A NEW
LUXURY
T
he hunt for beauty and art is an entire wondrous life-style
filled with adventure and imagination. It takes a certain
artistic spirit to want to explore every last corner of the
world’s potential in both travel and creation. Style Sonata
offers the link between fashion and artistic expression with their
countless collections of unique accessories. These treasures are designed
by artists inspired by their life’s unpredictable journey day after day. We
were lucky enough to speak with Marketing Manager Micha Alleyne
who puts passion into every word and wrings out every last drop of such
a beautiful life. BY GABRIELLA SAITTA
Cliché: What is it about Style Sonata that
rings “adventure” and “freedom?”
Micha Alleyne: Bunny initially started Style
Sonata as a true love for creativity and art.
She is someone who is very involved in
that world and started as a passion to create
a platform to expose all of these different
types of artists. We hand pick designers
that have that artistic spirit. What you’re
getting is a masterpiece and a unique vision
of self-expression that come in the form of
necklaces, bracelets, earrings, or hand-bangs.
The women that we speak to, they know
themselves; they operate on the highest level
of self-expression and self-awareness. Style
Sonata does the dirty work for them and
exposes them to this array of truly
one-of-a-kind pieces that allow them to
express themselves on a higher level. It’s
about that individual perspective.
In Bunny Touby Fayne’s message, she
talks about how much she loves the
“process that artists go through to make
art.” What part of the process is Style
Sonata a part of when designers are
creating their accessories?
We let them do their own thing; we are just
the platform that connects each designer to
create these unique inspirations. We think of
ourselves as providing a new type of luxury
and that luxury is the luxury of the rare and
undiscovered. Some designers are inspired
by travel, some are inspired by art, so we let
the them do their own thing. We really want
to bring these pieces to life and bring justice
to these pieces and the story behind them.
We provide that connection, that front-row
seat. You speak of your followers as people
30
who don’t settle for the status quo and we
really relate to that because we don’t settle
either. We attract people who are discerning
and on top of anything that is cutting edge,
or just different.
What is meant by “a new type of luxury?”
People crave experiences and things that are
exotic and different. We want to offer that
experience and that’s the luxury that we’re
talking about. Maybe you can’t take a visit
to Cuba, but you can look at one of our
collections by Katie Bartels who was
inspired by her experiences in Cuba and
created a vibrant collection. It’s all about
an experience and knowing that you’re
getting something that’s one-of-a-kind and
something that was inspired by living life.
Kind of like when you have “farm to table”
we have workshop to closet where you can’t
get these pieces anywhere else, but you’ll
find Madonna wearing them, Gabrielle
Union, Meryl Streep, Blake Lively, Halle
Berry, JLo, the list goes on. We give them
the front row seat to design ers that are on the
verge of their own breakthroughs. They’re
not mass market, so they are special, they are
the new luxury. We speak to the wanderers at
heart. Bunny, the founder, is the most
interesting person you’ll ever meet. She’s
witty, she’s quirky, and she loves to live
life to the fullest and express herself at the
highest level possible.
What kinds of stories do Style Sonata and
the designers behind the collections tell?
We think of ourselves as a destination, not
just as an online store, but where people can
www.clichemag.com
come and share adventures with a fashion
twist. We have the Key of B which is our
platform to tell stories, some are fashion
related and some aren’t. What we’ve really
been working on this year is making the
personality of Style Sonata shine through,
not just the designers that we curate, but
with the stories that we tell.
What do you wish to inspire in
your customers?
We wish to inspire a sense of wonder and
self-expression. We want people to
appreciate the curation that we’ve put a lot
of thought into putting together and to take it
to the next level. We want them to break all
of the rules and break their identity and their
own sense of style. We want them to use us
a medium to do so. We want them to live life
and just be bold! Whoever they are, we just
want them to embody that 100%, and we are
here to help them accessorize it.
How does Style Sonata inspire you?
Yes! Style Sonata is a multicultural team.
I am half Trinidadian and half Jamaican, I
live in LA, I have lived in over 7 cities my
lifetime. I was recently in Australia and
it was the most amazing trip ever. I was
running through the streets through rain and
sun, trying to pack everything I could into
one trip! I am always on the go; I’m big on
adventure and traveling. When I joined the
Style Sonata team at the beginning of last
year, my goal was to really capture what
Style Sonata meant. Bunny has this specific
vision and she really spent a long time trying
to curate the designers that we do have and it