Miista's New Collection '21 Miles' Celebrates International Women's Day

by SHOWstudio on 10 March 2023

East London-based shoe brand Miista celebrated International Women's Day with the launch of their new collection, 21 Miles and a panel discussion spotlighting the women who inspired it.

East London-based shoe brand Miista celebrated International Women's Day with the launch of their new collection, 21 Miles and a panel discussion spotlighting the women who inspired it.

If you haven't heard of the coveted shoe brand Miista, then get googling. Designed and handcrafted in-house, the shoes and accessories brand - founded by Laura Villasenin - is more than a fashion design label. Committing to their own factory and production, the entire process from concept to creation is done within the Miista family, ensuring quality over quantity to create shoes that are made to last a lifetime.

Miista S/S 23, photography Cristian Pena

Taking the plunge for their S/S 23 collection - quite literally - the house have launched their collection 21 Miles in celebration of International Women's Day. The starting point? Looking at various women who have made a difference in their respective industries. Going down a rabbit hole of research, the brand landed on Mercedes Gleitze, the first woman to swim the total 21 miles of the English Channel, in just a bathing suit, in 1927.

Blowing the entire Miista family 'out the proverbial water', the label, inspired by Gleitze's strength and endurance, got quick to work, creating a collection that strived to break out of conformity and modern-day boundaries just as Gleitze herself did. Lo and behold, the result is a cumulative collection of streamlined body shapes that reference a myriad of 'feminine' interpretations, fusing hard with soft, strength with a fragility that has taken shape in a collection full of wonderful contradictions that sees the powerful collide with the delicate as robustly-natured designs take over free-flowing fabrics, all of which subvert expectations while 'embracing every side of femininity.'

Miista S/S 23, photography Christina Stolhe

In an accompanying campaign, Miista took a trip to Gleitze's hometown of Brighton to meet the women of Brighton Swimming Club in tribute to the recording-breaking athlete. It's these women that front the house's S/S 23 campaign photographed by Cristina Stolhe, who noted, 'any problems these women have are washed away in the sea; any residue is taken away by the camaraderie around'.

In 1997, our director, image-maker Nick Knight teamed up with the late Alexander McQueen to do something similar for a piece of work now memorialised in the Dazed editorial Fashion-able' starring McQueen muse and Paralympian Aimee Mullins, both who shared similar values with Miista in understanding the importance of women athletes. To celebrate the community at the heart of this editorial, Miista invited not only Brighton Swimming Club but also other women who are trailblazers in their respective communities to come together and join host, ex-head of fashion at Dazed Emma Hope Allwood in a panel discussion that mimicked the campaign; both sharing the same goal to champion the women of today which saw voices from the worlds of music, sport, art, and fashion coalesce.

Miista S/S 23, photography Cristian Pena
Miista S/S 23, photography Christina Stolhe
Miista S/S 23, photography Christina Stolhe

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