Today we’d like to introduce you to Mihca Cho.
Mihca, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Crafting my individual style has always been essential. I voraciously consumed fashion editorials as a teenager, creating outfits by cutting up bargain bin garments and stitching them together with my little home sewing machine. I loved that sense of ownership and being able to express my personality, even if I was often considered to be “different.”
My passion for fashion led me to enroll at Parson’s School of Design where I was offered employment with both Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen of which I accepted the latter. Over the next 15 years, I subsequently designed for prêt-à-porter and evening wear companies before becoming the senior designer for the venerated bridal company Amsale.
At Amsale, I designed for six different bridal collections each season and worked with private celebrity clientele to create custom luxury bridal gowns. While working full time, I gradually started to create custom gowns for friends, and as I started to receive more referrals, I became encouraged to create my own collections.
As such, I founded my own label Mihca Cho dedicated to quality, craftsmanship, and artistry in fashion. In 2017, I released my first full couture collection after which, I relocated to Los Angeles from New York City excited to further explore and expand my label under the Cali sun!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The concept of “fashion” has changed significantly. With the dominance of fast fashion, the influence of social media, and homogenization of “style” across the runways, commitment to the traditions of haute couture technique has become increasingly challenging.
Months of work on a complex couture piece often becomes just a passing glance on the small screen of a phone. Maintaining constant relevancy in the current climate also demands a rapidity and volume of production that is often difficult to meet when creating painstaking, expensive couture details.
The pressure to create “market-friendly” gowns for the bottom line however often leaves me with an uninspired feeling and always reminds me of how much I miss the adventure and value of couture fashion! As such, I convinced myself to buck the trends, stay true to my path, and commit myself to the art of fashion.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I am a fashion designer that specializes in haute couture, evening wear, bridal, and ready to wear garments. My designs are rooted in the stories drawn from my experiences with nature, mythology, abstraction, and dreams. I tend to avoid drawing from pop culture and societal trends as I find creating my own unique worlds to be more liberating and stimulating.
My clients are those that embrace the ideas of individuality and meaningful, unique fashion imbued with care and thoughtful love. They also appreciate that I use the highest quality materials from vendors and mills that I have built close relationships with over the past 15 years.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Creating my first full haute couture collection “The Leucite’s Copse” was truly a labor of love. Over the course of 3 years, I designed, draped, patterned, cut, and sewed every garment in the collection with my own two hands.
Every day after coming home from a full-time day job, I would work on the collection until one or two in the morning.
The day I finally had the collection professionally photographed, I almost cried watching the dresses come to life, realizing that my dream was coming to fruition.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.mihcacho.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @mihcacho
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