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Co-owner of the brand, MOVEPRETTY, Annelize Kotze, has summed this period up as having been both destabilizing & challenging. Feeling stripped of her usual structured, coping mechanisms, it has forced her to reduce her pace, and accept, that if she just got through the day, there would be new grace for the day thereafter. Annelize found that adopting new thought patterns had enabled her to cope better under stress, learning to relax more, and to appreciate the extra time she had with, and for the family.
At the start of Lockdown, Annelize set out with expectations to have at least three proper workouts a week but has found that she hasn’t trained as much as she would have liked to. All the workouts she has attempted, were cut short, and she’s had to come to terms with that. She’s prioritised getting sufficient sleep and goes to bed between 9-10 each night, which has added so much value to her days – which had become so much more demanding.
“A demanding modern lifestyle means that women juggle so many roles throughout the day: from working woman, to mom, to super-cook, to managing a social calendar and above it all, they still try to maintain staying active. MOVEPRETTY came about as an answer to this need: the modern woman can now transition from one role to the next, in comfortable yet classy active wear. The design is with the active, dynamic woman in mind, while ensuring the garments are functional for exercise, resulting in maximum flexibility and movement in each design. ….” Excerpt from the MOVEPRETTY mission statement.
Attention to detail is key, and examples include pocket detail, subtle gold branding, pretty stitching on the inside of the garment, beautiful packaging, and a personalized customer service experience. A studio to street wardrobe that wont break the bank, and being a brand that has always been marketed online, no changes were required.
With the onset of COVID-19 Annelize expanded her offering, to include Unite4One, a Mask Project, with the aim of designing & manufacturing masks from week two of lockdown. Till now they have only supplied wholesale and bulk, but will soon launch masks through their MOVEPRETTY online shop. The core aim of the Unite4One Mask Project is to give back 10% of all proceeds in the form of masks, food, clothes or whatever is needed in communities most severely affected by COVIE-19. (Additional information is available at: www.unite4one.com)
With regards social media, Annelize had this to say: “At the start of Lockdown, I would use social media to stay up-to-date with news and what was going on in the world. But as time passed, I began to feel anxious and overwhelmed. I then began limiting the amount of time I spent on social media, by curating my feeds better. I only wanted to be exposed to uplifting content with value. I also ring-fenced the news from trustworthy sources and kept that to a minimum, as well as succinct feeds so that it didn’t swallow up all my time. I think that curation and time management of social media was absolutely crucial. We can so easily get lost in a spiral of meaningless consumption which does not serve us well”.
The changed circumstances have had a definite effect on Annelize’s buying patterns, she says, and she’s also far more creative with her cooking, entertainment and home-making, stating that these are some of the new habits she will defintely continue after lockdown.
“I have learnt to come to grips with the feelings of uncertainty and fear. I know we are resilient, as a people, as women, and we will bounce back, after COVIC-19, stronger and wiser than before. I am looking forward to this all being over, but I know that things will never be the same. We must be open to changes and challenges, assured of this certainty, that nothing that is given to us, will be too much to carry. We will be able to overcome”, says Annelize, who is known to be, passionate in all she attempts and believes in empowering women to be the best version of themselves.
