Entrepreneur and designer Malia Mills launched her swimwear company in 1992 with just one goal in mind: to create swimwear with superior fit, to encourage women to embrace their bodies no matter what size.
Mills, born in Hawaii and immediately drawn to fashion from a young age, envisioned swimsuits that fit like lingerie, that women could mix and match just like the clothes in their closet. Mills has a distinct sense of design and engineers each style to fit specific bra and pant sizes so it’s easy to find the perfect fit. Partnered with her sister and a team of hardworking and creative women, Mills has been able to expand her business from a studio in New York City to an online boutique staffed with a fit specialist and seven unique boutiques in New York City, Chicago, South Hampton and Greenwich, Connecticut. Mills was inducted into the Council of Fashion Designers of America in the summer of 2008 and her mantra “Love Thy Differences™” continues to make women feel confident, comfortable and celebratory – both on and off the beach. With a new store in Santa Monica CA, Carley Karzmer (a former intern with the inside track) sat down with her former boss to find out how she got to where she is today. Carley Karzmer: Having received your first bikini for Christmas when you were eight years old, were you interested in fashion from an early age?
Malia Mills: My Dad used to travel to Asia for business and he would bring back fashion magazines that had gals posing in elaborate ballgowns. I was obsessed. I also used to dream about the fashions in the Sear’s catalog. Every year for Christmas I would ask my mom for a pair of white vinyl gogo boots, to no avail! “Dress up” was one of my most favorite pastimes ever. And then there was the culotte phase – corduroy, denim, floral (yikes!). I might have worn culottes every single day of fifth grade. Let’s not forget the leg ‘o mutton sleeve rage seen in the pages of Vogue in 1983. I had a bright turquoise leg ‘o mutton blouse I used to wear as a sophomore in highschool. Ridiculous! And I was a very, very strict MATCHER – blue stripes with blue stripes. Red barrettes with red dress. Insane. No wonder I am so crazed for MIXING now! Let’s not forget the royal blue super shiny satin harem pants I made for my highschool prom. YIKES!
CK: You graduated from Cornell University, and also studied fashion design at La Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, did a lot of your inspiration come from education?
MM: For sure. At Cornell I studied everything from chemical warfare helmets to sleeping bags to clean room garments to maternity clothes to evening gowns…the design solutions always needed to answer to very strict conditions. Who would wear it? What would she pay for it? Where would she shop for it? How would it make her feel? How would it be massed produced? And on and on. There were always massive limitations and it forced us to be very analytical and super creative with our solutions. In Paris I had just the opposite training. We were forced to be very detail oriented – we would spend hours hand steaming shape into a shoulder, hand sewing button holes... every sketch and sample was looked over under a microscope. But each project was assigned with few, if any, restrictions aside from a category – like design an evening gown. We were handed a big white canvas to come up with grand ideas. So I was able to learn how to be creative in a completely different way. I was very lucky to have had both types of very complementary training. Running a small business is mostly about problem solving amongst very strict parameters (small budget, no time, little man power…) but with a constant eye on the big picture and building the brand (grand ideas implemented in small ways, with precision, slowly over time.)
CK: Did you always picture yourself designing swimwear?
MM: Nope. But swimwear was always very emotional for me. My mom forbade her daughters to wear a bikini until they were 16!!! And when I was about 7 or 8 a neighbor gave me a lemon yellow ring side bikini for my birthday. And when my 3 older sisters saw me wear it they howled at the injustice! When I moved fromHawaii to New Hampshire at 13 a friend invited me to the town pond. I arrived in a hot pink surfer girl strappy cut-up-to-there swimsuit (the trend in Hawaii at the time) to find everyone else wearing very demure speedo tanks and I saw firsthand how one style can be so right in one place, and so very wrong in another! I was working at Jessica McClintock, one year after graduating from Cornell, and a friend called and asked me to make a few suits. The minute I started researching the marketplace, the stores, the selection I knew I had found my calling! Swimwear is so very emotional and I was inspired to design it, fit it, merch it, sell it in our own special way.
CK: Often times women tend to shy away from swimwear. Why do you believe women today are so self demanding on their bodies?
MM: I fear it has always been thus! Think of corsets and rib removal! The media has a very narrow view of what is to be celebrated as beautiful. This is all wrong! And it sends the message to women that if we aren’t like that, we aren’t worthy. We want to spread our “love thy differences” love so women will look in the mirror and smile at what they see, instead of always trying to change.
CK: You launched your company in 1992 with the motto “Love Thy Differences” as the key philosophy. What is the goal you want to achieve with your designs regarding women’s attitudes about themselves and fashion, particularly swimwear?
MM: It’s all about liberation from feelings of inadequacy. Inspiration to see ourselves as uniquely beautiful. The power that comes from feeling good about your unique beauty. The freedom to celebrate swimsuit season without feeling like you have to shape up, slim down, or otherwise change. The joy of inclusivity…
CK: Your mix-and-match suits are dramatically unique because of their design: the tops are specifically made for measurements of the chest, and the bottoms run by pant size giving women a suit that fits their bodies perfectly. Did you always intend to design this way?
MM: This thinking was the foundation of the business. Lingerie made so much sense to me – pick the perfect fitting bra and the perfect fitting undies – mix and match sizes, styles, colors, textures! I thought swimwear should be engineered the same way.
CK: You also design sportswear pieces that are distinctive in the aspect of the many ways they can be worn. Your pieces can transcend from summer into fall by just adding layers, why is this important for women today?
MM: We’re on the go – so layers mean a chic way to go from snowy New York to sunny Florida, or from day to night or from a warm summer day to a cool and windy summer night or from the gym to a play date…some gals shy away from the idea, worried that they’ll get it wrong but there is no wrong way to layer – experiment and have fun and you’ll come up with your own signature style.
CK: What is one piece of advice you would give to a young designer trying to start in the industry?
MM: When you are in school be sure to experiment with crazy solutions to your assignments. It’s your chance to let loose without the demands and restrictions of business. Don’t be afraid to fail. Train yourself to be a good problem solver, use all of your senses to find solutions. And find an area of the industry – there are many! -- where you are super passionate. Fashion is about tenacity!
CK: What is the most personally satisfying reward you achieve from being a designer?
MM: When a gal puts on a suit and she feels like she owns the room! It is our mission to inspire women to feel fabulous about their unique look and it is a tremendous joy to see their eyes sparkle with confidence.
CK: What are your goals for 2009?
MM: To give lots and lots of good chi! And if we’re lucky, to open a small shop in LA to share our “love thy differences” love with more and more gals!
0 Response to "Interview | Malia Mills"
Post a Comment