Mii Collection intricately weaves poetic and artisanal collections, blending the essence of both France and India – Benjamin Deroche / Mii Collection
Mii Collection, the winner of the prestigious Grand Prix de la Création de la Ville de Paris in 2020, is preparing to open a new production workshop in West Bengal, India, near the border of Bangladesh. The brand’s objective is to employ local artisans and safeguard their exceptional expertise in textiles. This undertaking reflects Mii Collection’s commitment to social responsibility and environmentally conscious practices.
At the helm of Mii Collection are Lucie Bourreau and Bapan Dutta, who first crossed paths at the École des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. In 2013, they introduced Mii Collection, a label specializing in accessories and women’s ready-to-wear clothing, with a strong emphasis on its Indian origins (hence the acronym “Mii”). From prestigious fashion houses like Dior, which showcased Mii Collection at their Mumbai fashion show in March, to designers such as Kartik Kumra and Runa Ray, the fashion industry has been enthusiastically celebrating the craftsmanship of Indian communities.
Mii Collection offers a stylish and relaxed wardrobe featuring intricate traditional embroideries like Aari (crochet) and needlework, vibrant screen-printed and block-printed patterns, and painstakingly handwoven fabrics. Dutta emphasizes, “Our aim is to spotlight India’s ancestral craftsmanship, which has endured two centuries of colonization and is now threatened by the mechanized overproduction of fast fashion.”
The Bureau informed that initially, they partnered with approximate 20 craftsmen, but presently they collaborate with more than 250 individuals, including 100 proficient embroiderers.
The idea for the new workshop was born during Mii Collection’s participation in Talents, a support program offered by the French Federation of Women’s Ready-to-Wear. In the same year, the brand also successfully raised funds and attracted two business angels who collectively acquired a 20% ownership stake in the company. Lucie Bourreau further notes, “We were fortunate to receive a generous grant of €400,000 from the Institut pour le financement du cinéma et des industries culturelles (an institute for financing cinema and cultural industries).”
Bourreau explains, “This eco-friendly building is adorned with verdant greenery, stands four stories high, and features a brick dome, solar panels, and a rainwater treatment system. We deliberately chose to be close to the villages where our weavers reside, enabling us to proactively address the challenges posed by climate change.”
At present, Mii Collection primarily concentrates on wholesale distribution, which constitutes 90% of its earnings. The label collaborates with a group of seven representatives, dispersing their exquisite range of khadi cotton shirts, mosaic-inspired silk dresses, and linen pants in a vibrant shade of lemon yellow, via a worldwide network of 220 vendors.
