Amy Powney is The Future of Fashion
Amy Powney is building the future of fashion, not the next seasons collection for fashion week.
Powney, creative director of Mother of Pearl, is taking on an untraditional approach for a luxury fashion business. Mother of Pearl did not release another seasonal collection at this years London Fashion week, but launched a social media campaign focused on raising awareness about fashion's environmental and social impact.
Powney is post three years from winning the prestigious British Fashion Council/Vogue Fashion Fund Award, and is an esteemed established player in the UK’s fashion scene. In 2006 she joined Mother of Pearl that was originally founded by designer Maia Norman, which Powney later took the position of creative director in 2015. But for this latest fashion week, it became clear that she was done playing the game of pumping out products for profit.
Powney has used her time in the industry to create collections that are traceable from farm to finished product, and has shifted an entire brands retail model by stepping back to only two instead of four collections a year. Her sustainable products have begun to set the bar for competitors and collaborators to be more socially responsible, organic, traceable, and considerate to animal welfare and workers rights.
Looking at Powney’s journey from a PR perspective, she is listening and paying attentive detail to her relationship with her consumers. Powney has spent her time in the industry showcasing her education and professional manner while building a sense of respect for herself and her current brand. When the time came for Mother of Pearl to announce that they would not be doing a show, there was no pull back. No one had anything nasty to say, it was simply nods of agreement from the crowd. She’s one step ahead of the rest of the industry, and they know it.
There’s no rules or expectations from the public quite yet for her and other brands that are actively moving forward towards zero carbon emissions. Powney is taking her time to solidify her brand's name on the frontlines and develop relationships with the future consumers that will funnel in support and provide the profit to back up her decisions. Powney’s announced that she is looking to stage more consumer-conscious events and partnerships. Such as hosting clothes swaps and partnering with celebrities and influencers to spotlight specific issues in a fun and engaging way.
The swift rise in engagement amongst climate campaigners like extinction rebellion and Greta Thunberg is priming the public for topics related to environmental and social issues. That public will be looking for companies like Mother of Pearl to feed their needs for their wardrobes, and Powney will be there. I’m currently watching her whole business thrive from the cheap seats, there’s nothing I would add or take away from her steady growth upwards that I feel would be equal to the work she has already set in place. But I will be observing with my popcorn, and sending my resume her way as soon as she puts the word out for interns!
