Building a Sustainable Brand & Challenging the Fashion Industry with Alyssa Lau, Founder of New Classics

Welcome back to the Waves Social podcast. For Episode 39 we are joined by Alyssa Lau, founder of the popular slow fashion web-store, New Classics. Alyssa is a Chinese-Canadian photographer, creator and new mom. On this episode we discuss how Alyssa went from studying chemistry in Edmonton to running an online boutique, a YouTube channel with 30k+ followers and working with brands like Chanel and MAC while balancing life as a partner and new mother. Alyssa dives into what helped her and her partner, Eric, discover the essence of New Classics, how they plan content shoots, the struggles the sustainable fashion industry faces and what it’s like to work with your partner. A “true classic” herself, Alyssa is raw and real as she opens up about her journey through life, business and motherhood.Show Notes:How Alyssa went from studying chemistry in Edmonton to running an online style blog, Ordinary People, and diving deep into sustainability.What inspired Alyssa to create New Classics?Discussing the importance of education and awareness in the fashion industry. Why Alyssa knew that making a sustainable fashion brand wasn’t enough to help with the sustainability crisis our world is facing and leaned into educating her audience.Exploring life as a business owner, a partner and a new mother. Can there be a balance?Why did it take Alyssa three years to decide on a logo? Exploring what it takes to find your brand’s essence. Why Alyssa wouldn’t change anything if she had the chance to go back to when she first founded New Classics.Growth on YouTube: Why Alyssa isn’t following the advice YouTube gave her.Finding inspiration from outside the algorithm; where to turn to to find ideas from outside the trend cycle.Alyssa's top tips for brands looking to create their own content and why over-preparing is her key to success.How her dream collaborations with brands like Chanel and H&M came to be.Final words of wisdom from Alyssa and discussing who she’s watching make waves online.Discussed in this episode:New Classics: https://newclassics.ca/ Ordinary People: https://www.ordinarypeople.ca/ Alyssa’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AlyssaLau/videos Alyssa’s Blog: https://www.imalyssalau.ca/ Leslie Zhang: https://www.instagram.com/lesliezhang1992/ Book - Naked Fashion: https://safia-minney.com/naked-fashion/ Waves Social with Mike (@mmmiiike) and Mitzi (@mmmitzi). For more from Arcade, follow us on Instagram and TikTok @helloarcade. https://www.arcadearcade.ca/How to Start a Podcast Guide: The Complete GuideLearn how to plan, record, and launch your podcast with this illustrated guide. PodMatchPodMatch Automatically Matches Ideal Podcast Guests and Hosts For InterviewsWaves with Mike (@mmmiiike) and Mitzi (@mmmitzi). For more from Arcade, follow us on Instagram and TikTok @helloarcade. https://www.arcadearcade.ca/S6 - present Production by Morgan Berna, editing by Harrison Neef.