Modern Fashion: Maria Glezelli Of Maria Glezelli Jewellery On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today
An Interview With Candice Georgiadice
Believe in yourself. I repeat this to myself every morning in front of the mirror. Everyone should do that, every morning. I think that the ability of believing in your own qualities can be a very powerful tool. They say that if you believe you can do it you are already half way, and I would add that you are likely to succeed and to do it very quickly. This doesn’t mean that is easy, believing in yourself takes a lot of self-discipline and practice and it doesn’t come in a day. But when you master this art, you will see the benefits in every aspect of your life.
Many in the fashion industry have been making huge pivots in their business models. Many have turned away from the fast fashion trend. Many have been focusing on fashion that also makes a social impact. Many have turned to sustainable and ethical sourcing. Many have turned to hi tech manufacturing. Many have turned to subscription models. What are the other trends that we will see in the fashion industry? What does it take to lead a successful fashion brand today?
In our series called, “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today” we are talking to successful leaders of fashion brands who can talk about the Future of Fashion and the 5 things it takes to lead a successful fashion brand in our “new normal.”
As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Maria Glezelli.
Maria Glezelli is a Jewellery Designer and Founder of the Maria Glezelli Jewellery brand www.mariaglezelli.com , a “company of one” focusing on completely handmade and sustainable jewellery with the purpose of empowering women to be proud of their origins and value their heritage. Working in the intersection between fashion and jewellery, she has built a zero-waste business and her biggest secret is that all pieces are entirely made by hand by using a traditional knitting technique, without the use of any machinery.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?
When I was 5 years old, I realised that I wanted to become an artist. I used to spend hours learning new crafts, drawing and creating all sorts of things from decorations to gifts. Later, a special person, my grandmother taught me how to knit and that memory has always accompanied me throughout my journey. At the same time, I spent a lot of time in theatres, museums and art spaces and I like to think that they somehow nurtured my creativity.
Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?
When I grew up, I knew that a career in fine art was a clear choice for me. However, while I was studying at the university of fine arts, I reached the point where I wasn’t sure of what direction to follow. I started experimenting with different materials and techniques and after a lot of research I decided that I would explore the intersection between art and fashion. My graduate project was a series of wearable costumes and body adornments in an effort to revive historic periods through time. I continued working on a bigger scale when I realised that there was a lot of demand in the jewellery sector. The technique I had developed until that moment was very uncommon and different from the jewellery methods that were popular in the market and I had a lot of people requesting bespoke jewellery made with my technique. That was the first time I started making jewellery and I gradually moved from the large to the small scale.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
A few years ago, I applied to take part in an international exhibition in Los Angeles. To my surprise, I was selected and after receiving the invitation directly from the exhibition’s curator, I decided to physically attend the opening ceremony. I travelled all the way from Europe and I had the most interesting and amazing experience in my life. From the people I met there to the feedback I received to the travelling experience I had, everything strongly influenced my later life decisions. A few months later, I decided to move to London where I founded my business. I know now that this trip gave me the motive and the courage to change my life significantly.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Being a CEO, I believe you should have a variety of skills that would help you stay in the game in the long run.
I remember reading about why new businesses fail. Many researches prove that the first reason is resilience. When I read that, it was a big revelation for me. I soon realised that staying focused and not letting any failure defeat you on the path to success is a fundamental quality. Being resilient is challenging and at the same time the most important to hold close to your thoughts and your heart.
Adaptability is also vital and will make your life much easier if you realise the power of it. As a leader, you will face a lot of challenges and changes and often you will find yourself dealing with unexpected events. Being able to adapt and change your way of thinking to come up with new solutions for your business is a contributing factor to the growth of it. For example, some time ago, I was testing some marketing campaigns through a known social media platform, the preliminary results however were very different from what I was expecting and I soon realised that I would have to allocate a different budget than initially planned. Because I had quite a strict budget/goals ratio, I decided to abandon the campaigns and focus on a different promotion strategy. Luckily the new strategy proved very successful and hadn’t I adapted to the new situation, I would probably have spent a lot of money without getting the same results.
Lastly, the ability to connect and collaborate with people is necessary for success. Today, where we operate more in inter-connected environments and less in hierarchical ones, by sharing our ideas and listening to others’ opinions, we can truly build valuable relationships and organically expand our knowledge. I like to surround myself with people, experts in a variety of fields and then flood them with questions, from technical to abstract questions, every drop of knowledge counts and the synergies that are being created are priceless.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
The fact that each of my products is entirely made by hand without any machinery is what makes my business unique. In a fast-paced environment where we people are heavily dependent on technology, I decided to do things differently. Working with your hands is a very unique process — you develop a relationship with the tools which eventually become an extension of yourself. When you come across a handicraft — an item that has been used or created by one of your ancestors — you don’t just see a tangible piece; you see the years and feel their hands, you preserve a moment of their lifetime. Reminding people of their ancestors through a piece of jewellery is what I envision to achieve through my business.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favourite quote is “everything happens for a reason”. I happen to say this quote to myself almost every day and it follows me wherever I go. A prime example can really be the recent pandemic. Two years ago, when the pandemic started, cases were going up in every country and restrictive measures were applied everywhere. I found myself in a very difficult situation, I lost my job and everything seemed dark around me. Instead of closing myself to the outdoor world I took the situation as a wakeup call and I decided to focus solely on my business and put all my energies into developing it and growing it. After two years I feel very proud of myself and of what I have learned. I am very conscious of the fact that hadn’t been for the pandemic, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Do you see any fascinating developments emerging over the next few years in the fashion industry that you are excited about? Can you tell us about that?
Definitely the whole world is making sustainability a primary focus. In recent years I saw all the brands, from the major to the small ones, becoming more aware of the importance of sustainability. I also see that businesses are giving every day more importance to the ‘’human’’ factor, there is less interest in producing at every cost and more focus on quality, working conditions and giving back to the society. This of course aligns with my values and I couldn’t be more excited to see what the future holds.
Can you share how your brand is helping to bring goodness to the world?
One of my main values is to help women believe in themselves. With my pieces and my philosophy, I aim at empowering women, making them aware of their origins and by doing so of their power. Although it is a very small contribution to the goodness of the world, I like to think that everything matters and that no matter how small, everyone should contribute in their own way.
Can you share with our readers about the ethical standards you use when you choose where to source materials?
Sustainability is at the core of my business, by working only with my hands and basic tools I have a very limited yet sustainable and ethical production; this allows me to control the supply chain and to use only ethically sourced materials. I am a big believer of quality over quantity and I encourage everyone to take a stance and fight for a more sustainable world.
Fast fashion has an advantage, that it is affordable for most people, but it also has the drawback that it does not last very long and is therefore not very sustainable. What are your thoughts about this? How does your company address this question?
I believe that hyper-consumption is the core of fast fashion’s exploitative nature. The need for ‘more’ without thought has surpassed the need to sustain ethical practises. Slow fashion restores the consumer with the artistry of a piece, creating an emotional connection through storytelling and at the same time, it ensures that sustainability is preserved. Sustainability is deeply present in every aspect of my company, from the small handmade production, to the use of ethically sourced materials and the use of an ancient technique instead of mass production machines.
Thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand”. Please share a story or example for each.
Resilience is definitely one of the main traits that a Fashion Brand leader should have. In a very fast world where things evolve and change day by day, being resilient and not giving up is of paramount importance. Business leaders who have the ability to operate under pressure, cope with changes and recover quickly from setbacks, can advance faster and unlock their performance potential.
What goes together with having resilience is having a purpose. If resilience is a state of mind that guides you in the right direction, a meaningful purpose is what makes you look forward to the next day, with a smile on your face. A purpose gives you the energy and the motive not to give up and not to diverge from your path.
Another challenging aspect of being a leader is being willing to go way beyond your comfort zone by seizing opportunities and taking risks to create change. As humans, we feel more comfortable when using a limited set of behaviours to deliver a task and most of the time avoiding risks makes us feel secure. But effective leaders know that when stepping out of their comfort zone, improvement will follow; because for most things to change they have to be challenged.
Believe in yourself. I repeat this to myself every morning in front of the mirror. Everyone should do that, every morning. I think that the ability of believing in your own qualities can be a very powerful tool. They say that if you believe you can do it you are already half way, and I would add that you are likely to succeed and to do it very quickly. This doesn’t mean that is easy, believing in yourself takes a lot of self-discipline and practice and it doesn’t come in a day. But when you master this art, you will see the benefits in every aspect of your life.
Last but not least I believe that you won’t be able to lead a Fashion Brand without being meticulously organised and without having time management skills. It might seem something very operational and practical, at the end everyone has their own way of doing things, however I firmly believe that a solid time and task management foundation is a key factor of success. I used to write my notes on every piece of paper that I found, to keep them everywhere and to write my appointments in multiple places. Day after day I started to lose documents, to miss appointments and to lose control of my business life. I then attended a short project management course that served as an eye opener. I started to organise my thoughts, to write them down in an organic way and to create realistic to-do lists. Since then, I have taken back control of my business and things run much more smoothly than before.
Every industry constantly evolves and seeks improvement. How do you think the fashion industry can improve itself? Can you give an example?
With the advancement of technology there are now new materials that have incredibly long-lasting capabilities and at the same time are very sustainable. I believe that technology can help in shifting from a fast-fashion model to one focused more on quality and durability. After all, the fashion industry not only depends on our planet’s resources but they also consume a lot of them. Promoting social and environmental responsibility will benefit both the brands and the planet in the long run.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
My biggest purpose is to empower women to be proud of where they are coming from. Thousands of women, especially in local communities and minority groups, are fighting every day for their rights and they get discriminated against because of their ethnicity. Our rich history enabled us to learn about past societies, ideologies and cultures and help us form our understanding of the world. Each culture, race and ethnicity are unique and every woman should feel proud of who they are whether this is their history, their family traditions, their linguistic or skin colour background. If I could start a movement, it would be supporting women in every possible way and fostering a more inclusive education to contribute to a better and dignified society.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
They can follow my social channels, especially Instagram @maria.glezelli and also my main website www.mariaglezelli.com.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
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