"I CARRY MY OWN PODIUM"

WED 7TH MAY

For seasons and seasons we kept coming back to the image of a podium: something that elevates, something that says "even if I’ve lost enough times, I’ve earned this place". Not because it was handed to you, but because you got there yourself.

You (like us) weren’t born on your high horse. It’s taken years of work, doubt, compromise, courage. And still, you show up — in your industry, your family, your community. Winning, even on the days it doesn’t feel like it.

To honour this, we created sculptural winners’ podiums and placed three of our Icons — Asia, Miri and Brenda — on top. 3D-printed blocks, like the ones used in competitions.

We wanted you to step on your own podium, that you carry every day.

"For people that sometimes win, and when they don’t, they know how to get themselves back up."

This idea was born while self-reflecting on what it means to push yourself for that special moment of daily achievement. Competing to get better, but not necessarily at sports. But as a women. Juggling a million things at once, having to perform it all so well, and being judged for it if not.

Being seen once as a “SHOE BRAND” we joked. Let's build THE PODIUMS. Quick sketches were done, then we went into 3D design mode, and finally we made them. 3 ICONS made into winning podiums, for people that sometimes win, and when they don’t, they know how to get themselves back up.

So, we started exchanging DMs on Instagram with women that were ready to step into them, right in the middle of East London, where we are from.

We met with 9 women at the crossroads by Hackney Central (a very close part to Miista’s heart, where Miista was actually born) surrounded by all the noise and chaos of a weekday morning. Buses, bikes, people rushing by — but for a few moments, they were still. Seen. Noticing each other. And being noticed in return.

Passers-by took a moment to stop and look, stare, question, admire (and let’s be honest many were baffled!). But everyone stood proud, statuesque and tall. Quite literally 2 steps above the rest. Experimenting with what one feels when you step on the winning podium.

Even if you don’t need to physically stand on a podium to take up space. We believe it’s worth remembering you are always carrying your own. It doesn’t have to be visible to be real. And when life knocks you off, the tools to get back up again are already yours.

In an accompanying campaign, we tested further the formula what if "I carry my own podium”?

You become an Icon. You might catch someone staring at your shoes, then at you, then back again — not realising they’ve just acknowledged your presence. The thing you carry with you every day. The strength you’ve built without a stage.

This campaign launches alongside the new miista.com — a site rebuilt not just for easier shopping, but to better reflect how we communicate. We’ve redesigned the experience to give more space to the stories behind our products and the people who wear them and how they carry them.