Three sisters launch own fashion label

From the SUN Daily: http://www.thesundaily.com/article.cfm?id=51511

They started out with a blogshop in 2008: http://mimpikita-clothes.blogspot.com/ which ran for about 6 months before they moved to a full EC website: http://mimpikita.com/index.html.

Now they have a brick store, and they have their own label and do their own production.

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Dream come true.
> Three sisters pool their resources to launch their own label, Mimpi Kita
by Soo Wern Jun

from left) ... Amirah Hanis, Nurul Afidah and Fatimah Ani Syahirah.

NOT over the top, not over embellished and neither are they over emphasised. If you have had enough of tacky and excessive details seen on your outfit, it is probably time to update your wardrobe to create head-turning fashion statement with selections at Mimpi Kita.
Just that and no funky or quirky name?
Yes, it does translate as "our dream" and it is a dream come true for three sisters, namely Nurul Afidah Zulkifli, Amirah Hanis Zulkifli and Fatimah Ani Syahira Zulkifli, who started their online boutique in late 2008. Although all three girls do not have formal education in fashion designing, their span of creativity stops at nothing especially when they have inherited artistic abilities from their father who is an architect and mother who has a talent in designing her own clothes.


"It has always been our dream to own a boutique like this where we get to explore on designing our own fashionable collection of clothes, shoes, bags or accessories even. We have tried making almost everything but have decided to focus more on a clothing line and a leather handbag line too," expressed Nurul, 28, who has a masters in electronic engineering and is heading her two sisters in the designing team.


Initially only operating as an online boutique selling mostly casual wear and home decorative items, Mimpi Kita was a mere hobby and leisure time-based business. It was only a space for the sisters to rant their creativity before it grew to have more shoppers purchasing from their blogshop. They also received requests to transform the business into a full-fledged boutique. This got the sisters thinking seriously and they started to plan out a more fashion and designer-driven clothing collection.


"We finally found a space we can call our boutique this year in February. Work is done at ease as now we have a workshop where our seamstress can work on custom-made or tailored orders. Mimpi Kita will be entering its second year now specialising in casual wear, traditional or festive wear and most recently we have ventured into bridal wear where we cater to full Malay wedding ceremony attire," added Nurul.


The majority of boutiques which we come across would most likely be equipped with self-designed accessories as well, but maybe not this one. Not that they are not capable of it, but the sisters instead have decided to channel their focus on handbags.


"We’ve tried making accessories, but the production process was too tedious and time consuming. So, we opted to out-source the accessories. Our handbag line, Hush, is a collection which features only leather varieties which include water snake skin, python skin, lamb skin and several other types of leather selected based on the bag designs. Up to date, we have made 30 pieces of bags and we’re coming out with more," explained Amirah, 26, a business graduate.


Inspired by ideas based on each sister’s individuality, the label’s design direction follows traits and attributes which are reflected on the types of outfits, cuts and even fabric choices. Calm and toned elements represent Nurul, colour vibrancy belongs to Amirah and playful notes reflects the 23-year-old Fatimah who is the youngest of the three sisters. All three of them may have different design directions, but Mimpi Kita’s clothing line always emphasises a modern and edgy twist.


"We are in many ways glad that we three have different characters which complement each other to strike a balance in terms of design direction to keep the clothing label interesting and ever evolving. Customers who are interested can either drop by our boutique located at 21, Jalan Telawi, Bangsar or call us at 03-2284 8302 for custom-made or tailoring bookings," stated Fatimah.


Custom-made clothing includes baju kurung, dresses, tops and skirts where prices vary according to the materials chosen. Customers can also drop by the boutique to select their preferred cloth or bring their own. If you are not looking for custom-made services, ready-to-wear is also available at the boutique. Prices start from RM80 onwards.