Mirco Scoccia on Creating Ethical Luxury with O2 Monde

Sure. So obviously, I’m from Italy. And the region is Marche, and the city is fair more so. I was born in the shoe area, and I discovered my passion for shoes at an early age, because my father had a shoe factory and that’s why I grew up with this kind of passion.

And what I did there was always, you know, try to learn how and absorb the artistry and the dedication that define in Thailand luxury making Italian shoemaking luxury. And that’s why, you know, I always grew up with this kind of goal mission and I decided to attend the Italian Footwork Design school. And then I just I start working with such great companies, luxury companies in Europe and Italy, like Botega, Veneta, and L’ascella. And then about 12 years ago, I decided to move to United States because it was such an important, you know, market and then I decided to, you know, join some American, and I work with some American contemporary brands like Tory burch cole Han Kate, and was really really helpful? And I was one of the few lucky designers to work with the, you know, having the Italian and luxury background, and the contemporary American background, as well.

Yeah, that was really good, because, you know, in Europe it is more about the product. But here is more about, you know, performance. And of course, in sales you feel a little bit more pressure here and you know, combining the 2 things and you know such a great learning for me.

Thank you. Yes, yes.

Yes. So after 20 years of working in the footwear business, I decided, as a you know, as a designer, to come up with my own brand. And then I launched O2 Monde. So, O 2 stands for oxygen, which represents the pure oxygen which is essential for us to live, and then monde means work in French. And my goal was to combine the oxygen and the monde to create an ecosystem that represents a breath of fresh air in a fashion industry where I could potentially come up with a new product and make a positive impact on the world.

And basically the my biggest mission is transform something like this.

Into shoes. So what I’m doing is like working with the, You know, Italian manufacturers and really, like, research this new vegan materials. And then, you know, come up with the new style and new silhouettes. And you know, such an innovative process and product. And then I know my goal is to come up with a truly big and sustainable luxury brand.

Yes, so the difference is so I was always a few by difference maker mindset. And I always committed to ethical fashion, and I became Vegan. That’s why I decided to start my big luxury footwear brand. And then, in a tapestry of luxury. I saw an opportunity, to combine the sustainability and the style and the compassion at the equal measure. And that’s why you know all these thoughts and the learning process gives birth to O2 Monde.

So it is not just a footwear brand. But to me the goal is to build a community, and the movement towards a new era of ethical luxury.

Yeah. So in terms of like, the design always approach the things in the same way. So I started from a mood board silhouettes and then part of my design processes research, research new materials from different fields, from interior design, from car design and you know everybody. Now, I care more about sustainability. And then there is more.

Let’s say more budget to research these new kinds of material. So I’m using materials from a pineapple, from grapes corn based lining. So everything is plant based. And I treat those kind of material as a fabric.

So, and it took me a lot of time and effort to push the factory and to find the right balance between, you know, to create the right feeling, because those materials need to look like leather. But we not, you know, with the, with the sustainable, keeping the sustainable and the Vegan aspect.

So I did a lot of tests, and it was really hard at the beginning to work and push and convince the factory to work with this kind of materials, because they historically use leather but at the end, you know, I convinced them they did some prototypes, and the results was great. And then, you know, likely we are able to launch our 1st collection.

Thank you. And you know, like a thinking about the the sustainability aspect is not just about design and the design with with an efficient collection in mind. But it’s also about taking care about different steps, you know, from design to sourcing supply chain. But even like the shipments, because I my company shipped directly to the customers from Italy to United States only United States for for this time, and then, you know, to reduce and cut the transport, the transportation and the pollution as well. So I really wanna take care of all the single aspects from the design to production and the shipment. And that’s why, you know, I wanna constantly like, improve all the different parts of the process.

Well, definitely, the fact that I’m using a premium Vegan plant based material is one thing, but also the price point, because I found a gap between a luxury segment and contemporary segment with the Vegan material. So I would say, Yeah, my position, my price point, and in terms of product is between luxury and the contemporary. But we know, with the 100 sustainable plant based aspects.

Yeah, exactly. Because when you launch your 1st collection, you’re trying to, you know, test the market a little bit. And then, what I found out, it was true that this kind of product attract different customers from 25 to 55 and with different you know, like different hobbies, different kinds of jobs.

And that there is always a need for this kind of shoes and a lot of kind having the feedback of the customer is so rewarding because they said, you know, there is not. There are not so many brands like these. The quality is really great, and the fact that they’re using those kind of material. It’s really a surprise, you know, a great surprise from them. And right now I’m focused on a Us market, and they see that my clients are from you know, east, so basically, it’s mostly like an east part and west part. So it’s like both extremes. And surprisingly, also, like a big percentage in Texas.

For now we’ll love to be focusing on the United States and then eventually expand the market. The O2 Monde open the market to the other countries definitely Europe and will be great but also Asia as well.

I would say the organic approach is the most rewarding. And I try to avoid, you know, any kind of Instagram and Facebook ads, because I really want to grow, as I say, the community organic community. And that to me I would say, SEO is really, really effective. And the email marketing, I think, is a big pace of it because people want to learn. I’m so absorbed and curious about the product, about the process, about the design, and definitely the fact that there is the I. I also want to go back to the fact that there is a. The founder is also a designer.

So it’s not just another like a tech company trying to do shoes. Yeah. So there is a founder with, you know, with a lot, with a lot of experience in this kind of field. And and I think those content that are really authentic, you know, they’re really engaging for the customers. So authenticity is the biggest part, play a biggest part of in O2 Monde.

Yes, so I would say that I immediately realized that as a startup you don’t need a partner but you have to be really strong in all the different areas of the business.

Because otherwise you’re gonna waste too much energy to explain to your partner what we would like to do. What’s your vision? And I think. You know, you have to be in like almost uncomfortable situation where you really need to learn, you know the financial aspect, but also the design and the shipment. And you literally need to solve problems every day. And you need to be quick, and you need to. Of course, there are some you know you fail. But you have to be ready to go back and learn the lesson and change their direction. So yeah, challenges are. I’m facing challenges every day. But it’s important that you have this kind of mindset to to solve it and find the right direction. But I would say, in terms of like a biggest challenge for every stuff is visibility. But Because you need to find your audience.

And also you have to grow your community, your customers. And definitely, it’s right. Now you know the cost of the ads Instagram ads and Facebook as going to the roof. So I think it’s just we need to go back to the like, It’s a digital marketing, but also like, a regular marketing, and combine those aspects to do together. Form a especially for my brand, I see a lot of benefit when where I have a pop-up or a press day, where people can see the shoes and the source and the product they can touch and feel the product. So at the end of the day, I think the retail or the wholesale approach is still. You know the best.

And everything needs to work together, you know, in combination. But I would say right now would move more to the, ofcourse, the digital aspect is important. But yeah.

Going back to retail, or like a store having a direct connection with the customer is, is the key and the biggest challenge. You know, I’m a designer. So I always like, have a passion about the product. But sometimes you need to be more rational. And so learning, you know how to switch my brain. And in this way.

I would love to be a global leader in big and luxury footwork and setting the standard for the unique design, sustainability and the innovation. And of course, my biggest goal is to create a product for a big community, but also not just for food web, but they eventually like developed, you know, handbags and accessory and lifestyle clothing. So really be a lifestyle brand. That could be, will be my goal.

Thankyou.

It was my pleasure. Thank you so much.