Once again Milano Fashion Week gave me a chance to discover new emerging brands that recently came to the market. One of them is The Queen brand whose team told me a wonderful story of how one blog can be transformed into a powerful community and a brand that supports women in all aspects.
HOW DID THE IDEA OF THE BRAND COME OUT?
The Queen is created by Anissa Wahid, founder, and CEO of the brand. Originally, it was born as Anissa Wahid’s blog – created to tell about her life as a mother and a wife. The blog highlighted the strength of every modern woman. It has given them the opportunity to express their emotions due to the problems that afflict women every day (Anissa also has received letters from women and one of them you can see on The Queen website). Soon The Queen blog turned into a community that gives support to many girls and women.
Later The Queen began to produce clothes: not for sale, but to donate to associations that stand for women’s rights. Since its transformation into the brand, The Queen has started donating the clothes to the NPO Il Porto in Ponte San Pietro. Il Porto is an association that is created to help women, men, and children with difficulties. The collaboration aimed to focus on women but has offered much more: workshops, theater, reading, cooking classes and etc. The last donation to the association has been the “NO art collection” created by the designer and stylist Marlon Brandão for The Queen. Now the brand has entered the world of commercial sales but still keeps donating to women who are in need.
Our brand always looks for new associations and /or accredited organizations that perfectly match The Queen’s mission: WOMEN COME FIRST. – says Maruska Sabato, Brand Manager
WHO IS THE QUEEN GIRL?
First of all, she is an independent woman or a girl. Being a Queen is more about a mindset than a status. It is for every woman. The Queen does not put barriers or differentiations to beauty. – says Linru Cai, Creative Director of the brand.
DOES THE BRAND HAVE ITS SPACE IN MILAN OR ONLY ONLINE SALES?
We do have the lifestyle space in Milan in the Navigli district. Besides, of course, we are serving the customers also online via thequeen.moda or our official Instagram account @thequeen.moda
WHAT THE CONCEPT OF “LIFE STYLE SPACE” IS ABOUT?
The concept of our showroom is to make every woman who enters the Queen`s space feel unique and comfortable at home. Just like a queen. We have created a program that gives to the customer a wide range of services: from little welcome aperitive and coffee to all types of make-up, photography and style consulting. Our idea is to revolutionize the concept of the classic showroom and rise the self-confidence and importance of every woman who enters the world of The Queen. Every day our team led by the creative director Linru Cai, work to offer new experiences in our showroom. – says Linru Cai Brand Creative Director.
HOW DO YOU IMPLEMENT THE SUSTAINABLE APPROACH TO BUSINESS?
First of all, we start with ourselves: every brand employee has a strong personal position on this topic. As for us, sustainability is also about protecting the animals of our planet, it is our fundamental principle. In fact, The Queen has never used real leather, being aware of the horror behind it. Instead, we have always worked with top-quality eco-leather, initially produced by the Leaderplast group, and then shifted to local artisans based in the area of Varese: high-quality eco-leather is made of recycled materials, without using plastic.
Also, the brand collections created in collaboration with Marlon Brandão, were made by Eugenio Bremini, who is a creator of environmental “zero impact” fabrics. It is called “zero impact” because the fabrics are created with remnants of other fabrics.
Initially, we delivered our garments inside a wooden frame and a plastic pack assembled with other components. This has allowed us to reduce the impact on the environment and give a tangible sign of sustainability.
Moreover, we collaborated and supported the Aphrodite initiative created to talk about classic African fabrics, handmade products, without the use of dyes or other pathogens.
Thus, the concept of sustainability is fundamental for The Queen world. We try to use materials that are not harmful to the environment and that are eco-sustainable. We also support activities and groups that stand for our environment. – says Anissa Wahid, Founder & CEO of brand.
