Twinning is Winning

Everyone from Marie Claire to Vogue is talking about twinning.  Between New York & Paris Fashion week and Vogue’s prediction for Spring 2018 trends,  the message is clear: matching with your mate, twinning with your tribe or embracing couple coordinating is a sure fire way to flex your fashion know how this year.

As written in Vogue this February; The front row in Milan are twinning (& we’re hooked)…and if vogue says so, it must be true.

Then there is Beyonce and her daughter  Blue Ivy who have enthusiastically adopted the trend.   Who’s gonna argue with Queen B?  No one.

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Enter Mikin, the newly launched matching fashion label inspired by distinctive vintage prints.

Mothers of Invention

Officially launched on 26th April, Mikin’s journey started back in 2015 when good friends Vivien and My Lan got together wanting to find clothing for their children that were both practical and exciting. There wasn’t anything that felt right – particularly for their new baby boys.

Frustrated with the limited range on offer in the marketplace, Vivien and My Lan – armed with their background in textiles and fashion – set about designing their own range of printed clothing.  To their delight they discovered that the first run of Mikin designs were loved by both girls & boys, men & women of all ages.  Friends began to ask for matching ranges, and so Mikin was born. A distinctive, fun, gender-neutral collection for Me and My Kin. The Mikin Family range has grown to cover baby through teen to adult, with vintage-inspired prints.

Our one of a kind, hand painted, vintage prints combined with practical, quality garments designed to inspire and excite people of all ages and genders.

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Who runs the world? Mumtrepreneurs

Starting a family can have its challenges.  How to juggle your new, and constantly changing, responsibilities with a career can be stressful.  News Feeds are abundant with stories about mothers who have had to adapt in order to survive – mentally, financially and creatively –  and in doing so, have become more successful than they could have imagined.  In fact the “mum economy” is big business in the UK, generating £7.2bn for the nation’s coffers and supporting 204,000 jobs last year.

Vivien and My Lan are passionate about prints. Following extensive market research, they made the decision to focus on 5 gender neutral designs that are funky modern & fresh and fit their brand mantra: distinctive, vintage, matching, unisex.  I asked My Lan which Mikin print was her favourite;

“Hand painted prints are my favourite – I love anything botanical, and 1930’s/40’s era inspired.  So, Florence Floral is my favourite.  I chose the print and Vivien developed it – we’re a great team like that”

My Lan/Mikin

Their other designs include Ditsy Daisy which is a 1940’s inspired print.  Originally black and white, Mikin decide to change it to blue to make it more vibrant.

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Tomme Tropical is a late 1970’s hand painted print.  Again, they changed the design slightly, this time toning down the pink, to make it more dusky and give it a washed out vintage feel.

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Stella Stars is Mikin’s best seller, and an original design by My Lan and Vivian.

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Their full range can be found on their online store, and you can follow My Lan and Vivian’s insta journey at mikin.family

The Future looks Mikin

“So far we have been growing organically, via social media, and tracking our progress.  We absolutely love it when our customers post pictures of their matching outfits!”

My Lan would like to see Mikin expand to pop-up boutiques as well as extend their offering from t-shirts and rompers, to a more extensive range.

“We want to develop into a lifestyle brand, the high quality of the pieces are important to us.  We want Mikin pieces to be investments that can be passed on with each new arrival in the family!” My Lan/Mikin

How WardWilliams Creative can help

Ward Williams Creative know that getting a new business of the ground is hard work (understatement alert!).  When approaching a new business it is wise to get professional support and expert help in tricky areas such as the initial business plan.  This will prove invaluable when it comes to applying for funding, pitching to investors, or how to make the numbers work as you grow. We work with lots of start up and love to be part of the journey. If you have an idea for a new business get in touch and we will do what we can to help.

And we’d like to hear your thoughts on twinning, to match or not to match? Leave a comment below.

(If it’s good enough for Beyonce, it’s good enough for me!)