Member Spotlight: Sophie Zembra of Antidote
Like many young women, I’ve always loved playing with fashion, mixing colors and materials, and taking pleasure in composing my own style- but I never imagined to work in the fashion industry. Since I was very young, I always wanted to express my creativity, which led me to study stained glass. But I soon felt trapped and started to travel while developing a range of professional experiences, from creating a creperie in Spain to a hotel in Saint Barts and Los Angeles. With these experiences, I matured my creative vision. I came back to France with the intention of putting my training in stained glass into practice. I created a water jet cutting company with my carpenter and contractor father. We used this method to create personalized and unique designs for façades, screens, hotel furniture, whatever the material (concrete, wood, steel). I soon wanted to explore working with new materials, like textiles, which strengthen my interest in fashion. Like stained glass, fashion is both an art and a craft, and so, the connection between my two passions happened naturally.
As my interest in textiles grew, so did my interest in the ethics behind the fashion industry. My approach to ethical fashion was personal at first. The supply of eco-fashion was limited and not always very “stylish” and I had to search a long time on the Internet to find clothes that matched my own personal style. Another way I’d find ethical fashion was through my travels. It was then that I thought to share my “finds” through a marketplace and so I created
Shopethik! Today, I want to go further by making this world accessible to everyone. By creating Antitode I want to show that it is finally possible to combine pleasure, creativity while acting positively in an area where everything remains to be done to change the status quo. Today, that choice sounds like a no-brainer for me.
Antidote is a solution, a happy therapy, a remedy for fast fashion. We are a unique and curated shop fully dedicated to creative and eco-conscious fashion. Our purpose is to celebrate the advent of a new era for fashion, and to highlight the incredible story behind this tremendous upheaval with a delighted universe of creations. Conscious fashion is not just a label: it is something amazing. Behind every garment or accessory there is a narrative, craftsperson/artisan, designer commitment, savoir-faire and the same wish: to design sensibly taking people, animals, and the environment into account.
When I arrived in Miami 9 months ago I did not know anyone or even American habits. Being in a co-working space makes it possible to socialize quickly and to create partnerships. And in a cool way !!! Why Miami? Miami was not the first place I thought of to establish my brand and my flagship store- I imagined cities like NYC or Los Angeles. But I fell in love with Wynwood and its atmosphere when I came to Miami 2 years ago. Nyc or Los Angeles are full of concept store fashion while in Miami I saw a place for Antidote.
The atmosphere: it’s a way to mix cool and work.
