Class of '18 Mirna Mihokovic Releases New Collection "Ah la Lune!"

MA Transdisciplinary New Media alumna Mirna Mihokovic released her new fashion collection “Ah la Lune!” this summer 2020 under her rebranded label Candybalism. We caught up with her on what she’s been up to since graduating in 2018.

 

I did an internship at Stephane Rolland Haute Couture, and moved back to Croatia. In Zagreb I have assisted many excellent costume designers in the National Theatre Zagreb, including people like Anais Romand for whom I assisted afterwards in Paris as well. I have styled and designed costumes for many big national/international TVC/billboard commercial campaigns as the main costume designer/stylist.

I have finished a startup incubator at Algebra Lab in Zagreb to acquire some of the essential business savoir-faire one would need to at least know about when launching Candybalism.Then I recreated the brand in its new face. It was quite a busy period pre-quarantine! I put all my savings into the first draft of models, which were more like an mvp to see if there is interest and space on the market.

Since then I am fully head on in this project, and my quarantine was insanely busy because I allowed myself time to play around the pattern drafting and to imagine new silhouettes that are super simple, yet made with restrictions of the demands of my fabrics, and no plastics or metal closures.

I also made a DIY tutorial on how to create an effective Covid-19 mask the day after we had an earthquake, to focus on my community and helping them instead of the personal and out of my control Corona and earthquake chaos that has fallen upon our lives in Zagreb.

The new collection called “ah la Lune” is dedicated to caring for your deep femininity, connecting with nature and seeking inner peace. In Arab countries, a beautiful woman is honored by invoking the moon. That moon call inspired the name of the collection.

The thoughts that occupied me while observing the world in the moments of creating this collection in the quarantine, the needs of the individual and the collective were perfectly expressed by the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu long ago:

“If you want to become whole, let yourself be partial… Like the moon and its changes, in order to become complete, we have to go through a whole cycle through which we break up into smaller parts and we go through various cycles.”

The focus on the comfort of the cut inspired the nonchalant sexy look of the collection, in which all the buttoning was removed, zippers, and similar closure methods that sometimes bother the body. The entire collection has a wrap closure system, simple cuts so you can be relaxed and elegantly charming throughout the whole day. Practical and comfortable styling allows you not to think about what you look like, but to focus on the more important internal development.

The collection is created from the most airy and soft eco-certified Croatian cotton. We are also pleased to work with Design 47 for waist bags and half-length linen hats. All models are possible in white, black, grey beige with large white dots and vibrant peach color.

We realized a sensual, fresh and playful campaign in cooperation with Zara Hrvatin, Luka Radiković for photography and video, and the musical background was provided by the talented Lu Jakelić.

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