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right yet. I had offers from people to set me up in business and that wanted to invest in me but I knew the time wasn't right and I actually turned down a few offers. But then I arrived at this moment when I was about 26 or 27 years old where I knew I had really developed my own style and I felt really confident in it. I knew it wasn't like anything else out there and that's when I felt ready. There was no looking back. I never thought for a second that it would fail I just thought this is the right time and I'm ready to do this. You have to believe in yourself 100 percent. How has the market for "contemporary fashion" changed since you started? There are so many more brands today then there were since I launched MILLY 15 years ago. The landscape is what has changed a lot. I've made a concerted effort to be at the highest end of the contemporary market so that I can really focus on quality, fit and beautiful clothing. To me, it's not about fast- fashion. Over the years, you've branched out into different categories such as handbags and even childrenswear. How does understanding the retail aspect of the industry effect you as a designer? When I launched MILLY I launched it as a wholesale business. I was selling to other stores and I didn't have my own stores yet. I think it was an amazing way to start my business but the detriment was that customers were always seeing my collection filtered through someone else's eyes. It was how they wanted to present it and who they wanted the clothes to hang with. So having my own retail stores and my own ecommerce site has allowed me to communicate my vision directly with my customer. She [the customer] really gets it now. She can live it and breath it and it's the way that I want her to see it. And I love the direct engagement that I have with the customer. You went to school in New York, it's where all of your garments are made, and now it's become a place that you call home. How much of an influence does the city have on your career? After three years of living in Paris I really missed New York. There's a special energy in New York that doesn't exist anywhere else in the world and to me, it's that energy and sort of irreverence that plays an important part in my life and in my designs. It's the reason why all of my collections are made here. There's a special energy in New York that doesn't exist anywhere else in the world and to me, it's that energy and sort of irreverence that plays an important part in my life and in my designs. Samira Wiley, Malin Ackerman and Solange Knowles (ABOVE) attend the MILLY SS16 runway show. Models (BELOW) backstage before the MILLY SS16 Runway Show. VUE ON FASHION V U E N J . C O M 27

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