We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Michelle Pozon. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Michelle below.

Alright, Michelle thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

I’ve had a few:

1/When I was 11, I came to understand that I wasn’t beautiful or smart enough because I was too skinny, with dark skin and wild hair. I understood that I could never be a cheerleader or be popular. During the week leading to try-outs, I watched other contestants from the bathroom window during practice and trained on my own, in hiding. I didn’t dare to join the group for fear of rejection. When the day to try for a spot on the team came, I refused to listen to the voices in my head that said that I didn’t fit in, and came out of the bathroom to do my cheer. I made the team despite of the voices in my head and those who actually said that I could not. I faced my fears. I went toward my dream and I was proud of myself for doing so. I was a cheerleader from age 11-18.

2/At 23, I launched my first clothing label on a dare. I was working in Banking when my manager pointed out an Female Executive who’s style I’d be better served to emulate, to get ahead. I was terrified as to me, she showed no command of her own character. My then boyfriend told me to stop complaining and design a line of what I thought corporate attire should look like. I did, I booked a booth at the California Mart for Fashion Week, and received orders. The rest is history.

3/I left Fashion after designing for 20 years, distraught that I was contributing to misconceptions about beauty and creating mindless waste, and entitlement, rather than helping women feel beautiful, confident and relevant. I Created Spiritual Styling to help women realize their own unique beauty, and stand in their power, exactly as they were. With Spiritual Styling, we improve the way we see ourselves by clearing out the clutter of myths that invade our minds and spaces on a daily basis. By clearly seeing ourselves, not only do we elevate our style, but we also recover our power and become the hero’s that we seek, each and every day.

Michelle, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was born in San Francisco and raised in 4 countries across the South China Sea. I’ve lived in 8 cities across 3 continents, and currently call Lisbon “home”.

I’ve been designing clothes since I was 5, started my first fashion label at 23 and left the world of design at 43, to address the misconception that we are “not enough, don’t have enough, and constantly need more.”

Self love and global citizenry are intertwined. By combining my design skills with my multi cultural experiences and learning, I use clothing and spaces as tools to impart how accessible our collective liberation can be. With Spiritual Styling, I help my clients see through the myths of fashion and beauty to realize how beautiful they already are. By providing my clients with a system to discern between their true wants and what their being sold, my clients learn to align consumption and dressing habits with their core values, hopes and dreams, thereby contributing to a more sustainable and peaceful world.

I don’t teach others how to armor up and wear masks to project an image. Rather, I hold a mirror to their light, showing them how their lives have impact and how they can change the world for the better, simply by taking better care of themselves. Esthetics are subjective and we are all entitled to our own opinions, but no one elses. I model for my clients that it is OK and preferable to connect to our own tastes rather than assume that there is a style guru who knows better. That said, I do offer suggestions and options for maximising the use of a beloved garment.

With me, my clients learn how to shop in their closets, clear away any clutter, identify their true treasures, elevate their style and never feel ugly again.

Having worked with men and women of different ages, interests and sizes, I’ve yet to meet someone whom I couldn’t help to create a look that they loved, that was theirs alone. There is no quick fix, but daily mindfulness will do much to clear your vision and taking command of your consumption will transform your world.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I became fashion designer to celebrate women and help them stand proud in the beauty of who they are. What I learned as a designer, however, was that the industry relies on our insecurity to sell more product. Human kindness and environmental stewardship was of little interest and fashion became less of a craft and more of a system of iuninformed ndulgence at every price point.

It took me 20 years to realize why I was so unhappy doing a job that I thought I would love. There was little talk of sustainability in the 90’s and early 2000’s. That there was very little transparency, was not an issue for many, as it is becoming today. I was in dispair but at the time, I couldn’t explain why. I hid behind the acceptable term of Burn out.

After selling my last label in Paris in 2011, I spent my time connecting to my spirituality with yoga, meditation, breathwork, oracle cards and other healing modalities. I Feng Shui’d my home to free myself of all energies that did not align with my truth and the more I cleared, the clearer I felt. With less, I had more and I grew everyday in gratitude.

Within a year, I was helping friends do the same. My practice was shared by word of mouth and has grown from there.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I’ve had the privilege of living around the world, and thriving in cosmopolitan cities such as Hong Kong, New York and Paris. The most valuable lesson that I’ve learned, however, is that wealth without service is not as rich and fulfilling as paying my privilege forward. And, that esthetics are simply preferences but not prescription for beauty. We are all beautiful and we shine when we come to know this in our hearts.

The lesson that I had to unlearn is the misconception of “NOT ENOUGH” and that success is defined by our material wealth or that beauty was about keeping up with the trends and convention. Projecting, competing, and setting oneself apart are acts of insecurity. Feeling insecure leads people to horde. armor up, compete and hide. Hording is not sustainable and puts our planet and humanity in peril. Wearing armor doesn’t keep us safe; it keeps us apart.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.michellepozon.com
• Instagram: @michelle_pozon_stylist
• Facebook: Michelle Pozon, The Closet Guru, Paris
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-pozon-36b2886/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@michellepozon5301

Image Credits
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