Floral expression with MOGA
Azahn Munas, 23, who graduated from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology with a distinction in advertising launched MOGA which specializes in women’s headscarves and shawls. This year they’ve gone beyond silks with a bit of floral expression coming up with a unique headpiece.
* Mirror Magazine (MM) : Since its launch MOGA has become a brand synonymous with beautiful head scarves and shawls. How far have you progressed in your venture and what have the experiences entailed from a business as well as a creative process?
Azahn
Azahn Munas (AM) :A lot has happened since we spoke during our launch in September last year. Over the past 9 months we have amassed over 30,000 followers across our social media platforms and have been featured in well known publications such as Buzzfeed and The Daily Mail. We have also designed a new collection, launched a boutique with ASOS and are currently in talks with Harpers Bazaar India, who will be featuring us in an upcoming issue! The journey so far has been incredibly exciting to say the least and the creative process has been equally rewarding. We are so thrilled that women from around the world are enjoying our colourful scarves and embracing our message of empowerment and universal acceptance.
* MM: How receptive has the market been for fashionable headpieces?
AM : So far there has been a unanimously positive response towards our product. We actually haven’t received a single request for a refund or return of purchase since we launched and I think this is a testament to the quality of our silk scarves and the overall messaging behind our brand. We seem to have really struck a chord with women who want to experiment with headscarf fashion and breakaway from more conventional colours and do something a little more bold and daring. Currently, we have orders from across the world but our biggest markets are in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. We have also seen strong potential across Asian markets such as Malaysia and Singapore .
* MM : Tell us about the inspiration behind your ‘Flower Powered’ turban
(AM) : I actually decided to go for a run in the Botanical Gardens in Melbourne for the first time and as I was running I couldn’t help but notice such an incredibly vast and diverse array of flowers on display. It was an incredibly beautiful sight and I thought it would be so cool if we could recreate this in some way as a wearable piece of art for our fans to enjoy, even if it was just for a few hours. With 18 different species and types of flowers being used for this headpiece, we wanted to make a statement about the beauty of being different and importance of diversity in todays society. We wanted to remind people that no matter what shape, size or colour you may be, ultimately we are all different to one another, but when you take a step back and look at all of us from afar, we are actually a part of something incredibly beautiful.
n MM: Would you be creating floral headpieces in the future on request for your online clientele ?
Yes we will be. However, as all the flowers we use are real, the headpiece is essentially a living piece of art with a shelf life of around 24-36 hours. Keeping in mind it takes around 10 hours to create, these pieces will only be available to our Melbourne clientele for now. In future, however, we would like to team up with florists around Australia and even the world to make this wearable piece of art more accessible to our followers.
* MM: You’ve also pursued a love for the medium of film. You were featured on several news networks in 2013 for the video ‘Drive Safe: Call Me? Maybe..’, highlighting the perils of being on the phone while driving. Have you progressed further in this medium ?
I still love and enjoy film making. In fact, a lot of our behind the scenes videos and styling tutorials are shot and edited by me, but I would have to say my focus has definitely shifted more towards designing right now.
* MM: The social aspect of the brand has been an important factor with 20% of its profits going towards supporting the education of young girls. But the brand has also teamed up with other partners such as Bravery Co. Tell us about the partnership ?
(AM) : Bravery Co is founded by my wonderful friend Emily Somers. I met her last year when we were both working in advertising. When she was 27 years old, she was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma not once but twice! She ended up beating the cancer both times and is now happy and healthy! Emily is truly one of the bravest people I know. Our partnership formed when she told me she was going to be traveling the world sourcing headscarves for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. I thought it was such a powerful initiative and something that I really wanted MOGA to be a part of. Once her company was launched, I donated a bunch of scarves from our debut collection SPECTRA and since then, we have become great friends and collaborators.
Ultimately, a partnership like this makes total sense for our brand because at the end of the day, our product is just a rectangular piece of fabric that can be worn by so many different people for so many different reasons. We have had some great collaborations so far but our work with Emily and The Bravery Co is probably what we are most proud of.