Conversations with Changemakers.....shining the spotlight on Anette Miwa Dimmen and her concept As We Are Now (AWAN)

Conversations with Changemakers….

Harveen Gill interviews….

My short monthly interview sessions focus on an individual who is known to me, has a connection to retail and whom I personally admire.  I am delighted to shine the spotlight on Anette Miwa Dimmen. 

Introduction.   

I was originally introduced to Anette by Pan Philippou.  Pan has been a “good friend” and supporter to Anette and her concept, As We Are Now (AWAN) – A modular fashion concept, designed for women by women. Sustainably made in Tencel™ lyocell from Portugal).  Having offered support initially, Pan has now become Chair of AWAN.  Anette who is based in Norway, is now scaling AWAN internationally and is looking to secure investment from UK.        

What is your current role / expertise and how did you secure this?

Anette is Founder of AWAN. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Anette was adopted as a 1-year-old, by a Norwegian family.  The family were based in Tromso – “the land of the midnight sun”, where there is complete daylight for 2 months in the summer and no daylight for 2 months in winter!    

Anette was fascinated by London and settled in London at the age of 18, post her schooling, with 2 “big dreams”, the first was to become a music star and the second was to become a fashion designer.  When she wasn’t making enough money from her music after 7 years, Anette decided to “reset” and returned to Norway, planning her next move.  Anette met her life partner within a month of returning to Norway and quickly became pregnant. 

Fostering a true entrepreneurial spirit, Anette launched Openbox (a digital giftbook solution for corporate gifting clients, based in Norway), in 2007. In 2009, Anette amalgamated Openbox within Square – her Partner’s business.  Square is a design and manufacturing agency that designs and produces private label brands for clients in the hotel, travel and private airline sectors, designing and producing a wide range of product, encompassing skincare, apparel, jewellery, accessories and homewares. At Square   Anette was instrumental in managing Designers and Factories across a large number of product areas. 

By the time Anette became pregnant with her second child, she decided to exit Square and to develop her entrepreneurial journey in a different way. “I wanted to create a more intentional journey, and I wanted to build a start up with the potential of exponential scale.

She was inspired by Diane Von Furstenberg – the eponymous Fashion Designer and author of the bestselling book - “The woman I wanted to be”. Anette states “this book really resonated with me”. 

Initially – in 2018, Anette believed that nightwear was a very staid business and wanted to create a modern, inclusive nightwear brand.  Building the idea on a concept page, Anette managed to secure Kickstarter pre-orders from customers all over the world (Kickstarter campaigns allow ideas to become reality).  Anette fostered dialogue with first-mover customers and was able to fund her initial small range before it was even produced.  

“I wanted to design clothes that were stylish and comfy in equal measures, that women could wear in and out of home. I believe the fashion industry has made women feel uncomfortable about how our bodies change throughout life, and I wanted to design clothes that make us feel good about ourselves – just as we are.  With equal care for our personal wellbeing and the wellbeing of the planet.     

At the end of 2018, Anette launched the AWAN online store and quickly realised that she needed the skills to grow the online business.  “I dived into the Start up ecosystem in Norway and entered a Start up Pitch competition – And to my big surprise - I won! I was up against tech businesses, and I felt an outsider given that I was a Founder with a fashion business” 

Determined to develop her Fashion brand globally, Anette applied and was accepted onto Antler’s highly regarded Global Accelerator programme and is still today the only fashion brand from Norway to receive investment from Antler.  The accelerator programme ended in Spring 2020 – just as Covid hit! Expansion plans were halted but quickly sales in Norway surged by 300%, given that the AWAN product, aesthetic and message very much resonated with lockdown consumers.   

“The customers who knew us wanted more! It became clear that our challenge was how to reach new customers”. In 2021, Anette partnered with a Growth Agency to manage this. “We saw an uplift in sales, our conversion rate was high and our revenue started to hit 30,000 euros per month. This is when we ran out of stock!”   “With sustainability at the heart of our business, we aimed to optimise an on-demand production flow from Portugal with a DTC business model, however replenishing best sellers fast enough proved difficult and we ended up losing sales every month”.   

The challenges of scaling a direct-to-consumer (DTC) model in such a rapidly changing landscape made us rethink our approach, and we decided to restructure and pivot towards a B2B model, establishing a new company with the same successful brand and product concept, but within the EU rather than continuing to expand from the smaller, more limited market of Norway.

We are now raising money for our UK market entry.

What/Who has been important to you in your career?

“My Mum has been my biggest supporter; I could not be on this journey without her”. 

“My Partner has taught me how to be an entrepreneur”.  

“My network – I am not sure where I would be without my network of Female and Male Founders and of course my current core team Pan – our Chair and Øyvind – my co-founder”.

Can you pinpoint the most significant steps in your career?

Having a baby and having the luxury of the substantial maternity leave period that Norway gives you, grounded me, it gave me the space to connect to my purpose and clarify what I wanted to do. I was allowed to be fully present with myself and the space to - think.    I actually started both of my companies whilst on Maternity Leaves ….. (time for an apt Diane Von Furstenberg quote – “We all have a Wonder Woman inside us”).  

Joining the Antler Accelerator Programme was defining. It made it clear that AWAN was more than just a fashion brand.

A final point –When I decided to start AWAN I actually stayed away from the fashion industry. A business concept is so  fragile in its early stages. It is very easy to be told that your concept doesn’t make sense to some people and believe this to be true.  I knew I was creating something different, and I needed time to test out and build my case”  

How do you think our industry will change?

I believe the increasing demand for sustainable practices, along with a growing awareness among women about the importance of comfort in their clothing, will drive significant changes in the fashion industry.. “Fashion has been largely created by and managed by men., I want to marry up sustainable production, grass root community and use technology to create future forward fashion for women by women, that redefines our wardrobe – and allows a woman to always feel the best version of herself.  I want to create a wardrobe that a woman can wear without compromise”.

Who do you admire and why?

“Founders who have made it – those who have pushed through all the barriers and obstacles, to build something meaningful. I also respect Founders who have exited and remain value driven, by wanting to help and invest in new Founders”.  

What advice would you offer to an individual wishing to become a Founder?

“Fall in love with the business  as much as the product – you will have to spend so much time on building a business – you need to love this part too!”. 

Share a Secret.

I thought I was going to become a popstar in 6 months in London!!!

"You need, in your closet, clothes that you can use in many different ways. Clothes that make you feel comfortable, clothes that make you feel you.'"

Harveen Gill

Joint MD, HGA Group

Oct 2024