MY STORY IS …

As cliché as this sounds, I grew up lucky having my mother as my role model who also happened to be my first nursery teacher. I remembered watching her through the window panes teaching a class and thought to myself - that’s my mama! There’s so much life advice from her but one thing that was consistent growing up was “as long as you put in the work, you can be whoever you want to be.”

I was also fascinated by the fashion world thanks to all the fashion magazines I read during my adolescent years. Naturally, I became a heavy fast-fashion shopper as soon as I started earning from my part-time retail jobs. I’ve been aware of the environmental impacts of fashion but it wasn’t until one day when I watched a documentary called The True Cost, that opened my eyes to the dark, unethical side of the garment industry. What broke my heart was seeing the exploitation of girls and women who make up 80% of the global workforce. Here I am raised in Singapore, given all the access and opportunities to chart my own path. Yet in another part of the world, these girls and women are forced into working long laborious hours, with very little to no income. I felt so much guilt about contributing to this problem and also felt how there’s so much injustice in this world. It’s also something very close to my heart because of how I was raised by my mother.

Venturing into the fashion business has been a dream of mine since I was in university but after learning more about the industry, I was even more driven to be a part of it with a greater purpose beyond myself. Hence, the birth of The Soleil Girl - a space where I strive to do things ethically and consciously as a brand, that uplifts the spirited everyday girl to discover her own journey. It’s also where I envision empowering girls and women in the community we work with or anywhere in the world. It’s been slightly over a year since I started it but I’m excited for what’s to come.

My crazy is that I get comfortable with the unknown and that fuels my growth. It’s this innate curiosity which fulfils me to pursue different things in life. I was in a business advisory role for five years before making a mid-career switch as a brand marketer in the footwear industry. I often think I’m such a misfit for not having a specialised path in my career. But it’s all of my interests and curiosity about almost anything in life that makes me who I am. Pivoting in life seems daunting, but it’s necessary for alignment of the heart and mind.

When creating The Soleil Girl, I wasn’t equipped with a fashion design background, much less have an understanding of the garment-making process and technicalities. But I’m still proud that I chose to dive in despite the years of procrastination and excuses I gave myself. I only learnt recently to remove failure from my dictionary as they’re just lessons for my growth journey. In my own private space, I do a lot of self-reflection and believe that it’s my stream of consciousness that led me here; who/what I choose to let into my life and who/what I choose to remove when it no longer serves my growth. This has been instrumental in protecting my inner peace.

photography Zahwah Bagharib