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Colorado Activewear Brand ICONI Featured In 'Oprah's Favorite Things'

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. (CBS4) - ICONI activewear launched in 2020 and pivoted during the pandemic to reach customers online. The small black-owned business found a following and eventually caught the attention of Oprah Magazine.

ICONI's leggings are featured among Oprah's Favorite Things and are available on Amazon. CEO Angel Johnson said the recognition improved their sales tenfold.

iconi ceo
(credit: Angel Johnson)

"We want everyone to wear activewear and be proud of it and get motivated and get inspired in the gym by it," Johnson told CBS4 on Tuesday. "I think it's also important to support black-owned, women-owned and other minority-owned businesses, because they may not have a lot of the same opportunities as other businesses."

ICONI is an acronym for "I Can Overcome, Nothing's Impossible," a mantra Johnson says she recites to herself daily. The idea of an inclusive legging brand that is also motivational came to the active-duty military member at 1:00 a.m. while she was working a night shift and thinking about her workouts. She felt leggings were expensive and can be embarrassing to wear in some cases when they're see through.

"So in September, someone from Oprah Magazine reached out to me via email and said 'Hey, we're interested.' and I thought, 'No, this is a scam,'" Johnson said on a video conference call. "'Oh, this is really a writer from Oprah Magazine,' so then that process went on for about a month of them trying out the clothing."

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(credit: Oprah Magazine)

Launched at the beginning of 2020, the plan was to sell the product in gyms and meet customers face-to-face, but social media had to take the place of that experience with the spread of COVID-19. Johnson says word of mouth and her inclusive approach that offers sizes like 4XL helped in the first six months.

But the short time on Amazon with Oprah's endorsement has changed her business significantly. She estimates more products were sold in the last month, since the announcement in November, compared to the rest of the year.

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(credit: ICONI)

"Then they said 'You got Oprah Magazine, into Oprah's Magazine, her Favorite Things,' and I was just screaming in the parking lot of my car," she said. "People from Hawaii and Alaska who probably would have never heard about my brand can now see it on Amazon."

ICONI donates 10% of its profits to charity, which include Clothes To Kids of Denver, Minnesota Freedom Fund, and the Healing Wings Foundation.

Initial sales were focused on 50 items at a time, now the company deals with tens of thousands of leggings ordered from all over the world. In 2021, Johnson hopes they expand their line of products and start to offer activewear for men. She has relied on friends for help so far, and now she will likely hire additional staff for the company.

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(credit: ICONI)

As a brand chosen by Oprah during a year when her Favorite Things are focused on gratitude and encouraging support of black-owned and women-owned businesses all year, Johnson hopes the city and state that gave her a start as an entrepreneur will follow that lead.

"I think it's just more important to look inside our community, hey we talk about all of these businesses, small businesses, and we don't want to close during the pandemic," she said. "What are we doing as a community, as a city in Denver to really get out and support these small businesses."

To learn more about the brand, visit ICONI's website.

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