Felicia Brown shares her story, from studying Politics and International Relations at Queen Mary to being a leading celebrity stylist.
Please briefly introduce yourself and describe your current business...
Felicia Brown is a trailblazing British-Ghanaian Creative Director of our Maison - as well as an Image Consultant & Celebrity Fashion Stylist with extensive expertise spanning fashion and event curation.
How did you come up with this business idea, and what problem does it address?
our Maison began as a Sunday List curated by Felicia Brown in 2020. As a celebrity fashion stylist Felicia would always be on the lookout for new brands for styling clients. Staying away from predictable pieces.
Felicia believed it was imperative for Black emerging talents to be given a platform, which was consistently reflected in her portfolio. Therefore, people would always come to her when looking for new brands and she realised how low the visibility for that demographic was.
The Sunday list would spotlight 3 Black-owned brands and their respective designers every Sunday across Instagram & Twitter.
What inspired you to pursue entrepreneurship while or after your education at Queen Mary?
I wanted to pursue fashion prior to being accepted at Queen Mary to study Politics and International Relations. However, I wasn't sure how to get into it so decided to take advantage of studying in London to explore fashion styling. As I built my fashion styling portfolio through freelancing, I realised how much I truly enjoyed it and decided that it was something I wanted to fully explore once I graduated.
What were your goals at the beginning of your journey and how did they change/evolve throughout time?
Building our Maison was initially about building a global platform that amplifies Premium/Luxury fashion brands and their respective designers who are of Afro-Caribbean heritage. The aim was to create visibility and accessibility to amazing brands.
However, now through curation and collaboration with established platforms across fashion, music and retail, such as the British Fashion Council, LFW, Soho House, PAUSE, and Schuh just to name a few, our has a profound track record of delivering tailor-made projects.
At the heart of each collaboration is to enhance the designer’s visibility thus creating accessibility to a whole new audience.
our operates as a community and development hub for emerging designers as well as a creative agency.
Our services include;
The main challenges were realising that the need for our platform was bigger than I had imagined and finding our feet within the creative agency world.
How do you deal with fear, doubts?
I’m very solution focused, so I always try to understand the stem of my fear and doubt and then unpack it. It’s important to acknowledge the successes and tell yourself you are the best person for what you do therefore no one will have the solution but yourself.
How have you used entrepreneurship for positive social change, and what impact have you seen in your community or industry, if any?
The mission of our is breaking down barriers and creating a more inclusive fashion industry.
The opportunities we have been able to give young black designers have been phenomenal. From supporting them with their LFW debut and strategic brand partnerships.
What advice would you give to current students or recent graduates who are interested in pursuing entrepreneurship?
Just do it, if you have a passion for something and you think you have an idea that creates a solution then go for it.
But it's important to really research the industry you want to get into. Get us as much experience as possible, shadow /intern.