As the creative director of her own eponymous brand, Sami Mir&oacute; knows a thing or two about style. L'Officiel speaks with the designer about her Valentine's Day plans and how she incorporates her love of planet Earth into her business model.

Fashion designer Sami Mir&oacute; is going all out this Valentine's Day.
Since launching her brand <a href="https://samimirovintage.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sami Miro Vintage</a> in 2016, the 34-year-old's star has steadily risen within the fashion industry leading her to share her creative ingenuity with Heron Preston and Yeezy. Last year, Mir&oacute; was one of five emerging designers recognized by the CFDA and Fashion Trust US with a grant to forward her work.
Her talent, combined with her mood board-worthy dressing habits, makes her the poster girl for 2022 fashion. Fortunately, Mir&oacute; is uncapping the secret to her effortless style by sharing a taste of which beauty and style items she'll be using to glam up for Valentine's Day with her friends (although she eschews the term <a href="https://www.lofficielsingapore.com/living/5-ways-to-celebrate-galentines-day-with-your-best-girlfriends-this-february-singapore">"Galentine's Day"</a>). In addition, the young creative director also speaks to L'Officiel on why sustainability is such an important tenet of her brand and what exciting endeavours she has on the horizon.

<h3 style="text-align: center;">Sami Mir&oacute;'s Valentine's Day Beauty Picks:</h3>

Clarins Doube Serum Eye, $79.

Clarins Water Lip Stain, $29.

La Mer The Moisturizing Soft Cream, $360.

Chanel Le Lift Soin Lèvres et Contours, $90.

Chanel Sublimage Le Baume, $420.

True Botanicals Chebula Active Serum, $90.

Dior Capture Totale, $85.

Furtuna Skin Face and Eye Serum, $185.

Dr. Barbara Sturm Glow Drops, $50.

Dior Prestige La Micro-Huile de Rose Advanced Serum, $400.

L&rsquo;OFFICIEL: With your brand Sami Miro Vintage, when you're in the studio creating what inspires you?
 
Sami Mir&oacute;: I don't have the traditional fashion background in terms of schooling and experience. I'm very much self-taught, and so I get inspiration from so many obscure moments and things that I find in the world around me. Whether it's like a dapper old man walking across the street with his three-piece suit, or whether it's a texture or a colour that I see on a menu or anything that catches my eye, I'm very much embedded in vintage in terms of my personal style. I was raised by my dad and I had an older brother and so all of my hand-me-downs were always men's clothing. From a really young age, I would have to figure out how to make these really oversized pieces work for my figure. Since maybe 12 years old, [I would] cut things up and pin things in a way that they weren't supposed to be, so I think I find a lot of inspiration in wearing things the wrong way, and putting on, let's say, a jacket and then reconfiguring the shape on my body while I'm wearing it and finding the beauty in reimagining an existing traditional garment like a shirt or a jacket or a pair of pants, and finding something that has natural beauty in its vintage form and recreating something new out of it. I'm also always thinking about how to accentuate the parts of our figure that we want to, and how to minimize typical problem areas. And so you'll find in a lot of my designs that there's a curvature, whether it's in the seams or in the cuts of the fabrics, that really is very flattering to the human figure. The goal is to make people feel very confident and beautiful in my design.

L&rsquo;O: So your brand is rooted in this tenant of sustainability and eco-responsibility. So why was that so important for you when creating the brand?
SM: So being from San Francisco, I think just caring about the planet was just embedded in me. And it was the way that it was, it was the only way that it was. It wasn't like something that you had to think about, or I never even really realized that we were being eco-conscious. It was just the way that we lived our lives. And so just coming from that background and loving vintage so much and starting my brand really by upcycling, and reworking vintage, and playing around with creating new things out of vintage fabrics and products, I just knew for me that that was the only way to design.
When I started Sami Miro Vintage in 2016, it was definitely a passion project and a test to be able to put my business acumen from what I had learned in school, as well as what I had learned working for that tech startup, but then also really exploring myself as a designer, as a creative director, and putting my creative capabilities to the test for the first time. Also, back then when I started the brand, upcycling was a very, very, very new concept. Very few people were doing it. I definitely was one of the first I would say to focus on that and to talk about that. And like I said, it was the only way. So when I started to create collections and design collections, where there was more than one piece, more than creating a one-of-one, I knew that I also had to really get into the supply chain, from the materials to the ethics of the company in terms of how we treat and pay our sewing partners who we're working with and making sure that we're not working with sweatshops, and doing everything in Los Angeles. Now our supply chain is within a 15-mile radius of our office in Los Angeles. So it started off as a smaller impact because we were creating a lot of one-of-ones. Then, the ethos of sustainability and eco-consciousness became a really big part of the brand, and as we grew and that's been a really interesting educational thing for me and my team as well, because there's so much going on in the world of sustainability, and so much for us to learn as always. New developments, new concepts, new technology. As we grow and as we scale, staying eco-conscious is the most important thing for us as an internal company to be able to grow while also being good to the planet.

<h3 style="text-align: center;">Sami Mir&oacute;'s Valentine's Day Fashion Picks:</h3>

Sami Miro Vintage Asymmetric Pants in Warm Plaid.

Sami Miro Vintage Victorian Long Sleeve Top in Warm Plaid.

Sami Miro Vintage Pleated Safety Pin Skirt in Warm Plaid.

Sami Miro Vintage Open Seam Corset in Warm Plaid.

Sami Miro Vintage Asymmetric Long Sleeve Midi Dress in Red.

L&rsquo;O: As you've gone through this journey with your brand, what have you learned about sustainability, and has that changed your relationship or your feelings towards fashion at all?
 
SM: Well, I would say that as we scale it becomes as you can imagine more and more challenging to stay eco-conscious. But I love to learn, I would definitely say I'm an autodidact. And it's really exciting for me to be able to learn all of these new things going on in the world of sustainability. So the more you learn the more you grow, and the more your perspective increases. And that's very exciting for me always. I would say that when it comes to changing my perspective in fashion, I think that's an interesting question. 
I think that for the brands who aren't greenwashing, I think that it's really incredible to see large brands at a scale much bigger than mine who are able to remain sustainable while they are at such a higher level. And I would say that, as sustainability becomes a bigger and bigger topic in fashion and really in every industry, I think it's important for companies out there to not jump on the bandwagon. And if they are focusing on changing their business model to incorporate more sustainable aspects to it, it's really important for them to make sure that they aren't greenwashing, that they're aware of their long-term goals, that it's not a marketing ploy, and that they really do believe in it because when you are a sustainable brand, it's a lot harder. 
If your decisions are more thoughtful, you have to work with companies like manufacturing facilities or mini facilities that make fabrics for you and weave the fabrics. It's a lot more expensive to go the sustainable route. If you're a company that hasn't been that way, it definitely is a really big transition that has to, I think, really come from the heart. Because if you have two fabrics in front of you, let's say it's like a French terry, and you have one that's not sustainable and then you have one that's sustainable, but the sustainable one is probably five times the price as the non-sustainable one, in order to make that decision, especially from a financial goal perspective, you have to really believe in it and stay true to it in order to be okay with those decisions. Because for me, there's no other way. I know that it's going to be more expensive and I'll choose that way over any other way, time and time again. Like I keep saying, there's no other way for me.

L'O: You were recently recognized by the CFDA and Fashion Trust US. What was that moment like for you when you heard that?
SM: It was extremely emotional last year for me when I received the Fashion Trust from the CFDA. It came out out of nowhere. I never applied for anything with the CFDA and I really didn't even know that I could be on their radar. As a smaller brand and an emerging designer, I didn't know that was in the cards for me, so it was so exciting to receive that grant from them, especially because I didn't apply for it, because it just truly meant that their committee and their council truly recognize the work that I've been doing and they wanted to help me and give me a little push with this brand to be able to expedite some of the things that were slightly long-term goals. And then this year, when I was inducted into the CFDA, it was just mind-blowing. I definitely shed a tear because, as I said, I didn't know as an emerging designer and someone so embedded in sustainability, someone who, in my eyes, is just getting started, that they would want me to be a part of it. So it was just so exciting and I still pinch myself every single day. 
L'O: Where do you see Sami Miro Vintage going from here? What's on the horizon?
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">SM: The last two years have been really transitional and really monumental for the brand. We've been experiencing so much growth. In 2020, it was me doing everything. Me and one other person running every single part of the business. And in 2021, my team grew a lot and it was amazing for me to have such amazing people around me who believe in what we stand for and also feel like Sami Miro Vintage is their brand too. Every big thing that happens is because of them as well, equally, no matter if they're an intern or a manager, whatever it is. I think this year is just going to be a continuation of that growth and really honouring my team and honouring the planet and pushing out that positive message of conscious<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">ness into the world. This year, I really see Sami Miro Vintage growing, even more, putting out more collections, and being able to, kinda for the first time for me, focus on the overall strategy and design and creative direction. Since I now have a team handling the production, it frees up some of my time to really be able to identify: what is Sami Miro Vintage? Where do we see ourselves? What do we want to grow into? We also have a lot of really exciting collaborations coming out this year. I can't share now, but it's another pinch-me moment. So, I'm really excited for all of that, but overall, being able to grow and teach people as well grow and educate everyone and really give that love and gratitude to all of our supporters.

Get Ready With Emerging Designer and Creative Director Sami Miró for Valentine's Day

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