Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mariah Contento. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Mariah, appreciate you joining us today. So, let’s imagine that you were advising someone who wanted to start something similar to you and they asked you what you would do differently in the startup-process knowing what you know now. How would you respond?

I started Miomi a little over three years ago now, with a strong passion for the craft, confidence in my product and my ability to bring a new, fresh perspective to the Toronto fashion scene. I had debuted a sample of a dress I made for a vacation in Miami and got incredible feedback. This inspired me to finally start my own clothing brand.

Although, I had previous knowledge of fashion management, as I had graduated from a 4 year program with a bachelors degree in the field; it wouldn’t of been able to prepare me for the challenges ahead.

Right from the jump, I made a huge investment in stock, without testing the market at first. I purchased about 300 units of a dress with my only reassurance being that so many people had expressed their desire to purchase. However, I easily learned that not all of those would turn into actual sales. It took a while for the dress to gain momentum at first but with the right strategy and a large emphasis on influencer marketing, thankfully I was able to sell out of my first batch.

If I had a do-over, I would 100% start off with either a pre-order model with a short turn around time, or invest in a small quantity of pieces up front at first. I say short turn-around time because when I think of myself as a customer, I can sometimes be deterred from a purchase if I have to wait so long to get it — it kind of takes the fun out of shopping. In regards to investing in a small quantity of product, this will allow you to test the need and/or want for that product in your desired target audience without having to pay off a large debt especially when you have yet to see any profit.

Mariah, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Mariah Contento, I own Miomi, a womenswear clothing brand based in Toronto, made in Toronto and offered worldwide. I studied fashion management and have a Bachelor of Commerce degree in field. I always knew and dreamt that I would start my own clothing brand one day but it came about unexpectedly when I first wore one of my sample dresses, the “Mimi” dress, out in Miami one night. The overwhelming amount of positive feedback I received is what gave me the push I needed to do the hard work and finally start my journey as an entrepreneur and fashion designer.

It wasn’t an immediate success but I did not give up and I was determined to make it one. It first started to gain momentum when a popular influencer by the name of Juliet, wore the dress and posted it on her Instagram. Almost immediately after, I started to hear from countless celebrity stylists wanting to feature my design on their clients. I was overwhelmed and grateful, I finally started to see my hard work pay off.

Since then, Miomi has continued to grow in so many ways. I have been blessed to see my work on beautiful people and numerous celebrities of which I have admired. I have learned so much from this journey but I know I still have so much to continue to learn and I do, every single day.

I am genuinely so passionate about fashion design and the creative process in making quality garments, I don’t think i’ll ever get tired of the feeling you get from seeing your ideas come to life. One of my favourite parts about having my own brand is having the creative freedom to bring my visions to life not only through design but also creative direction, which is something i’m very passionate about as well. This can be seen through the editorial work for Miomi.

I think what sets Miomi apart from other brands is that I have created a world, an experience. I grew up playing all sorts of computer games and video games and I always enjoyed the concept of a fictional world, somewhere to escape to, where anything was possible. That is what Miomi is for me, the sky is the limit and all my crazy ideas are possible in this Miomi world.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Building an audience on social media in todays generation can be hard. For fashion brands, the market is naturally over-saturated. It’s important to identify what makes your brand different from another’s.

Most importantly identify your niche, what you’re good at and stick to it — be consistent. Consistency is truly the key to success in general but especially on social media. It’s important not to be discouraged by low engagement at first. One of those 400 views could very well be a life-changing customer.

I believe that a majority of Miomi’s audience at first came from those that followed me on my personal accounts for fashion inspiration and trusted my taste. I have a larger following on Tiktok as well, I would post Miomi on there and I would see results translated in engagement. I’ve always believed that myself as a personal brand was important in the success of my clothing brand.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

The ultimate goal is to ensure that my customer feels most confident and authentically themselves when wearing Miomi. I want them to buy my designs because they feel like someone has finally heard them, that this is the piece that makes them feel like the best version of themselves.

I’ve always been passionate about being authentically myself and that’s something that I’ve translated through my style.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.miomiworld.com
• Instagram: @miomi.world
• Linkedin: Miomi
• Twitter: @miomiworld
• Youtube: miomiworld

Image Credits

Anastassia Karanikolaou Photo from CelebSecrets website, @222Juliet Instagram photo (yellow dress), other images belong to Miomi.