Olivela, a fashion and beauty retailer housing 400+ luxury brands, has secured $35 million in Series A financing led by Morgan Stanley. The company is built on a philanthropic business model, donating 20% of proceeds to charitable causes across the globe.
The funding will be used to fuel Olivela’s next phase of growth, which will include more partnerships with charitable partners locally, nationally and internationally. Olivela is curating a “Women’s Empowerment” takeover that will kick off with a trip to Jordan to meet with 30 young women who were sent to school from Olivela’s donations last year, as well as 100 more who will go to school next year.
The vision for Olivela started when Founder Stacey Boyd visited Dadaab, Kenya, to attend a gathering at the world’s largest refugee camp for Pakistani activist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala Yousafzai’s 19th birthday celebration.
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After returning home, Boyd shared her experience with leading luxury designers from fashion brands such as Givenchy, Jimmy Choo, Stella McCartney and Valentino, asking them if they would partner with her to build a luxury fashion and beauty retail concept that would help support at-risk communities.
Olivela opened its first brick-and-mortar location, a pop-up shop, in Nantucket, Mass. from June to October 2018, before turning into a standalone boutique. The retailer has since opened another boutique in Aspen, Colo. and has held pop-up events in Miami, San Francisco, Houston and on Long Island.
Launched in 2017, Olivela has donated to global charities like CARE and Malala Fund, in addition to community charities such as the Nantucket Cottage Hospital and Aspen Education Foundation. The current team of 60+ has offices in New York, London and San Francisco.
