Mimetik, Bohemian Wedding Dress Designer

I have recently had the privilege and pleasure of interviewing Mireia Solsona, designer and founder of Mimetik BCN. This Bridal wear designer is specialized in bohemian, chic wedding dresses made with love for women of all body types, empowering women by showing them their inner beauty.

Unsurprisingly, Mireia is creative, and has been somehow involved in the creative arts her entire life: she was a ballerina when she was younger and has a degree in architecture. She has always had a passion for not only architecture and what inspires architects, but also for architectural patterns. One of her favorite things to study has always been proportions, not only in designing a house (a house has to have certain proportions i.e., a door must be a certain height, width, etc., so that it can be used comfortably) but also in fashion wear. However, it was her travels to India, Turkey, Morrocco, Thailand and other countries that made her become what she is today: a designer of wedding dresses for women with all types of body shapes.

During her travels, one of the things that really impressed her was that the ancestral, traditional, folk attire in these countries were based on geometrical shapes. For example, an Indian Sari is a rectangular piece of clothing (8m x 1.2m) that adapts to each woman’s body shape. The great thing about these outfits is that a woman can wear them during her entire life span, and throughout different times of her life – it will still fit her perfectly. During a pregnancy, or during the later years of her life, the sari will still adapt perfectly to her body shape. Mireia states “I noticed this and thought: How can I bring this to Western fashion? In our society, lots of women feel ugly, have low self-esteem and a bad view of themselves overall just because they don’t fit a certain size or can’t wear certain types of clothing. They feel bad because they don’t meet the beauty standards that society has imposed on them.” Mireia sought out a way to make fashion more adaptable to each woman’s body via using these kinds of geometrical, convertible fashion to the western world. And this is how the 1st collection was born!

Mireia took a course in pattern design and started working on fashion based on this concept. Her initial idea wasn’t geared towards Brides, but a few of her Etsy Clients approached her and asked her to design their wedding dress. Mireia’s designs are for a very unique woman: a “very natural, down-to-earth Bride. She’s not looking for Prince Charming to come and sweep her off her feet. She’s got her own two feet to stand on. She isn’t a conservative Bride who orders the dress one year before and has multiple fittings throughout the year. She’s not a princess looking for a fairytale wedding. The wedding day is important to her, of course, but what’s even more important to her is that she is marrying her own true love. She’s not marrying for money, or because she’s feeling pressured by parents, society, etc., or because she feels she needs to get married now or she’ll be too old to get married later on. She’s marrying because she is in love with her fiance and her wedding day is a celebration of that love, where she will be surrounded by her nearest and dearest.”

As Mireia recalls “My very first Bride I only saw twice – the day she ordered the dress and the day she picked it up, which was one month before the wedding.”  And there are no issues if the Bride gains or loses weight before the wedding, “since my designs are based on geometrical, adaptable, convertible patterns that fit every body shape. The only issue that can come up is if the Bride decides to wear high heels and didn’t account for that when we took her measurements!”

The most rewarding aspect of Mireia’s work is making her Brides happy, and seeing them happy on their wedding day. “Connecting with Brides on a human level is what makes it all worthwhile for me.” There are many Brides who send her feedback after the wedding day, but there is one Bride who truly stands out in her mind. “She was an American Bride who was absolutely gorgeous – beautiful hair, flawless skin, a toned, beautiful body – yet she always felt inadequate, like an ugly duckling. We communicated frequently before the wedding and I kept reassuring her how beautiful she was going to look on her wedding day. After the wedding, she wrote me an email saying how happy she was and how ecstatic her husband was. He told her that he had never seen her so radiant, so confident in her own skin…and the Bride said it was thanks to the dress! But I know that it wasn’t the dress, the dress was just a tool which helped her natural beauty shine ,” Mireia states, “My dresses are just a piece of clothing. I helped her bring out her beauty because she felt confident in the dress. My dresses fit every body shape and size – that is makes them so unique! It flatters everyone!”

Mireia’s love for people and for empowering women really shines through in every aspect of her brand. “I am a firm believer in the butterfly effect. If you are happy with yourself, you will be happy with your partner, with your children, your family, your work…and with society as a whole. I tell my team: I want you all to be happy. I want you to come to work happy. I want my Brides to come to our showroom or to contact us via our Etsy shop and to get top-notch customer service that always leaves them with a smile on their face. I want all of our Brides to feel special and well taken care of, to get good vibes and good energy from Mimetik. And that’s not something that they will get if the people working here are unhappy”.

How does Mireia see the Mimetik brand 10 years from now? “I want to be designing dresses. I want to do that my entire life, and hope I am fortunate enough to do that. I want Mimetik to continue with the same philosophy and to continue making Brides feel good in their skin. I also see myself giving back to the Etsy community – after all, that is where it all started – and mentoring new Etsy brands.” As a woman and mother of a 7-month-old, Mireia also wants to pass her knowledge and philosophy of life down to her daughter. “Traveling to other continents was such an inspiring, eye-opening experience for me that I definitely want my daughter to have that experience as well. I would love to take a year off to travel with my partner and my daughter – when she is older, of course – so that she can see how other cultures live, how they approach life and how we, as a society, can make a big difference by making small changes, one person at a time.”

Would you love to have a beautiful bohemian wedding dress? Feel free to visit Mimetik’s showoom in Barcelona – click here for an appointment. For more wedding dress inspiration check out our blog post with ImmaCle.

Photo credits: Carolina Sainz, Veronica Hansen and Mimetik BCN