Impact fashion designer and Sami Miro Vintage founder Sami Miró joined forces with Samsung to bring us the SMV x Galaxy Watch4 collection. At Unpacked, Samsung introduced Galaxy the Watch4 Classic and Galaxy Watch4 to consumers as a tool to better understand their health, but with the help of Miro, they can now be both sustainable and stylish. According to the press release sent exclusively to ESSENCE, the collection “draws inspiration from the beauty and colors of Mother Earth to serve as a reminder to prioritize mindfulness, health, wellness, and sustainability each day,” which aligns with Miro’s mission to remind people that it’s possible to respect the Earth and be fashionable at the same time.
“We know now more than ever that our consumers are looking for smartwatches that don’t just have more capabilities and features, but for a device that’s super stylish and unique to them,” Oby Eniya, Marketing Communications Director at Samsung, told ESSENCE. “Infusing that into the new line was very important to us and it shows because the Watch4 series is a complete reset of our smartwatch portfolio and we built these needs and preferences in mind. These smartwatches are perfect for anyone that really wants to stay mindful of their health and wellness all while keeping their personal style intact.”
Eniya continued to explain the Galaxy for the Planet initiative in light of the collaboration. Samsung has committed to tangible actions including the elimination of all plastics in mobile packaging and achieving zero waste to landfills by 2025. “We’re also going to be incorporating recycled materials into all of our new mobile products by 2025 as well. As you can see, we are super committed to creating a more sustainable world,” Eniya added before handing the conversation over to Miró.
Before the release of her collaboration with the electronics hub, ESSENCE caught up with Miró about the inspiration behind the aesthetic of the watchbands, how she maintains her own wellness routine, and her most recent Eternal Earth Day initiative.
ESSENCE: How did the collaboration come about and what were your initial feelings when you were presented with this opportunity?
Sami Miró: Samsung approached me for this collaboration that I’m really excited for to create three watch face designs and five watchbands. Because my entire brand revolves around sustainability and being good to the planet, I was excited and impressed that such a huge company like Samsung is taking those amazing steps into changing its business model to focus on sustainability as well. I love the fact that they were interested in working with a smaller niche brand like Sami Miro Vintage. One of my favorite things is the materials that we’re using for the watchbands. The primary one is made out of a recycled apple peel skin, which is huge. Those emulate the beauty of leather done sustainably and we use other sustainable materials as well.
I was so happy that such a big brand is promoting the importance of sustainability out there and educating people. It’s important to focus on or to be mindful of the fact that fabrics out there are really bad for the planet and the process that has to occur for them to be made is detrimental. The fact that they are focusing on this initiative and that this is really the first watch-specific collection with the focus of sustainability for the Galaxy for the Planet initiative was huge for me.
ESSENCE: Tell us about the beauty and the colors that you all have drawn inspiration from including the Earth, nature and the essence of natural beauty?
Miró: The focus of the collection was to push to the forefront in the designs the importance of the planet and really bringing in nature and also mindfulness. The inspiration behind the collection was to create designs that evoke positive energy and positive emotion for the person that wants to do good for themselves and to do good for the planet. As you wear your watch every single day, I wanted to have on your wrist a positive reminder to be good to yourself and the earth. In terms of the design specifically, they’re really fluid. When it comes to the colors, they’re supposed to bring out happiness, good energy, and a calming feeling and a freeing feeling and the beauty of nature and the essence of the wind.
ESSENCE: Tell us about your wellness routine and how you use the Galaxy Watch4 to prioritize your wellness, work and daily activities.
Miró: The Galaxy Watch4 is my personal favorite and my lifestyle is so on the go. It’s very work-oriented and also wellness-minded. I can go from working and staying super connected with everything that I need on my wrist when it comes to texts and emails and phone calls and everything. It also gives me the ability to transition seamlessly from work into taking a break to work out, which I do at least five days a week. Being able to use it for running and hot yoga is amazing to stay on track and to make sure that I’m both focused on work and my personal wellness.
I also love the meditation capabilities. A new thing for me is focusing on our meditation. With this watch, there’s the Calm app which I use to meditate before bed, which has really improved my sleeping habits. It’s truly been amazing.
ESSENCE: What is your new Eternal Earth Day initiative and how did it come about?
Miró: We’ve never really done anything for Earth Day until this year at Sami Miro Vintage. Eternal Earth Day really was because we never fed into what Earth Day was. That’s our entire ethos about the brand and we celebrate the Earth every single day. For the customer, we wanted to give them a reminder of the planet more frequently than just 1 out of 365 days a year. We created a seasonal program where we would launch any Eternal Earth Day capsule collection. It’s a seasonal reminder that we should practice sustainability every day.