ColumnFor fashion label Mikuti, it’s a family affair.

Bombarded with beautiful beaded bangles, there’s an inexplicable awe that comes through observing the brilliant outcome of a designer’s process. Sifting through images from designer Erika Freud – the creative behind breakout accessory label Mikuti – on her most recent journey in East Africa, was like living inside a rainbow. Sourcing materials and producing Mikuti’s adornments through cooperation with artisans in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda, Freud has an eye for the standout colors and designs that make a statement.

Growing up in a family of culinary artists, that also held an interest in designing homes and gardens, Freud has creativity flowing through her veins. After spending 3 months in Tanzania with a small group who were working on some economic development projects, Freud and her team realized there was a way to create a bracelet out of banana bark.

“When I saw there was a potential market for it, as well as an opportunity to create jobs for the individuals I was working with and possibly myself, I ran with the idea of starting a company,” Freud tells EcoSalon.

In a few short years since Freud began her business endeavor, Mikuti has quickly become an attention-grabbing accessory brand for fresh fashion designers. Labels such as Mara Hoffman, AFIA, and ChiChia London, have all embraced Mikuti’s bangles as an enhancement for their recent lookbooks and runway events. What do they all have in common? None of them seem to be the least bit intimidated to throw blasts of color and print into their collections.

When Freud journeys to East Africa from her NYC home, she lives her every moment abroad to the fullest. Working on several collections on the same trip, Freud is developing two small, limited edition summer collections focused on color trends – Neons & Neutrals and For The Love Of Fuchsia. “I love color, especially these. It’s a small, fun collection that I think everyone will really like,” Freud says.

The limited number of summer pieces are being created in Kenya from recycled aluminum and beads. “I’ve worked with both materials before, so since I’m familiar with it, it’s made it easy for me to develop new ideas around it,” Freud says.

Working with talented artisans has influenced the creation process for Mikuti. Freud tells EcoSalon about how her beader is a standout individual. “She’s incredibly skilled and really knows how to execute my ideas. Whether it’s going bead shopping or going over color combinations, I genuinely enjoy her. Plus, she has a lot of good ideas for future possible designs. I think creativity breeds creativity. Once you get going with someone, the ideas just start to flow.”

Freud was definitely fed creativity at home growing up, and that knack for imaginative resourcefulness has only evolved in a collaborative relationship with her father. As Freud does the majority of her framework designing in the U.S., having “samples” to share with the artisans abroad can be key.

“By trade, my dad is a highly skilled builder and designer. The week before my trip, my father and I sat together in the garage many nights, cutting pieces of wood from my drawings for me to use as molds,” she explains.

These wood carvings are an ideal way to relay the design direction and aesthetic to her collaborators abroad. Having now worked in East Africa for about 3 years, Freud is quite methodical on how to communicate her ideas. The process begins with a pattern that she sketches. Then, her father creates a model of her design using thin plywood. Freud explains, “I do this because it helps me see the actual size and feel of something and let’s me imagine it to a point in my mind.”

When she travels to East Africa, she brings all of her plywood pieces and shows them to the artisan she has been working with. “He then creates it with whatever metal I choose and together, we fine-tune it. Sometimes this happens in one try, other times it takes 5 tries. It depends on the complexity of the piece. I really value his opinion and genuinely enjoy the collaborative experience we have,” Freud says.

In addition to the fabulous fuchsia and neon/neutral pieces for summer, Freud is also producing her Fall/Winter collection along this journey in East Africa. Inspired by Native American culture, Freud visited an array of museums and exhibits, while extensively researching traditional Native American dress and adornments over the past months.

“There’s something about old cultures and traditions I’m very drawn to. I like learning about them and then taking things from them to create a piece of jewelry. I recall visiting the Native American Museum in Washington, DC to do some research, where I was in awe of all the different shapes of arrowheads exhibited. I also loved looking at the totem poles and pulling ideas from them,” Freud explains.

Mikuti’s Fall/Winter collection has a material focus of horn and brass, sourced from Kenya and Uganda. Having never worked with either of these materials, Freud has found it exceptionally helpful having worked previously with this artisan in Kenya.

“He’s highly skilled and I enjoy working with him through the product development phase. He excels at taking my drawings and seeing them to fruition,” Freud says.
For the horn pieces, Freud is working with a few different artisans in the Kampala region of Uganda. An agribusiness byproduct, the horn Mikuti features is recycled from local butcheries. For Freud, venturing into Uganda has been a new opportunity to integrate “another sustainable, eco-friendly angle and to work in a new region and support the local artisans.”

Continuously melding innovative angles into her designs, Freud’s creations have depth. She expresses an inspired enjoyment in learning about the spirituality woven into Native American culture.

“Like many old cultures, jewelry played a role in this. So, a lot of my ideas were formed around their spirituality and I tried to bring that to each of my pieces,” she says.
Emotionally, Freud is excited about her upcoming Fall/Winter collection.

“I’ve really stepped out of my comfort zone and feel as though this collection brings everything full circle.”

While many aspects of Freud’s supply chain and design inspirations may have come full circle for her, it seems Mikuti’s distinct presence on the fashion circuit has only just begun.

The post THREADED: Mikuti’s Eye Candy Harbors A Sweet Story appeared first on EcoSalon.

What is it about a presentation that makes my heart race?
Why is it that I don’t bleed red but thread?

Stumbling into my first New York Fashion Week experience, still in awe of where I now stand, I am realizing my dreams faster than I can acknowledge what it is I’m achieving. My focus this season is in observation and research, adoration and, at times, ecstasy. I aim to get my feet wet, set my eye on the next prize and walk away motivated by the creativity surrounding me enough to take flight towards my own fall presentation.

It’s time to get dressed again (perhaps the first time in a while my outfits don’t stick out), lace up my platform wedges and get my pen and paper ready.

This girl means business.

Richie Rich, fall 11′

I’ve knocked the first few days of NYFW out with a random array of shows.

Last night, Richie Rich’s show was all about trashy chic: Wild hair, bigger make-up, MEGA ‘tude’ and a ridiculous amount of spectacle, but that’s what Rich is known for and we got every bit what we wanted from it.

My good friend and sustainable jewelry designer, Andy Lifschutz, adorned all the models and I have to say his jewelry definitely kicked the looks up a notch and was where my attention stayed.

Richie Rich, fall 11′

John Patrick Organic was a study in  restrained English riding with a hint of tomboy chic. Textures ranged from sheer, hand dyed silks and vegetable tanned leathers to rich hand knit wool.  Slightly youthful, yet ever sophisticated, the collection left me with a longing to read Jane Eyre.

John Patrick Organic, fall 11′

Cropped sweaters, beaded belts, layering pieces in a way I wish all women would, the collection softly whispered in my ear to take it home and wear it right away. I walked away feeling as if sustainable limitations are a thing of the past and a girl like me can make whatever it is she wants thanks to all the options out there. The extra effort to obtain it seems to always be worth it in the end.

John Patrick Organic, fall 11′

Mara Hoffman has been on my covet list for years now with all her hand-dyed silks and inspiration from nature. I sat in line for an hour just to get my 15 minutes of merriment at her presentation, finding myself surrounded in a sea of black clad fashion folk – but this just reminded me how fun it is to stand out dressed all in neutrals. Hoffman’s rich colors, enchanting textiles and braided appliqué were something to behold and I can’t wait for fall when they make it into stores.

As swiftly as they came in, the models were then escorted out.  My moment with the rich red and khaki kaftans and body-con kaleidoscope dresses was over. My pocket book will soon be as empty.

Mara Hoffman, fall 11′

I tried (I swear I did), to run across town to one of my favorite shoe designers ever, Rachel Comey, but high heels, dead phones and taxi lines out the wazoo turned my window of opportunity into nothing more than an empty seat.

By far the show I anticipated most was the Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation’s winning presentation of The Lake & Stars.

Those girls have topped my girl crush/style crush pile since teddies came back into my vocabulary. Always a little tongue in cheek, always super chic, Maayan Zilberman and Nikki Decker turned it up and out. Ice blue velvet, sheer nude mesh, Kelly Green and black and white?  Somewhere between form vs. flow and play vs. business, they got the job done. I wanted every piece on the models. Dancing between Italian Neo-Classicism and famed architecture group Superstudio, the collection felt nostalgic and modern all at once. I aim to hang with this tag team and I’ll even let a little campy S&M into my panty drawer if they tell me to.

As my feet ache, brain overloads and personal deadlines weave in between my fashion schedule, I find myself asking why I waited so long to immerse myself in live fashion – and when can I do it again?

The post Week 7: My Designer Life (At NYFW), With Gretchen Jones of Project Runway appeared first on EcoSalon.