Looking at the bright, glowing and total boss babe Feva Sweat Co-Founder Selina Bagnulo and you wouldn’t be able to guess the struggles she overcame to become the Girl Boss that she is today. According to Selina, fitness and a healthy lifestyle helped her overcome her body image issues, and she wants to share this positivity with others through her sustainable and inclusive activewear brand Feva Sweat.
Feva Sweat is the brainchild of Selina and business partner Richard Yang. The brand offers different kind of made-to-measure, bespoke activewear styles that break free from the limitations of standard sizing and make all women feel like a queen no matter what their size.
Selina says, “My goal is to create a business that is inclusive to all body types. A place where women don’t feel restricted by dress size, don’t judge themselves on being small, medium or large, a place where individuals can be themselves and shine bright as who they are.”
Team Coco caught up with Selina to talk about the journey that led to Feva Sweat, the biggest advice she has for aspiring entrepreneurs and what makes Feva Sweat stand out from the rest.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background? What is Feva Sweat?
My name is Selina. I am 24 years old and grew up in London. I was born in Cape Town South Africa and lived in Africa for the first 4 years of my life. My family is from all over the world and very mixed in culture. I have recently moved from London to Spain.
I work as a personal trainer privately training women online, in my local gym or by the beautiful beaches of Denia. I love helping them to reach their health and fitness goals. The nature of my work means I have flexible hours and time to work from home on my recently launched clothing line, Feva Sweat.
Feva Sweat is a custom made, sustainable, slow fashion activewear brand. We offer premium quality activewear with the availability of made to measure, fully bespoke garments. Now we are very small scale, our handmade garments are produced in small batches of 45 pieces for standard sizes and made-to-order in our bespoke system.
For our first ever release we have leggings, shorts and crop tops available. Now we have one standard style that is available in 3 different colours and hoping to expand soon. As a start-up, we felt this would be the most effective way to bring our customers the best products possible. We aim for quality over quantity at Feva Sweat.
Our clothing is produced in a sustainable system, with premium fabric from a sustainable Italian supplier. All our products are manufactured in a small factory in London UK, shipped by a local e-commerce company and packaged in recyclable materials. Our goal is to allow people to express their Individuality, fuel their inner fire and encourage their devotion to physical activity.
What inspired you to launch Feva Sweat (your personal journey that’s brought you here)?
A huge inspiration for me to start my own clothing brand was to create a company that has a perfect fit for ALL body types! Growing up, I had enormous struggles with my body image and loving myself. I was diagnosed with anorexia/bulimia nervosa around the age of 13 and was hospitalised at 17. I’ve always struggled to love the body that I was in. Fortunately, I have a loving family who supported me during this difficult time and knew it important for me to take some time away from studies and work to heal.
During this healing period I began to exercise slowly and began to eat more each day. I couldn’t believe how good I began to feel, my body was getting stronger, but most importantly my mind was thriving. I had never felt so happy about the skin that I was in and at peace in my mind, no longer battling myself about food, or constantly telling myself I wasn’t good enough. This is the chapter in my life where I fell in love with exercise and healthy living. I wanted to share with others what I had discovered.
I went on to complete my qualifications in personal training and sport. I created an Instagram page where I began documenting my fitness journey and how I had overcome my demons in the hopes of inspiring others to do the same. At this time, my business-minded long time best friend, Richard Yang, suggested that we create a clothing brand. This idea between friends was where Feva Sweat was born!
During our brainstorming I said to him “wouldn’t it be great if there was a sports clothing company who sized their leggings like companies like Levi’s and Topshop do their jeans?” So, Feva Sweat offers not only waist and length measurements, but can make our leggings fit each woman’s body shape. This is the perfect way to express my life story through my clothing brand, as it foregoes judgement towards dress sizes whether you were small, medium or large. I could just be size ‘Selina’ and others size ‘Kathrine’ or whatever beautiful Queen that you are. No matter what your measurements are, Feva Sweat would have a way of making every woman look and feel beautiful!
How did you come up with the name?
Richard and I came up with the name after we created our mission statement of bringing out an individual’s inner fire. We landed on Feva in relation to a ‘fever’ and being hot when working out. It also portrays the idea of having fire within which creates our character, motivation and drive. We wanted a unique name that was memorable and linked our brand with exercise. That is when we added the word sweat which had a nice ring to it. The result being Feva Sweat.
What makes Feva Sweat stand out from the rest?
What really makes Feva Sweat different from other sportswear brands is our unique availability to customise measurements exactly to the body of our customers, resulting in full bespoke tailored garments.
We have tiers to our bespoke ability, for example standard sizes being the first tier. We have semi-bespoke which is the second tier where customers can adjust the length of their leggings and tops. Our last tier and most specialised feature are Fully Bespoke, this is where customers can adjust ALL measurements according to their personal preference and fit that they would like. They must get in contact with me to order their fully bespoke garments. We have a step by step video and explanations on how to measure your body so that it is clear to all. We then create a personalised avatar where we can adjust small measurements if needed to ensure that we create the perfectly fitted custom outfit just for them! Feva Sweat also maintains premium quality products and a sustainable slow fashion nature.
What is it like being an entrepreneur and launching your own business currently in your life?
It is very liberating. I have great control over my day to day life. My future career excites me as I can make money doing something that I love. The sky’s the limit, I have so many things to try and so many ways to grow. There have been times I have doubted myself, but I think the only time that I would ever really fail is if I gave up trying. There are many obstacles, but so far, I have been able to overcome each hurdle that has come my way, it just takes patience and persistence. I want to keep learning, overcoming and growing. I believe in myself, and I believe in Feva Sweat.
How has this endeavour changed your life so far?
This has changed my life completely. I never thought I would start my own business. I was studying sport science with the intention of working as a sport psychologist or physical therapist. After the first steps of starting my own business, I knew it was what I wanted to do forever. I moved to Spain to live with my mum. It can be difficult living away from my home, family and the city where the business was born. Living in Spain has been a blessing as it has given me time to develop Feva Sweat. Starting Feva Sweat was one of the best things I have ever done. It has made me realise what type of lifestyle I want and for that I am forever grateful.
What are your goals for Feva Sweat and yourself in the coming years?
My goal is to create a business that is inclusive to all body types. A place where women don’t feel restricted by dress size, don’t judge themselves on being small, medium or large, a place where individuals can be themselves and shine bright as who they are.
I aim to expand the styles that we have, create more made-to-measure custom items and introduce this niche into the fashion industry. I want to change fashion culture, moving away from people being categorised into size, finding a new system where people can have their own size. I don’t want women to worry about finding clothes that fit, or that they must change to look and feel good in their activewear. My goal for Feva Sweat is to be that change.
My goal for myself is to do everything I can to make that happen, to learn, listen and adapt to develop the perfect products, to be inclusive, sustainable and maintain the quality of our brand. I would like to expand, release men’s clothing, expand to other countries and continue to grow in every way possible.
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