Debuting at London Fashion Week this season at On | Off is ready-to-wear womenswear label Miló Maria, and Wonderland managed to get an exclusive preview of the collection before it hits the runways.
The London-based label focuses on designing feminine, minimalist pieces that are absolute staples in every woman’s wardrobe. Using only the finest quality fabrics and tailoring with the utmost attention to detail, the brand aims to create clothing that radiates elegance.
The designer behind the luxurious label, Maria, gave us a sneak peek of the upcoming SS17 collection. Inspired by “space travel” and the sci-fi genre, this collection is all about futuristic fashion. The pieces include mixing and matching various materials and using spacey foil prints for that take-me-to-your-leader alien vibe. Maria showed us the luscious watercolour sketches of her designs, which are bursting with vivid colours and sensual silhouettes.
Dying to know more, we probed Maria’s brain for the 411 on this collection.
How would you describe your collection?
Futuristic silhouettes. Bold, elegant and subtly sexy.
What were your inspirations?
Space and the human ambition to conquer it. I am fascinated by not only the history of “space travel” (it has been 55 years since the first man flew to space successfully), but also developments and innovations in technology over time, particularly in relation to space suits. Photographs of outer space, geometric art and engineering drawings, alongside science-fiction films and literature have also been a great source of inspiration, especially Space Odyssey, The Fifth Element, and Star Wars.
What details can we expect in your clothing?
Rounded shapes, sporty trims, elastics and gathers. I have also experimented with material combinations by contrasting matte, shiny, transparent and opaque fabrics. I’m especially excited by the foil print detail found on a number of the pieces – the design was inspired by one of the line drawings of the artist Dmitry Artischev.
What kind of woman would you say wears your clothes? Who’s your customer?
My designs are created to appeal to an attitude, not a particular demographic or age group. I envisage my clothes being worn by a confident, sophisticated and sexy individual, who appreciates relaxed and practical tailoring.
What’s your favourite look from the collection?
The Valia dress is a standout piece for me – I love the rounded shape on the bust and the metallic lame fabric, which is slightly transparent against the light.
What was your process like when creating this collection?
Having developed my initial design concept, I gathered together as much material as possible, creating mood boards, experimenting with different colour combinations and collecting fabric samples. After this stage I began to draw and sketch. Drawing is an especially important part of the design process for me – it helps me to explore my ideas, which I refine and add detail to in the studio.
What do you hope your future looks like in fashion?
I want to keep growing and developing as a designer. One of my main goals is to use sustainable fabrics for all of the Miló Maria collections. This is something I’d love to see more of in the fashion industry- for both consumers and producers to be more environmentally concise and efficient.
