{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"She Leads®: The Podcast for Women Entrepreneurs Building to $1 Million and Beyond","title":"Breaking Barriers and Redefining Womanhood: Merging Fashion and Impact with Mona Patel","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3442,"description":"You don't have to be a certain brand of woman in order to deliver your message.Mona is the founder of Couture for Cause, a nonprofit organization using fashion to fundraise and raise awareness for girls’ education and empowerment worldwide. She shares her journey from childhood in India to the recent Met Gala, where she turned heads in a stunning Iris van Herpen dress. With a blend of humor and vulnerability, she reflects on her struggles with identity, a tomboy image, and searching for her authentic self.Mona has a strong entrepreneurial mind and a love for freedom mixed with a love for fashion She talks specifically of creativity and aesthetics, which she refers to as \"aesthetic intelligence” which she used at Met Gala to showcase her nonprofit work. Multiple businesses she built taught her lessons about flexibility, learning skills, and the power of real estate.Mona knows the power of connection and community along with the extensive education she got helped her to get out of the social pressures women face, especially in India, thanks to her parents’ open-mindedness which was the key to her empowerment. She had a desire to turn a \"guilty pleasure\" of fashion into something meaningful. Through her organization, she combines her passion for couture with efforts to support grassroots initiatives in India, particularly for young women and girls affected by sex trafficking and other challenges. Mona’s life was marked with resilience, seeking freedom, and breaking the norms in business and life but her mom taught her to balance between ambition and humility and that lesson has been a significant part of her growth. Show notes:👗 Mona made a splash at the Met Gala in a beautiful Iris van Herpen dress. 02:33👧🏽 Mona's story as a child in India: her father's influence and help were significant. 08:12👠 Only as an adult did she realize she didn't have to pretend to be a tomboy to be an empowered woman. 13:47🏰 Her parents have been her fortress: they were very open-minded....","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/f7FqP7W8-EcdwM3jDjh2bR8-K_lYYQIY-w0kz2NXAOA/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8zYmZj/MzdiNWI3NGY2OGVi/MjljYzRkMDliODAw/Y2U2Yi5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}