If you run an ethical, sustainable, circular, or slow fashion label, you've landed here for a good reason. The Fashion Advocate is the slow fashion ‘business bible’ you’ve been searching for, filled with strategies and solutions to help you change the world with your fashion business while increasing your impact and sales.
If we’re going to create positive change, we need to share wisdom and strategies to support one another through open, honest, and authentic conversations. That’s exactly what my Instagram LIVE chats are all about.
I speak with inspiring individuals doing incredible things in the slow fashion industry. We discuss everything from fashion and business to sustainability, growth strategies, and sales - the good, the bad, the ugly. We cover the topics everyone’s talking about and the ones that need more attention. If it’s happening in the fashion business world, we talk about it in our Instagram LIVE chats.
And today's Instagram LIVE with Angela Foong was a beautiful conversation on all things responsible and sustainable clothing. Angela is one of the three creative minds behind the Australian-made, slow fashion design brand High Tea With Mrs Woo, and she cares deeply about designing with intention, advocating for ethics, and exploring sustainability in fashion.
You can watch the full interview on Instagram here but first, catch up on the three key takeaways from our chat below...
1. Find your tribe and if you can't find it, create it.
Running a slow fashion business is tough, but it’s a lot easier when you have a supportive community. Angela surrounds herself with like-minded people who understand the industry and the ebbs and flows of running a business - a community is essential to staying sane. A cuppa here, a shared meal there, a chat about how hard the week was - Angela believes in the power of fostering a close-knit community for support. She knows firsthand that finding your tribe is an essential part of building a successful fashion business.
2. Growth and evolution are a must.
High Tea With Mrs Woo celebrated its 20th anniversary this year, which is no small feat in an industry as saturated as fashion. Over 60% of businesses close within their first three years, and only one in ten make it through their first decade. Angela and her co-founders, Rowena and Juliana (also her sisters), have evolved and grown with their customers since launching 20 years ago - and that’s one of the keys to their success.
3. Your customers are your North Star.
High Tea With Mrs Woo has a 1700-strong private customer chat group who are treated like VIPs - because they are. Customers are the North Star - without them, none of us have a business. However, Angela doesn’t have a 'customer strategy' driven by KPIs or numbers-based goals. Instead, High Tea With Mrs Woo operates authentically, driven by the purpose of making mindful clothing that makes their customers happy. By doing this so well, their 'customer strategy' organically developed over time. Realness and authenticity always win.
Learn more about High Tea With Mrs Woo via their website here or watch the full Instagram live interview here to learn more about fashion, sustainability, sales and growth strategies that you can apply to your own business.
If you’re running an ethical, sustainable, circular, or slow fashion brand and facing a challenge, tune in to my Instagram LIVE interviews with brands and businesses who have overcome their own challenges - proving that you can too.
You can also reach out to me here.
Claire x
