3 minute read
An Ethical Winter – Tanya Shahid, Founder of ELVIRÉ, on creating luxe vegan-friendly outerwear
AN ETHICAL WINTER
Tanya Shahid, Founder of ELVIRÉ on creating luxe vegan-friendly outerwear
What do the first 30 minutes of your day look like, your morning routine? I begin the day with a nutritious breakfast. As I’m a morning person, I look forward to waking up. I then move on to answering my emails and prepare a to-do list before leaving the house. Depending on the day, I will either be heading to my warehouse or to the office. Every single day imposes a sense of newness. Either I’m dealing directly with the customers, managing suppliers or being more hands on with the design process. What inspired you to launch ELVIRÉ? My family business inspired me to start something of my own. My father has his own import and export company, that really showed me the power of entrepreneurship. I’ve always loved fashion, so, travelling to Paris and seeing all the latest collections made me want to start my own brand. I love the winter season, so launching my own label that caters to the cooler months was the perfect fit. The brand has adopted sustainable practices. Was this the mission from the outset? As a brand we believe sustainability goes beyond caring for the environment. Sustainability is fundamental for success. Consumers are more aware of ethical brand practices, especially millennials. We have adopted a pre-order service, this way we are not wasting any material and customers can still secure an ELVIRÉ piece. Without any compromise on our packaging, we ensure that each material is both sustainable and environmentally friendly. Could you describe the design process at ELVIRÉ Paris? All the designing is done by our small team in Paris, who are extremely creative. We take inspiration from everywhere. How important was the perfect fabrication to you and how long did it take to refine this? Fabrication is extremely important. Majority of our fabrics come from South Korea, China and France. We make sure all fabrics meet the correct standard and this process usually spans between one to two months before we see the final result. Which piece is your signature which drives sales season after season? Our faux fur range and our extra-long wool coat is definitely a must own. Our extra-long wool coat has been the most popular piece and continues to be so to date. The extra-long wool coat is a staple piece and its timeless appeal caters to a vast audience. Do you feel more drawn to the creative or the business side of the brand and how have you grown the team to support this? I’m most certainly drawn to the business elements of the label. After pursuing a degree in business and economics, this side most definitely comes naturally to me. However, the creative side is great, along with the de-
sign making process and eventually seeing the final product. What has been the biggest hurdle since launching a new brand and how did you navigate it? Like most businesses we were affected by the pandemic. Personally, the year has been challenging with several unexpected hurdles. Despite the restrictions imposed, we were able to conduct business online and still reach out to our customers and provide them with our services. How has social media affected the business and which platform has been most useful? Social media has undoubtedly played a key role in shaping the business. With Instagram being our most powerful tool to spread the word, this has contributed to a major part in our success as we’ve managed to reach customers globally. This is December’s The Winter Escape Issue, where would you like to escape to? My favourite city, Paris. I travel to Paris the most during winter – its magical and beautiful during the festive season.
