Just as you thought hot girl summer couldn’t get any better, here comes Miaou’s debut into the swimwear scene to help you slay those beach looks. Infused with a 90’s aesthetics, the 42-piece ready-to-wear swimwear is as exciting as it gets when your favourite independent IG brand becomes mainstream and gains the popularity it deserves.
“It felt like a natural direction for the brand to go. I live by the beach, so I wear bikinis all year,” Elkaim told WWD. “We developed three styles: the Kauai, the Bambi and the Demi.”
Known for its printed corsets and low-rise flared pants, this collection boasts string bikini tops with matching cropped cardigans, all exquisitely made with retro, almost psychedelic prints. The designs have the quintessential balance between trendiness and creativity, not to mention the stunning combination of fabrics – including mesh – with form-fitting, and vegan leathers, and premium quality lycra. And what’s better than shopping from a sustainability-focused label, especially when coupled with such sensual silhouettes and exciting prints.
Miaou actively focuses on sustainability by using deadstock fabrics, an assortment of shoppable vintage fashions, and production methods that reduce drastically the consumption of water as opposed to other mainstream swimwear labels. In addition, all of the swimwear is made of an eco-nylon fabrication. And how cute are these money-printed bikinis?!
The designer’s inspiration behind the collection was traveling, the sort of escapism we all experienced during the pandemic.
“I began designing this in confinement, when the idea of traveling felt so far away, I took some of my favorite vintage swimsuits that I already owned, reworked them for months on end, and reimagined them in our signature prints.”
Alexia Eklaim To Refinery29
Alexia Eklaim, the power woman behind the collection, worked closely with the photographer Emily Lipson to create an evocative campaign, able to set a vision for the brand that redirected the audience to foreign places, at least through their images. In these images, models live extravagantly on yachts and all-white mansions, living their life authentically embracing the 90’s lifestyle, at least in terms of design items such as chain belts, whale tails, corset tops and cut out maillots.
The Parisian-born, Los Angeles bred designer wanted to make a collection that hugged every shape and size, in all the right places. She allegedly found the perfect pair of jeans at a vintage store in Paris, and ever since had envisioned to re-create a collection that emulated the excitement she felt whilst trying out those pants, as she struggled to find clothes that embraced her hourglass figure.
Her designs have been worn by her now friends Bella Hadid, Gigi Hadid, Carlotta Kohl, Paloma Elsesser, and more. Part of the designer’s success, even before launching her brand, was her presence on social media and engagement with celebrities. Miaou hosted parties both during New York and Paris fashion week, and it became ever so desirable by celebrities to attend these events.
Words By Tommaso Donati
