Autumn 2021

22 Jul21191 Best Eco-Luxury Fashion Brand 2021 - Australia In a game-changing move for the luxury fashion industry, EKOLUV is making itself the go-to place for eco conscious fashionistas. Cultivating a worldwide community of environmentally minded people at the fore of the latest trends, it has made itself the second-hand buy, sell, and swap business that is showing an old sector some brand new tricks. EKOLUV was founded in the year 2012 by Emily Kate Symes, a visionary with a dream who wanted to see the fashion industry grow into something that could sustain itself. Fundamentally, this became the founding ethos behind EKOLUV, a new way to shop for luxury fashion sustainably, born from the experience and passion she cultivated during her time as a model seeing just how much brands and their disregard for the planet’s future was endangering not just the industry she loved, but the world at large. Her authentic, tenacious, and committed drive has therefore forged the backbone of EKOLUV. This is Australia’s first zero waste sustainable, dress hire and consignment boutique, one that knows that fashion is just an important part of people’s identity and self- expression as it is an integral part of everyday life. Therefore, it allows fashion lovers to find the brands, cuts, and styles they are hankering after in a manner that will not damage the environment; and by doing so it is leading the charge towards a more sustainable future for fashion and luxury bespoke clothing brands, creating a community of artistically empowered, ecologically minded fashionistas. Every time a garment is procured from EKOLUV, a client is engaging in the circular economy, saving the water, electricity, and emissions needed to create a new piece and looking good whilst doing it. With a carbon neutral website, second-hand coat hangers, and mannequins that would otherwise have been headed to landfill, it has created something truly unique. Moreover, it has partnered with Opportunity International Australia to donate 5% of every profit it makes to this charity – another way in which element of its business benefits the wider world as well as both the client and business – allowing each customer to become part of a movement that empowers people out of poverty. Due to this, clients from all over the world purchase and hire from EKOLUV, causing the development of a market segment that is ever-growing in both notoriety and solidarity, each member of which is passionate about a greener world and luxury designer fashion. This is further bolstered by the zero waste workshops it runs in conjunction with local governments. Additionally, when it comes to the pandemic, it is the community it has gathered around it that allowed it to pull through, adapting and shifting with sophistication to further it’s online service when it’s boutique had to undergo temporary closures during lockdown. By investing further into its online presence, SEO, and campaigns, it has been able to restructure its website to bring along more online traffic, collaborating with other businesses and run promotions that earned it yet more growth in its loyal customer base. In staying positive, working hard, and circling the wagons, EKOLUV has been able to handle every punch thrown its way in order to continue on its current path to further growth. Consequentially, it is excited for the bright future that surely lays ahead for both it and its clientele, and will be launching its stunning marketplace and app, something that will soon be followed by yet more updates, and the launch of another brick and mortar boutique and more to come in the future. Emily herself has also been hard at work to launch the EKO Collective, a 3-month business course and mentorship experience, that will help people to grow their businesses consciously and sustainably which coincides with her IGTV series and podcast called The Conscious Eko. She is excited to continue to expand this training for many more budding professionals in the coming years, and to see EKOLUV’s already stunning community grow even further. CEO: Emily Kate Symes Website: ekoluv.com Instagram: @ekoluv Image by Photographer - Vivienne Maher of PowerSheIs.