I'm a fashion editor and I can't stop wearing this necklace
You'll know all about cult jewellery brand Missoma by now, whether you fell in love with Lucy Williams' 1987 collection, the epic advent calendar or the Meghan Markle approved ring. But believe it or not, you're about to see a lot more of it, thanks to a new collection that's already making waves in the fashion world: I myself can't stop wearing it, and it only launched two days ago.
Designer and founder Marisa Hordern drew inspiration from our 'twisted' sides for her surprisingly wearable collection of chains and earrings, to promote self acceptance. Here, she explains the success behind the brand and what's next for Missoma.
SHOP THE MISSOMA TWISTED COLLECTION
What's new for 2020? Talk us through the Twisted Collection.
2019 was an exciting year for Missoma. After some expansive growth in 2018 (we had started the year with a team of 15 and doubled by the end of the year), we dove head first into new exciting projects and adventures, leading us to Colombia and beyond. Most importantly it was a huge year of learning, about ourselves and our community. We defined our brand vision and mission and are taking all our key learnings into 2020 with vigour and excitement.
We have just launched Twisted, which is a playful and adventurous collection designed to celebrate all our weird and wonderful selves. Twisted includes pieces designed to bring out and celebrate the side of yourself you may keep hidden or not always show the world. It was born out of us asking our community about their style, so many responses came back saying 'classic with a twist' – and isn’t the twist the most exciting bit?
Any other collaborations on the cards?
There most certainly are! But not in the way you might expect. We at Missoma are on a mission to create a more confident, creative and collaborative world, and collaborating is something at the very heart of the brand because we do it every day, both internally and externally. As we look to the year ahead, we are looking to drive like-minded brand partnerships across various channels which is so exciting to me. I wish I could say more.. you’ll have to stay tuned!
How has the brand evolved since you started 10 years ago?
If I could have only known where we would be 10 years ago (yes I do pinch myself every day) when I was sitting at the kitchen table with my mum and sister beading jewellery. It took some time to get there, my favourite saying being ‘it takes ten years to become an overnight success’!
But I attribute our success to diligently focusing on finding our ‘sweet spot’, when the design style, quality and price point came together at the same time as we found our core customer and key ambassadors, and learned how to connect them together. The key learning for me was that we had the power to represent and showcase our brand how we wanted it to be seen, to speak to our customers directly and build our own community of followers. This realisation was a turning point for the brand as we moved away from wholesale and traditional media early on and focused all our energy and efforts on owning our own message and channels.
Have you faced any challenges?
I believe any fast growing brand will face endless challenges as they grow, and we are no exception to the rule. I choose to surround myself with a trusted team, and seek outside expertise if we don’t have it in-house. I always say, you’re only as good as the team around you and I work closely with all of the different departments within Missoma, so I’m usually the first to find out if we’re facing challenges. Life isn’t simple and you’re bound to hit road blocks along the way, especially as an entrepreneur, but as long as you’re prepared for them and face them with positivity, I believe you can get through anything. On tough days, I’m the first one to remind people that we are not saving lives, we are simply decorating them.
Has the way people shop for jewellery changed?
Dramatically. When I started, the demi-fine category hadn’t really been defined, and so we were paving a new accessibility to quality jewellery without the price tag of fine jewellery. It was also the norm to reach consumers through wholesale channels in stores, but we focused on driving our online business and today we are 96% direct to consumer online.
Who are your muses?
At the heart of Missoma is our community, so there is no one muse, and each woman (or man) has so many sides, I focus on celebrating everyone’s eccentricities and playful sides. Our customer is kind, playful, collaborative and empowered. She is the woman I design for.
We are of course incredibly lucky that so many wonderful women and men in the public eye have worn Missoma, and tend not to take it off. A ‘pinch me’ moment for the team and I was when Margot Robbie wore us on the red carpet one evening, the next day at the airport... and a week later surfing in the sea... but that’s Missoma - it’s so versatile and really is for every day! Other notable names that come to mind include Gigi & Bella Hadid, Selena Gomez, Emma Mackey who are all fantastic – but I can’t forget the men too! It’s amazing to see Missoma resonating with our male audience and seeing our pieces spotted on likes of Anwar Hadid and Isaac Carew.
Any tips or trends for how to wear our jewellery this year?
Layer it! Layer us with your 18th birthday necklace or stack us with your grandma’s old ring, the possibilities are endless. I love how layering pieces together tells so many stories and allows us to make subtle statements and wear meaningful talismans so close to us. We have a major launch coming in a couple of months set to cause a major chain reaction.Also I like to mix chunky with delicate, old with new, gold with silver. We like to throw out the rule book and make our own rules. At the end of the day, jewellery is a way in which we are able to express ourselves.
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