WHM Interview #10: Meg Mistry -Creative Visionary, Wellness Columnist, Virtues Project Coach

During an extended Woman's History Month (WHM)?- running into mid-April - I’ve been interviewing a number of woman leaders from a variety of backgrounds - along with some Male Allies:

Interview 1: With?Dali Sanghera, MD at?Accenture

Interview 2: With Sital's Mum! My 84-year-old mother's story and wise advice

Interview 3: With?Uma?Thana Balasingam?- VP & GM at?VM Ware. Co-founder of the Singapore?#LeanIn?community. Founder of Lean In Asia's?#WomanInTech?community.

Interview 4: With?Shoon Lim, Consultant and DE&I Development at?Russell Reynold Associates

Interview 5: With?Anna Green, Head of SMB at?Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Interview 6: with?Jacinda Chislum Pearson, GM Talent Acquistion for at?Microsoft

Interview 7: with?Sook Hoon Cheah?GM South East Asia New Markets at Microsoft

Interview?8: with?Ahmed Mazhari, Microsoft President for Asia

Interview 9?with?Susan Vaughan,?who volunteers with the global non-profit "Dress For Success"

In today's Interview 10, I speak with Meg Mistry - who built her career with the fashion brands - Selfridges, Zalora and Pomelo - before making a career change.

Described as “a creative visionary with a unique eye for product and a matchless sense of style” by Elle magazine, Meg has been featured in numerous iconic magazines including Vogue, Harpers Bazaar and Elle magazines.

Over an eighteen-year career, Meg has held various leadership roles in the fashion and e-commerce industry. Meg was the Creative Director and Editor-in-chief at Zalora, Asia’s leading fast-fashion e-tailer and appeared as a guest judge on TV shows including Asia’s Next Top Model. She was the Brand President at Thailand-based fashion brand, Pomelo, and previously held buying roles at Selfridges & Co, London.

Following the birth of her two children, Meg took a sabbatical from the fashion arena and retrained as a character education coach in 2019. Having shifted her focus from fashion to wellness, Meg balances her duties between being a full-time mum, a part-time creative consultant, The Virtues Project? coach and a Vogue Wellness columnist. Though remaining impeccably dressed, she is still a full-time fashionista!

Sital: Meg, thanks for making time. Given your varied career within the fashion industry, I'd love to understand more about your early career and the childhood experiences that shaped you and your career in the creative field.

Meg: Sure Sital, thank you for inviting me to the conversation.

Well, I was born and raised in Wolverhampton (in the UK) by migrant parents from India and Kenya. They were blue-collar workers living in the heart of Wolverhampton’s industrial-driven economy. My parents’ Indian values migrated with them when they moved to the UK and these values were instilled into me and my siblings from birth. I now look back and appreciate how fortunate I was to have been raised with strong Asian values, paralleled with being raised in the UK with strong British values. This hybrid set of values has shaped me to become who I am today – it was a case of growing up with the best of both worlds, something that wasn’t so obvious to me whilst growing up.

Looking back at my childhood, I had friends but was always an outsider in the circles I mixed in. With glasses and a complex teeth situation that required many years of braces, I wasn’t winning any popularity contests at school! I wasn’t book-smart, I never made it onto any sports teams and although I loved music, I couldn’t quite grasp instruments. The area I excelled in was art and design - and the only subject (pardon the pun) that I passed with flying colours.

Although I preferred to be at school over being at home, I didn’t particularly enjoy school. I attended the local state school and had learning difficulties that went unnoticed. I struggled academically, I couldn’t grasp concepts or process information when my teachers were explaining things in class. Numbers went over my head and math's triggered a deep anxiety that I carried with me well into my adult life. I underperformed in most academic subjects and left school with average grades and low self-esteem. It’s only later in life that I was able to make sense of my early challenges, which would now be labelled as the neurodevelopmental disorder, ADHD and included Dyspraxia and Dyscalculia (a math's learning disability).

While my peers had their heads down in homework and excelled on the sports field, I spent my time doing what I enjoyed most – dressing up! I taught myself the art of fashion styling, mixing in pieces from my parents’ wardrobes and experimenting with different accessories at every opportunity. I dabbled in make-up, nails and had an impressive beauty routine for a fifteen-year-old in the nineties! I watched a lot of television and spent half of my dinner-money on teen fashion magazines. Struggling with ADHD at school and being heavily influenced by my peers and the media, it was only natural that I gravitated towards creative courses when it came to choosing my degree.

My parents were not okay with me choosing a fashion degree. It was a challenge to convince them that this was the right thing for me. I ended up selecting Fashion & Marketing, which also covered buying, merchandising and journalism alongside the more creative aspects of fashion. This was the safer option and my parents found comfort in the idea that I’d most likely secure a steady job with high-street retailer rather than a fashion magazine.

As a person who loves to accessorize, I got to wear MANY hats during my eighteen-year fashion career, so I have nothing but appreciation and gratitude for every challenging, life-altering and enriching experience. I had the privilege of working for two of Asia’s largest fashion start-ups, as well as the UK’s most iconic and fashion-forward department store. I have absolutely no regrets about my career choices and feel very grateful for the opportunity to work in an industry I was so passionate about.

Sital: Thanks for sharing your story so openly Meg. I'm sure some of your experiences will resonate with many readers.

Coming from an Asian background, what was it like making the decision to attend the University of Creative Arts and pursue a career in the fashion industry??What were some of the barriers you faced?

Meg: Although my parents had no objections to me expressing my unique fashion style, like many Asian parents they had little value for creative talent and often compared me with my cousins and their friends’ kids who were all excelling in school.

On occasions that I would bring home a piece of A* awarded artwork, or come downstairs in another eccentric ensemble, rather than receiving positive acknowledgements, typical remarks were “If you spent as much time on your academic studies as you do on painting and dressing up, you could be someone in life” or, “At this rate you will end up cleaning toilets.” I didn’t realise it at the time, but these derogatory comments were incredibly damaging to my confidence in my abilities and contributed to my lack of self-worth later in life.

Despite their reservations, my parents did allow me to go to my university of choice and follow a more unconventional path. I’m incredibly grateful to them for that, as for first-generation migrant parents who knew virtually nothing about the creative opportunities that existed in the UK, their acceptance of my choice showed that my happiness was more important to them than their fears and the judgements or opinions of others. Growing up in a large Asian community most of my peers didn’t have the same opportunities and most went down the corporate route despite their passions, talent or creative ambitions.

Throughout my school life, my parents believed that my creative aspirations were a hindrance and distracted me from applying myself to academic subjects. They genuinely believed that if I just switched my focus, I could have achieved the university grades required to study more worthy degrees – like Law or Money, Banking and Finance. In reality, I could have only achieved academic success with acknowledgement of my neurodevelopmental challenges and the appropriate learning support.

As a parent and character education coach, I value the importance of understanding and nurturing a child’s innate strengths, passions and talents over what we as parents desire for our children - based on our ideas of what failure and success looks like. The former nurtures confidence and excellence, whereas the latter promotes feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem. When a child receives the appropriate support, guidance and encouragement from nurturing adults and role models, they will excel in whichever field they choose.

Sital: Whilst I didn't go down a creative career path like yourself - I do empathize given the similar values and outlook I grew up with in an Asian household and community.

Tell us about your career in the fashion industry?- and the types of roles that you've undertaken - in the UK and in Asia.

Meg: I started my career in buying and merchandising at Selfridges & Co, aged twenty-one. Going from the suburbs of Wolverhampton and Kent to central London and landing a job with one of the most prestigious brands in the fashion world was a radically awakening experience. I was rubbing shoulders with some of the most fashionable people in the industry and the biggest brands. I loved my time at Selfridges, but my day-to-day job as a Buyers Admin was far from glamourous.

My move to Asia in 2010 was the catalyst that really propelled my career. Asia presented unparalleled career opportunities and accelerated my personal and professional growth quite rapidly. After being hired by the global venture capital firm, Rocket Internet, I joined the founding team of Zalora - Rockets first fashion venture in South-East Asia.

Alongside a dynamic team of ex-consultants, bankers and fashion execs, I spent the initial years building out the buying teams and onboarding fashion brands from every corner of the globe. Once the business was off the ground and running, I worked with a small team to launch Zalora’s in-house private label, before eventually moved into Marketing to assume the roles of Creative Director and Editor-in-chief of Zalora’s digital magazine. In 2016 I moved to Bangkok and joined fast-fashion brand Pomelo. As Brand President, I helped them to grow their brand proposition and presence across the region.

My experiences in the creative space are diverse and have included building business’ from ground zero, driving growth, building brand strategies, raising capital from investors and providing creative leadership and oversight of all creative activities. This included creative direction, content production (marketing campaigns) and managing advertising partnerships.

As well as undertaking various public speaking engagements, I had the honour of mentoring the next generation of aspiring fashion professionals.

Sital: What an exciting and varied career you've had Meg!

As a mother - what's your advice to parents who have children showing a creative flair and considering creative career paths?

What should or shouldn't they do??In particular for Asian parents, who may have an inclination to encourage kids down 'traditional' career paths.

Meg: Over the past two decades, cultural and commercial values within the fashion industry have evolved tremendously. The current focus on diversity and inclusion is empowering employees to stand up for equal opportunities for all. Although we have seen a seismic shift for the better, the fashion industry is still “less” inclusive, hyper-competitive, and a difficult industry to penetrate and navigate for a young person with high career aspirations.

But if your child is excited by the prospect of a creative career, here are some positive steps you can take to support and guide them on their journey:

1.Know their influences

The first step is to understand why your child has chosen a creative path, how serious they are about it and where their influences are coming from. Today’s Instagram and Tick Tock generation are influenced by their peers and media more than ever before. But in the same way that Instagram bears little resemblance to reality, starting out in the creative industry is not quite as glamourous as it is often portrayed onscreen.

The early years of fashion are low-paid and glory-less for the most-part. From that perspective I can understand why Asian parents would prefer their kids to choose fail-safe careers in Medicine, Banking etc. It is all that most parents wish for - their children to be happy, financially secure and independent after all. However, if your child has a genuine passion, unrivalled talent and the drive to succeed as a creative, it is your duty as a parent and mentor to guide them on their journey and support them to fulfil their ambitions.

2. Parent/adult attachment and support is key

Get inquisitive, delve deeper and invest the time to learn your child’s area of interest. Is it fashion, editorial, art, photography, or modeling? And do they have a genuine passion for it?

Equally, your child needs to invest time in researching the industry. Are they researching about the industry to understand the skills, characteristics and knowledge needed, or are they just browsing Instagram handles of high-profile celebrities and fashion influencers?

When challenges arise, that passion and strong character will need to be resolute if they are to make it through. Peers and media are not healthy role models and could lead your child astray. So divert them away from online platforms and connect them with experienced educators, industry experts and mentors who can provide proficient guidance and direction.

3. Nurture their strengths.

Give your child the space to get creative and build on their strengths. Encourage them to sign-up to co-curricular activities, classes and any extra courses that will support them to build their creative talents and skills. It’s important to give counsel and to companion your child through this process, without being authoritarian or forcing your own agenda. When they trust that you have their best interests at heart, you child will accept your valuable advice and guidance with genuine enthusiasm.

Sital: You talk about exploring and nurturing creative strengths. But I know you also advocate that parents take a pragmatic approach and ensure that there's a "Plan B"

Meg: Totally. It's about taking a balanced approach - and ensuring you are also helping the child explore ideas away from the creative space too.

4. Nurture their hobbies and interests outside of the creative space.

If your child is a dreamer like I was, you will need to be their practical and pragmatic voice of reason. Rather than channeling all their ideas and energy into one direction, it would be discerning to keep their options open - i.e. consider Plan B. Educate your child on the value of adaptability and perseverance. The industry is constantly changing and when things don’t go according to plan it's wise to have alternative interests and hobbies they can lean into.

5. Additional learning support

It’s equally important to understand your child’s development areas. What challenges are they facing at school, where do key skills require developing or strengthening? In some creative roles you are expected to be creatively talented, but also expected to have a level of academic acumen to perform your job effectively.

Take Buying as an example. It sounded creative but a large part of it required me to be structured, organized and competent with numbers, spreadsheets, and negotiation. I struggled in most of these areas which had an adverse effect on my confidence. Looking back, had I had the learning-support in mathematics and worked on improving my organisation skills, I would have been more prepared for the role.

If you identify your child’s development areas, supporting them with additional learning could be highly beneficial. In addition, encourage your child to apply themselves and try hard in all subjects, even the ones they don’t like. I went through most of my school life hating maths and under the impression that I would never need it to succeed in fashion. Boy was I wrong!

It is important that your child is not made to feel inadequate or less intelligent than their peers if they require learning support. Your child should not feel inferior because they are different. By acknowledging their natural talents, eliminating comparisons, and praising their efforts you will boost your child’s academic self-esteem.

6. Choose the right school for your child:

Choose the ideal school, college or university suited to your child’s individual needs, character, life-stage and chosen career path. If your child is still young, keep options open and identify schools that embrace creative, entrepreneurial, and unconventional career paths. It is essential to give your child ample exposure to subjects and activities that they enjoy, alongside the typical academic school curriculum.

Sital: Beyond the creative skills and academic competencies - what are important 'soft skills' needed in order to be successful in creative careers?

Meg: Great question. In my view, some of the soft skills are critical for success in creative careers - something many people don't realise until much later in their career.

7. Support them to enhance their communication and interpersonal skills

To work in the creative industry, it’s important to be able to communicate well. Being a talented designer or stylist is not enough – excellent communicators, negotiators and public speakers go much further. Support your child to build confidence in their communication skills. Encourage them to speak, perform and present publicly. This can be in as small - or large-scale environment as you deem fit for your child.

8. Do your research

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve interviewed fashion-school-graduates and asked them to talk about industry leaders and why they admire them – and they haven’t been able to give me a strong enough answer – I’d be a rich woman! Mentor your child to read, learn and know their industry of interest inside out.

When the interview presents itself, they will be ready to shine. Challenge them to think outside the box – It isn’t just about whose trending – trends are temporary. They will need to adopt a more holistic and broader view. Demonstrating specialised knowledge of industry specific topics such as sustainability, consumption issues and production difficulties in fashion will instantly set your child apart from their peers. Encourage your child to investigate industry challenges and assimilate a point of view.

9. Get their marketing hat on

What’s their USP - Unique Selling Point? Why does the creative world need them? How can they make a difference?

The creative industry is highly competitive and oversaturated - so your child will need to stand out from the crowd. What makes them different, what’s their niche and how is their skill set relevant for the future? In a rapidly changing world, your child will need to not only keep abreast of market trends, but also learn to create, design and invent for the future. Psych them up to think ahead, and to envision where they see themselves in the future.

They should define their USP. What value can they bring to the table, how can they be of service to the world and how can they make a difference. This forward thinking will inspire them on their journey and will be vital when they need to sell themselves and their ideas in future interviews.

Sital: What are your thoughts on obtaining some kind of work experience? Is this common within the creative industries?

Meg: I think it's critically important to get some experience and test whether you truly want to make a particular career choice.

10. Work Experience

I’m sure fellow Anne Hathaway fans loved watching Andy Sachs discover her inner fashionista in The Devil Wears Prada, and then become a major girl boss, as Jules in The intern. I look forward to watching these movies with my daughter someday!

But in the meantime, my advice to aspiring creatives is to leave the screen at home, put yourself out there and grasp as many work experience opportunities as you possibly can.

Internships, holiday jobs, volunteering at creative events – the more the merrier. Don’t be picky and be prepared to get your hands dirty and to work for free. Unfortunately, unpaid work experience is pretty common in creative industries. But there’s no better way to see how your kids will fare up in a creative career with close to zero income and huge competition.

These diverse experiences will broaden their horizons, expand their network and bring fresh perspectives. For those that persevere, they will have a more attractive CV/Resume to share when comes to applying for full-time jobs later on.

11. Character education is critical to your child’s success?

Unsurprisingly, the majority of young people who study creative degrees don’t end up making a career out of it. Failure to thrive in fashion often results in employees leaving their creative jobs in favour of more secure and higher-paid roles in alternative fields. But for those with fewer qualifications or no plan B, this leaves many in turmoil. It’s crucial for parents to understand the value of nurturing their child’s character and overall mental health as they embark on their career.

Qualities like inner strength, confidence, resilience, courage, compassion, honesty and integrity are key characteristics or qualities to carry us through life. At The Virtues Project? (TVP) we call these qualities our “virtues.” One of my core beliefs as a TVP coach is that personal and professional success is built on the foundation of strong moral character. To build strong character we must hone in and strengthen our virtues. As parents we are the first and most important educators in our child’s life. By modeling good character, ourselves, practicing strong ethics and living by our highest moral values, we can create a culture of character in our home.

The Virtues Project is a profound and inspiring tool to raise children of compassion and idealism. We can start by familiarizing ourselves with the fifty-two virtues that the program has defined as the key qualities to bring out the best in our children and ourselves.

With there being fifty-two virtues, we can master them by focusing on one per week. Each week, reflect on the virtue you want to strengthen. It could be kindness, nobility, service or love. Discuss the virtue as a family and collectively explore ways to practice and strengthen it. Encourage your child to turn their intentions into actions by challenging them to demonstrate the virtue daily, and to share their experiences.

When we consciously engage our virtues every day, they become a natural part of who we are. By instilling strong character in our child, it will raise their self-awareness and develop authentic self-worth and self-management skills. In-turn this creates powerful life-long habits that improve how they treat themselves and others. Strong moral character will give your child a sense of meaning and purpose. It guides them to make positive choices and inspires them to strive for excellence and ethics. With strong character on their side, your child is not only destined to achieve career success but will achieve authentic success too.

Sital: Let's talk about wellbeing. I was very impressed to learn that your kids have fully formed Mindfulness habits!

Meg: Yes! Mindfulness is a healthy habit for all for us - but particularly valuable for creative kids. As is quality sleep, a healthy diet and an exercise regime - which collectively help to provide consistent energy levels.

12. Establish a Mindfulness Practice

Scientific studies support the idea that practicing mindfulness daily increases self-awareness and promotes long-term joy, success and stability in life. Encourage your child to establish simple yet effective mindfulness practices such as daily gratitude, breathing techniques, meditation, exercise and daily reflection.

It’s never too early. My children have been practicing mindfulness since ages three and eighteen months! Now age five and three, it has become a natural habit for them. They genuinely enjoy their practise and are both calmer, more discerning, and self-disciplined children as a result.

The fashion world and other creative professions can be an unkind place. Your child will meet toxic characters on their way up. The practice of mindfulness is humbling and incredibly grounding. Your child has a much stronger chance of succeeding in the creative arena with their feet planted firmly on the ground.

13. Boost their ENERGY

If you want your child to meet their full potential – Ensure they have?enough energy. Kids need a nourishing diet, ample sleep and exercise to boost their energy and keep them happy and healthy. These three ingredients are key to healthy brain function, performance and success.

Food should be wholesome and nutritious, and even homemade and organic where possible. Blood tests will help to identify any potential deficiencies, and supplementing your child’s diet with the necessary vitamins and minerals is beneficial for optimal growth and development. Keep blood sugar levels balanced to avoid irritable, overtired or hyperactive kids.?

Nutrition education is one of the best things you can pass on to your kids. Educate your child on the dangers of processed foods, harmful toxins, artificial food dyes etc and so on. Teach them to read food labels and empower them with knowledge and skills to make healthy food choices and cultivate positive eating habits that they will carry into adult life.?

Sufficient, quality sleep (8+ hours) is imperative for all children, but especially for those with neurodevelopmental disorders like ADHD. Therefore, the bedtime routine should be consistent and in a calming environment. Avoid stimulants like sugar and screen-time before bed to promote better sleep. Inadequate sleep hygiene will lead to erratic behaviour and impact your child's ability to focus.?

Exercise can be in the form of dancing, walking, yoga or any type of physical activity. Activity increases blood flow to the brain, which fires up the neurons that promote cell growth. This can improve your child's cognitive function, sharpen their memory and boost their mood. Daily exercise and a nutritious diet will help your child sleep better at night too.

14. Practice Conscious Parenting

A creative career may or may not fit in with your vision or dreams for your child. But if you have made the decision to support them in reaching their full potential, it’s paramount that you do it wholeheartedly.

Nurturing our child to follow their own unique destiny begs us to push-aside constricting ideals, societal expectations and any pressures we may feel to raise the next successful doctor, lawyer or neurosurgeon.

The conscious parenting approach is rooted in the idea that our child is not a “mini me,” or a puppet on a string for us to control. They are their own unique being who deserves to be loved, respected, and accepted for who they are. When parenting “unconsciously” we may seek ways to constantly control, manage and fix our child. But rather than pushing them to fit our fantasies and expectations, we must tailor our raising of them to their needs, rather the molding them to fit our desires.

Encourage your child to focus on their unique strengths, explore their passions and give them the space and permission to master their own lives. Children respond positively to unconditional love. Conscious parenting fosters deeper, more authentic connections with children, and we will all enjoy the parenting journey so much more when we give them the freedom to explore their own path.

Sital: Meg, thanks so much for the rich sharing here and being so open in sharing your own story too.

So what's your current focus right now - what are you working on?

Meg: My number 1 priority right now is being a Conscious Parent to my two kids.

Where time permits, I do 3 things on a part-time basis:

• Undertake Consulting work on creative projects.
• Deliver Workshops for parents and educators as a Virtues Project Coach
• Write a Wellness column for Vogue Magazine

Sital: If anyone wants to connect, collaborate or read more of your sage advice, where should they go?

Meg: Thanks for the conversation, Sital - I've really enjoyed the self-reflection and the opportunity to share.

The best way to connect is either via email ([email protected]) or through my LinkedIn page?

The Vogue Wellness column can be found at this link here:

Upcoming Interviews

This is part of a series of interviews to coincide with International Women's Day and Woman's History Month. Through into the middle of April, we'll be sharing more interviews on my LinkedIn stream with further discussions. Feel free to follow this on LinkedIn.

Previous Interviews

Interview 1: With?Dali Sanghera, From humble beginnings and a battle to get herself educated, Dali has gone on to build a successful career with?#Accenture?over the last 30 years - where she is a Managing Director based out of Singapore.

Interview 2: With?Sital's Mum!?My 84 year-old mother shares her personal story and the vital importance of educating girls. She offers advice to woman and men on how we build equitable workplaces. Mum also shares her Wellbeing habits – something which we could all learn from. ??

Interview 3: With?Uma?Thana Balasingam?- Starting from humble beginnings at a Malaysian school where she “..lined up in a separate queue with the poor kids to get 2nd hand books.” Uma now leads?#VMWare's business across 48 markets - and is regularly being nominated on global and regional lists of the most influential woman in technology. In 2022 she was named in LinkedIn’s Top 10 Voices in Gender Equity. Uma is Co-founder of the?#LeanIn?community in Singapore and founder of Lean In's?#WomanInTech?network for Asia.

Interview 4: With?Shoon Yin Lim?- Having led the Diversity Equity and Inclusion (#DEI) initiatives at?#Shell,?#Microsoft?and?#Givaudan?-?Shoon?is currently with Russell Reynolds Associates where she focusses on the development and growth of DE&I as a key proposition for business performance globally with a focus on Asia Pacific.

Interview 5: With?Anna Green?- Having been inspired by her mother's commitment to lifelong learning, Anna has taken herself outside her comfort zone to learn - and keep learning. Her career spans across 3 different sectors in 7 countries. A qualified lawyer, Anna transitioned from Law to Financial Services to Cloud Technology with?#AWS?- Amazon Web Services

Interview 6: With?Jacinda Chislum Pearson?- Jacinda leads?#Microsoft's Talent Acquisition teams for Asia. In this open and authentic discussion, Jacinda shares some inciteful views on being a black family relocating from the US to Asia - along with lessons from Microsoft's journey to build more diversified teams.

Interview 7: with?Sook Hoon Cheah?- From a young age, Sook Hoon's mother instilled in her a belief that education was her passport out of poverty. Teaching her the importance of grit, gratitude and integrity. After a 30-year career in technology, Sook Hoon today leads?#Microsoft's South East Asia New Markets business.

Interview 8: with Ahmed Mazhari - Ahmed is the #Microsoft President for Asia. Ahmed shares perspectives on how we reduce gender inequity and offers some practical suggestions on being a strong male ally. He also shares his personal story and why he's so passionate about #DigitalInclusion.

Interview 9: with Susan Vaughan - Susan is an HR leader who also volunteers with?#DressForSuccess?- a global non-profit organization who work with disadvantaged woman. Susan talks of the vital work undertaken to enable the woman to break the cycle of poverty and gain economic independence through a network of support, professional attire and development tools to help them thrive at work and in life.