a subject at University. There was always a lot of discussion on the possible means of not having to give up on the consumer’s behalf to help developing countries. It was a matter of transitioning wealth since we pay so much with a lot of money being transferred. I am not asking people to take anything away from online shopping, rather it will just be a component of it. This will be done through the restructuring of the business which is not hard to do and so far consumers have been very positive and receptive towards SOVO.
The inspiration behind SOVO’s 21 meals, 14 snacks and 7 glasses of milk.
I was inspired by the American brand TOMS and their One-For-One concept. The concept model is that for each shoe purchased, a shoe will be donated to a child. I thought it would be fantastic if it was like a clothing in a piece of clothing. So, I Skyped a lot of orphanages to see who were credible and I discovered the Miracle Foundation. I realised if I were to go down the route of clothes, objects or items, it would be a matter of deciding which child gets it. I am not comfortable with choosing a child. Also, there has been a lot of criticism for these kinds of models for taking away from local manufacturers and I have no intention to disrupt anything when it’s meant to be a helping process. So I figured, the food was the best way as all of it is bought locally.
I wanted it to be more substantial than just a dress buys a meal or dress buys a snack. It had to be an actual impact that is actually substantial as opposed to a marketing pitch or a marketing angle. This was not going to be a just a namesake label- a dress for a meal.
I have agreed with the orphanage to send the donation at the end of every month.
Reason behind the name SOVO
SOVO stands for Social Vogue. I did a lot of research into what works in terms of name. SOVO is short and catchy and I found Social Vogue was had a nice spin to it and it was memorable and easy to say.
You have not conformed to the standards practices of upcoming designers . Why is that?
A lot of what I am doing is not the norm which I didn’t even notice when I started it. Especially with aspects like the models being Indian and using my friends as models. People were saying they were so glad not to see the blonde skinny tall models. It’s what I want SOVO to be.
What’s the thought process behind your designing process?
It is definitely my target audience – the Amal Clooneys and Angelina Jolies. I know people who are so multidimensional and talented and I’m trying to embody all those aspects into a dress.
I work with excellent fabric (like satin, chiffon, silk and so forth) because the person who will wear my dress deserves something that is substantial, with unique colours, detailed designs, intricate work, fun, edgy and classy and most of all lasts a long time. I am trying put all these aspects into one dress and every time I make a dress I focus on who my target. It shouldn’t be the other way around- this is the dress and you wear it. For me, it is who you are and I use your qualities to make a dress out of it.
My label will not be trend chasing. That’s what frustrated me initially – everything was same at every store. I was struggling to find something unique. Why would I want to conform to what everybody is wearing?
People are becoming increasingly concerned about the ethical dimension of fashion. What is your view on the ethical dimension of fashion?
If it was a matter of choice, hundred percent, I would go for the positive impact. The problem is that people haven’t been presented with the choice before. I know that if I had a choice of the same thing, the exact same service, same product and same quality and an alternate which had a positive spin to it, I will choose the ethical the option. I think so many people would. That’s why I was always interested in the work done by TOMS. Ethical hasn’t been mainstream before but I find that if it is ethical, it’s always grunge fashion.
Have you always been motivated to help out others?
Yes, it started with Duke of Ed and very time I would visit India, I’d always go to an orphanage and last year I was working part-time at a nursing home. It has always been a part of me and something that I have done from ever since I could remember.
What is your favourite part about being a fashion designer?
I love it. I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I do. Every day, I look forward to working on SOVO. In the beginning, designing started off as a stress reliever and a hobby. I love being able to completely invest my time in all the aspects of SOVO, whether it be marketing, fabrics or colours. I find all of it, fascinating. It’s the subtle elements that make a huge difference. I have started to read books into the psychology behind dressing and fabrics; why people dress a certain way and what is their dress sense says about them.
Being a fashion designer is a 24/7 job. At the end of a full day of work, I read, YouTube, and research designs. I don’t mind it is it takes all my time. SOVO is very important to me, it has become a part of my everyday life and I will nourish it and look after it. Initially, I did not expect to gain a lot of moment, especially with the pre-orders and inquiries from American within the first two days, of launching. I was actually not expecting international inquiries for another year.
In the beginning, I was completely hesitant about exposing myself to the world, since no one knew about my concept or that I was working on it. The exposure has been very positive.
Oh yeah, for sure. I’ve already had major ones! The first biggest setback was the packaging. The packaging boxes arrived in Sydney without my knowledge and had been sitting in the storage for ten days and I had to pay thousands of dollars in storage costs, to get it out. It was all due to miscommunication with the Chinese manufacturers and a complete waste of money, especially every penny is so crucial. It was definitely a huge learning curve for me. I learned the hard way I have to be on top of it. Now I am in the process of getting the dresses and I am completely pedantic about it with emailing every day.
How do you balance creativity with e-commerce?
To be honest, I am still in the learning process. I did finance and economics at University. Marketing and social media is a very new platform for me but luckily I have had a lot of help from friends who are experts in that area. I find Social Media to be so fascinating. I completely underestimated its significance. So, it’s still a very new learning curve for in the e-commerce area and I am managing it.
What sets you apart from other e-commerce sites?
I find, the quality in terms of online dressing, was always a gamble. I want SOVO to be an investment piece and if I could slap a quality insurance on it I would because and my label will not be a gamble when it comes to quality. I have got so many samples made from so many suppliers which I had to pay the premium for it because the quality is very important to me. Also, I didn’t understand why a good quality dress would be packaged in a plastic bag. That’s the reason behind the using beautiful boxes for packaging for my dresses. Even though the postage costs packaging costs more for me, there will be nothing lacking when someone gets their dress.
Where do you see yourself in a year, in five years and in 10 years time with SOVO?
Within the next year, I would love to be able to expand the range of clothes. Broadening the product range by starting a men’s line and establish a warehouse in America.
In five years time, I would like to spread the way it gives, by shoes or clothes so it doesn’t involve choosing children. I will focus on expanding from out of India to other countries like China or Africa. The foundation I am in collaboration with is looking to expand and they recently got approved to build orphanages in South-East Asia. I will most likely expand my range with them (Miracle Foundation). In ten years time – Ultimately this should be the way consumers shop. While a portion of it will go substantially to help someone in a seamless process of shopping.
Are you keen on collaborating with other upcoming ethical designers?
Definitely, it will be a such a good way to build a community and get the word out.
Will you be blogging on a regular basis?
Definitely, I have been working closely with writers on bringing out SOVO’s voice. SOVO will be a unique platform where intelligent modern women will come and read articles with substance, that are relevant to them. It will be useful for the specific targeted audience I have in mind.
Will you consider having a runway show with your collection and see yourself in the Fashion Week Australia to Paris Fashion Week one day?
I have not thought that far as of yet, but definitely, one day. I want to be a unique brand with unique designs and if that opportunity came up, definitely. “The SOVO Collection at Paris Fashion Week!”
So you have made your first step into the industry? Has it been kind to you so far?
The industry has been extremely kind, so far, especially in terms of reception, it has been overwhelmingly positive.