Luxury is great. Mindfulness is better. Nezha Alaoui provides both with her luxury brand Maison Mayshad, offering pieces ranging from handbags to shoes and clothing, all with a positive environmental impact. The pieces and leather goods are exclusively produced in Paris, rightfully earning several certifications. But Nezha’s social effort doesn’t stop there. She has made it her mission to empower millennial women and support underserved women and girls in Africa through her Mayshad Foundation.
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Read on to find out more about Nezha’s upcoming luxury leather collection and what she does to help women around the world!
Can you tell us more about your lifestyle brand, Maison Mayshad?
Maison Mayshad is a luxury brand that speaks to women who want to differentiate themselves by wearing an exclusive collection that is only produced in series of 1 to 5 in our Parisian workshops.
What will your new collection of luxury leather goods offer?
There is a story and inspiration behind each collection, with new colors in our natural leathers and new fabrics as it is my passion to seek fabrics that are not commonly used in handbags and work with my experts in luxury leather goods, to transform their use into a beautiful long lasting handbag line.
You’ve also launched the Mayshad Foundation to support underserved women and girls around the world – what is your mission and how do you achieve it?
Linking the financially successful women that wear my collections to the powerful women I meet and support in Africa, was more than a fantasy, it was the only drive that could take me through the struggle of building a luxury brand. Everyone was discouraging me to try to compete with the most famous Parisian brands that have more than 100 years of existence and tens of millions to spend on marketing and development.
But I never felt in competition as my purpose was bigger than any financial means. I wanted to create a bridge between powerful Mayshad Women of all social classes!
You‘ve mentioned that women should not give into social pressure – how do you deal with this issue?
You have got to face yourself and have the courage to make choices on a daily basis that keep you in control of your life and happiness, rather than being dependent on the society rankings.
I question myself every day, to make sure that I am making choices that are aligned with my personal values and convictions rather than doing things because it’s socially cool to do it!
What is your number one advice for millennial women to find their passion and become social entrepreneurs?
Make the choice to “Be who You want to Be”, rather earlier than later. We have seen a lot of women making a massive change in their lives and careers at 50 then 40. I was lucky enough to build that awareness at 27!
When I speak to millennials in universities, who are on the verge of starting their professional lives, I tell them; make the choice that fits your personality now! Otherwise you’ll end up making the shift later, because you don’t have any more choices but getting back to who you truly are! The sooner the better.
How do you define beauty?
Every time I find myself sharing a bathroom with my daughters and getting ready as 3 women preparing for our positive day, I remind them of the rules of beauty:
Number 1: Hygiene.
Number 2: Hydration, from inside with waters and outside with natural oils and creams.
Number 3: Stay natural; the sense of beauty stands in the sophistication of succeeding simplicity.
Check out Nezha’s lifestyle brand at www.mayshadcollection.com!
