Mischa Barton was dubbed one to watch on the movie and style scenes ever since she first hit the stage in 1994. Today Miss Barton is still considered a standout performer of her generation, and is praised for her statement fashion sense. Fusing together a base of bohemian with laid-back grunge and a touch of vintage is no easy feat, yet Mischa does this effortlessly. It is therefore no surprise that fashion lovers and fans are in need of some Mischa-esque style to add to their wardrobes.
Keeping up with demand, Mischa launched a handbag line in 2008 and has more recently moved into clothing, alongside opening her first boutique, The Mischa Barton Boutique, last year. Lucky for us, The Mischa Barton Boutique is now available on miinto, and we caught up with the store manager Vela Krachangloke to find out what the latest collection has to offer.
What is the inspiration behind the brand and boutique?
It is very self-inspired, a lot of the ideas and designs come from Mischa’s own individual style. I think based on what you see in the boutique, it is quite eclectic, she tries to design concepts from the places she has been to. There is a strong Parisian feel in terms of the 1920s inspired clothing mixed with edgier styles, from little short skirts to band jackets with a touch of vintage. In fact, Mischa’s love of vintage is why she loved the idea of Spitalfields, because she likes to contrast between luxury and vintage.
“There is a strong Parisian feel in terms of the 1920s inspired clothing mixed with edgier styles”
What do you like the most about working at The Mischa Barton Boutique?
I like the fact that it is a very relaxed and personalised environment, even though it is really busy with the clientele and demographic of customers we have. For myself personality, I can be quite creative with what I do, as I have a lot of creative freedom within the boutique.
What aura is created with the boutique’s decor and interiors?
It is very vintage inspired but still modern, almost touching on Art Deco. They wanted people to come in and see it as a luxury house, but still feel at home and enjoy the space.
Who is the Mischa customer?
As a new boutique we have quite a mixed demographic, but I think our core customer is probably the Mischa fan. They usually range between the ages of sixteen and thirty and are looking for something a little bit more unique than your average customer. They don’t usually like to wear the high-street either but can’t afford luxury prices, and our prices are quite reasonable. The Mischa fan can’t afford to pay £500 to £600 on a dress, but they can come into our boutique and get something quite individual.
How would you describe the pieces in the most recent collection?
At the moment the designs are quite fifties mixed in with twenties, so there is a contrast between high-waisted fitted pieces and shift slip style dresses. Again it is quite eclectic it, there is an obvious contrast with ruffles, florals and cute embellishment mixed with edgier harder pieces such as the Michael Military Jacket, which is really structured and a tad more masculine.
The Michael Military Jacket, £125 The Ashlie Dress in Black (also available in Latte), £99 The Rose Skirt in Caramel (also available in Black), £85
What is the biggest achievement for the boutique so far?
I would say our biggest achievement is our growing loyal customer base. Customers are now coming in, already in the know about the original handbag collection and spending more on the clothes lines. This is incredibly hard for any type of boutique, regardless of the name, but we have definitely built one. I also have customers who call me who don’t necessarily live in London, but they will come down and visit us.
How do you see the brand and boutique growing in the next five to ten years?
I definitely think expansion, not only in the UK but it would be really important to go to the states where Mischa is obviously based and where our office is based as well. I also think there is a massive market for it in Asia and I see our online presence growing even larger. In general just making ourselves an all-round household name.
Do you have a favourite trend of SS13 and how has it been incorporated into the most recent collection?
There is a massive injection of block colouring, especially with the forest green colourway that Stella McCartney has done, contrasted with florals and prints. This has definitely been introduced into our handbag collection, we have done a very minimalist collection of bright salmon and forest green in our synthetic leathers as well as the actual Spring/ Summer clothing collection, which has flashes of floral in our dresses and blouses. We are definitely staying on trend whilst still introducing individual styles.
“We are staying on trend whilst still introducing individual styles”
What do you think is unique about miinto?
I like the fact that they are so personalised, even though it is an online platform, they work directly with the stores that they are dealing with and take the time to communicate and follow-up with them.
Shop The Mischa Barton Boutique
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