{STYLE} Navabi's Style Council is Live!
A few months back, I was whisked away for a rather impromptu trip to Berlin, Germany to meet the brains behind navabi, a German-based retailer that sells premier brands in extended sizes. I had little context, and everything was very hush-hush, but never one to shy away from a bit of spontaneity, I packed my bags and hopped on a plane back to Europe for a few days. What unfolded while I was there was a pretty inspiring whirlwind. Continue...
After settling in to my hotel room in Mitte and passing out for several hours, I set out to explore Berlin by myself. I had been in Berlin severly years ago, but it's a rapidly changing city, and only the main landmarks and streets stood out as being familiar. I sat myself in Wittenburgplatz (a park behind Berlin's famous KaDeWe department store) and enjoyed a Currywurst, pint of pilsner (when in Rome, etc), and my copies of German Vogue (with Karl Lagerfeld's cat, Choupette, and Linda Evangelista on the cover, naturally). After that, I set out to do some shopping, with & Other Stories high up on my list.
The following morning, I met four other girls, along with the navabi team, and finally found out what brought me to Berlin. Navabi had big plans to expand their business and develop a Style Council - a group of international influencers who would help advise the company as they grow in the market. We'd each be ambassadors, bringing our own areas to the expertise to the table. I was intrigued and when they began discussion their vision (or "Curvision," as it was dubbed), the opportunity to be part of a brands growth and guide how their creative direction will evolve became irresistible. Before fashion took over most parts of my life, I worked as design strategy for a Branding consultancy, so taking a high-level and analytical approach towards the fashion market spoke to me 100%.
Today, what I've been working on behind the scenes with navabi is finally live, and the Style Council is born! I'm working with Navabi and Fluvia, Laura, Luciana, Elisa, and Edith - representing the US, Brasil, UK, Germany, Italy, and The Netherlands.
As part of the Style Council, we'll all be working with navabi behind the scenes, as well as creating editorial content for their site and their blog. You can find my first editorial (and shop some of my favorite looks) here! The photo in the preview banner is just a little sneak preview - but you can probably guess that the topic is on wearing denim.
Sweater c/o Carmakoma, Top c/o Carmakoma, Leather Jacket by Topshop, Jeans c/o WetSeal+, Heels by Deena & Ozzy, Lips Clutch by Lulu GuinnessI'm really excited about the beginning of this relationship and taking all of my insight and experiences both as a consumer, an art director, a strategist, and as an editor to the navabi table.
What do you think?? If you could advise a plus-size brand on their direction and development, what would you tell them?