The designer and the established fashion brand reveal the brand's secrets and challenges during the years of its life
How and why did you decide to work in fashion, and when did you create the fashion brand MIJEL?
I got into fashion really by accident. It was not my childhood dream, but this field has always haunted me in life. My grandmother was into it, and I was quite young when I took my first fashion design lessons. My real interest was ignited before my student years, when I started designing clothes for myself. Then my mother said to me, "I want you to study what gives you pleasure so that you never have to work.". She provoked me to believe in myself. The truth is that my interest in fashion ignited with each subsequent project and year because I was able to see the vast field it hides.
What inspired and continues to inspire you to build the brand?
"The advantage of being a designer is that you can create a new product, a new feeling, and excitement... Something unique in itself that can be copied but will never be original after you. The primal emotion felt from creating a unique product is priceless. It is your passion that keeps you going."
This is my philosophy, which is reflected in my work. Brand building is a continuous process that requires persistence, ambition, dedication, uncompromisingness, and, above all, self-challenge for better projects.
Who is the woman to whom you have oriented the brand? Describe it to us in a few words, please.
We grow together with the brand, and vice versa. It is like a living organism that is constantly evolving. The driving force is the needs of our customers. If at the beginning we worked in a romantic style, our new concept is aimed at self-confident women who have the desire and need to look different from the mainstream. To show their character through the expressive means of bold designs. These are ladies who believe in themselves and are not afraid to express themselves to show their femininity and beauty. They are those women who have no age but have many social roles and reap victories in each of them. And they do it with individual style and class.
What distinguishes you from other Bulgarian brands?
I respect the work of all my colleagues. I think that this type of creativity cannot be put on a scale because of the different worlds, people, and tastes. I believe that every brand has its own style and feel. It took me many years to clear my style, and the moment I found it, I started all over again, making changes to the new one. It's simple: to stand out, you have to be different, take risks, make mistakes, and change with the current times.
Are there models or lines that define you as a brand?
Every designer knows when they have created an extraordinary product. A product that people fall in love with and become the key to the brand, a product with which they remember it, and always wherever they see it, they will know that this model is from this brand. I had the opportunity to feel this feeling with several MIJEL models. The first of these is our iconic white lux dress. This dress we have produced in different variations over the years. Many of our customers own all generations of this dress. A few years later, the white lux set, the Excellence dress, also appeared, which also became bestsellers. I am proud that we have the opportunity to create iconic and timeless products, which is a real achievement for a fashion brand, especially a Bulgarian one.
What would you define as your most serious achievement so far?
The love and trust that our happy customers—who have been touched by Mijel's magic—have shown me is my greatest accomplishment.
What is the team you work with?
I don't think I'm Mijel. Yes, I am the driving force behind it all. I create every single sketch, cut, and detail. For me, it is important for the designer to have the ability to construct his projects himself and to feel the fabrics. I've never used ready-made programs because I think they dehumanize the garment. However, this is only part of the process. My team is the heart of Mijel. I love them, and it's a pleasure to work with them every day. They are the people who improve me and do not skimp on the skills they have to add value to the brand. Their support, understanding, and ambition help me to move forward and dream. I am proud to have people like them by my side. And as I like to say, they "breathe" Mijel, and that's where the magic lies.
How do you see the future of your brand? What are your dreams for him?
Time turns my brand dreams into plans, and most of them are already a reality. We are about to expand our market in Europe and beyond. But the foundation on which the brand is built will continue to evolve. Our name will continue to be established as a symbol of uniqueness, expressive femininity, uncompromising quality, and fashion audacity that sets it apart.
Interview for EVA magazine