Estelle Michaelides the founder of evolutionary label Micky in the Van has taken time form her busy creative life to instil us with wisdom gained on her design journey.
We learn a lot about design, design methods and and the formalisation of the creative process. Concept, create, evaluate and test are key focal points in the commercialisation of a design. Estelle breaths fresh air into the process with her key to follow your intuition and feelings. It is very easy to overthink a design, loose confidence and question everything. Any designer that works on their own will be very familiar with feelings of doubt.
Estelle takes a positive approach, unapologetic about letting go of fear, following instincts and embracing who you are as a designer.
Tell us about the evolution of Micky in the Van
Wow, MITV began in 2012 because I saw a black hole in the local fashion industry. The Australian market was being flooded with off-shore cheap and fast fashion and I wanted to revolt against this, make a stance and begin educating consumers on the importance of supporting local designers.
In the nine years of creating locally made garments I’m so proud to say the pendulum has finally shifted and there is a vivid movement towards shopping locally and shopping with a conscience. I’m so proud MITV is a part of this movement. There’s a fashion revolution and it truly is an exciting times to be an independent, local designer.
MITV has absolutely evolved over the last nine years, as I evolve as a human my creative architecture evolves with me. MITV is far more wittier, far more confident and far more braver now. I also now revel in the joy of designing my own fabrics and I’ve recently launched my first range of merino wool knitted accessories, all made in Melbourne!
Who is the Micky in the Van woman
The MITV woman… or man, who ever chooses to wear my pieces, is someone who scripts their own styling story. They don’t look towards trends or fashion fads but rather finds beauty in sartorial art.
What is your creative process in developing a new collection?
This is a difficult one to answer as each time it’s very different. Ultimately I am guided by a feeling, a sentiment, an intuition. It’s a silent conversation and relationship I share with my creative mind. And then I leave myself open to the process, it unfolds and comes to life with fabrics I see, fabrics prints I would like to create that is guided by this innate intuition.
Print features heavily in your collections.
what do you look for in a print when deciding it has a place in your range?
It really does start off with an intuition and then I am guided by that to design my fabric prints. I am surrounded by so much beauty, or rather, I choose to see the beauty in all and want to celebrate the splendour and vibrancy of life in my fabric prints. Also, like my clothing designs, I want my fabric prints to tell a story. My prints and designs are an extension of me, I want them to be infused with a sense of wonder and dazzle the onlooker or observer with a robust thrill for art and beauty.
You design across fashion, however you are a multidisciplinary designer across textiles, film, illustration, creative direction and photography. How do you manage to wear so many hats and what drives this exploration?
The simple answer is that I am a creative and I can’t limit myself to one aspect of the arts. Doing all the above is not about managing but about doing what I love to do. I’m so lucky that I can and I only have one life so I’m running with it!!!
Tell us about some of your favourite projects of late
I’ve just released my first collection of locally made knitted accessories which has been such a joy but equally challenging as I had to educate myself on a field I’ve not been privy to. And I’m still working on my first short fashion film, Love The Magician which had to stop during lockdown and crossing fingers we can get back into again shortly. I’ll keep you updated on that one!!!
What advice do you have for up and coming creatives
Follow your intuition, it will never fail you and remove yourself from fear.