About Mia Mai

Welcome to Mia Mai…

First up… This is my Mia Mai blog … check it out

Second up: Let me explain a little… Mia Mai is an intimate business based on the south-coast. I, on behalf of Mia Mai, strive to offer my customers something special and unique. I believe in being yourself and not following the crowds. I design for the type of girl who wants to stand out and is comfortable in her own skin. A few of my influences include vintage fashions, burlesque, pin-up art, 1940’s lingerie and tattooing. These inspirations can be seen throughout all my collections. I am hugely passionate about my business and I hope to appeal to like minded women… Are you a Mia Mai Doll?

I set up Mia Mai in my final year at Portsmouth University in 2006. Not content with the idea of spending the first few years of my life post Uni working for someone else, I made the decision to launch my own design label to sell my own ideas. Adamant I wanted my business to represent me and everything I love, I decided to use an anagram of my name, Ami, as the company name and Mia Mai was born.

During my third year at Uni I entered Portsmouths’ Enterprise Challenge of 2006. This is a huge competition where students can submit their business ideas to receive funding. Writing a business plan, I got through to stage 2 of the competition and went on to win first place in the design category. The £2000 prize money went towards essential equipment, materials and vintage stock.

My first customised vintage collection, ‘BirdCaged Beauty’, started what has proven to be the backbone of the company’s product range and Mia Mai’s signature style. I adore vintage fashion and it makes up a large part of my own wardrobe. I love knowing the garment has a history and a past to it, that by wearing it you are giving it new life and setting yourself apart from the crowd. I now produce bi-annual vintage collections, where I hand pick vintage pieces and then customise them. The garments are altered and vary from having stencilled, hand painted or screen printed designs on them, making each piece a true original.

My art and illustration takes up a lot of my time and is a real passion. I am hugely influenced by pin-up art and try to capture that feminine Je ne sais quoi in my own work.

Another love and a big part of Mia Mai is Jewellery. A girl who owns way too many accessories and definitely isn’t a follower of the saying ‘less is more’, I spend a huge amount of time hand picking and making pieces for Mia Mai’s Jewellery Box. Echoing the vintage idea of giving a new life to something old and forgotten, I mix reclaimed components together to give depth and originality to my work.

Please take a look through the other pages to see images and detailed descriptions of services available from Mia Mai.

Ami x