Sustainable and ethical fashion is a growing international category, with consumers shifting their focus as they continue to gain awareness of their consumer choices, with that we’re seeing a rise in sustainable start ups and ethically focused brands and designers. Today we meet designer and POA brand founder Felizia Gustafsson. Informed from a background in luxury retail and inspired by sustainable futures, POA was born in 2019 with a core collection of 4 bags inspired by nature and produced to respect the environment. Here we find out more…
Tell us about the POA design aesthetic...
The POA house print is actually inspired by the aging lines found within wood, it’s used across our bags and is a totally unisex print. It’s minimalistic, with purpose and environmental connection that runs through the rest of the POA brand. POA is for the everyday woman on the go who wants to have a practical bag, that looks good and is sustainable too.
Ethics and sustainability is a hot topic within the industry right now - what is POA's approach to sustainability?
POA has a Scandinavian approach to the values of sustainable thinking and designs. We identified that there was a customer who wanted a sustainable and vegan alternative to leathers so we looked to America for production inspiration as veganism is huge in America and many brands over there are using vegan materials. We currently use Polyeurothene and Ecoloria for our bags and we’re exploring the possibility of using Pinatex as well.
POA launched earlier this year, how did you navigate launching a brand into a digital landscape?
We launched in June this year and really maximised free and low cost social media marketing to maximise our visibility and build our brand. From the beginning we worked with celebrities through PR outreach and continue to work with the same celebrities who have now become our muses.
What's next for you and the POA brand?
We’re collaborating with two Swedish brands utilising our house print for a collection of men’s bags which is new and exciting for us as 54% of our demographic on our website is men. We’re also continuing to do collaboration pop ups so our brand fans are able to see the bags in real life before they buy. In addition to this we’re aiming to be in department stores by this time next year.
Images courtesy of POA