«Miista is a no man’s land»

We know how difficult it is to establish an independent company in the fashion world, but no one has ever given much thought to the challenges that arise afterwards, when fame and success arrive and you have to face industry giants who’ve got everything covered. This is the case for Miista, a brand based in London and Spain founded by designer and shoemaker Laura Villasenin in 2011, known for its unconventional approach to shoe production. Combining the quality of Spanish craftsmanship with unique designs, ranging from square toes to spool heels, from 60s patent leather platform boots to mesh ballerinas, in the confused and unbalanced landscape that is fashion, Miista always seems to be one step ahead. Launched in a period when the fascination with sneakers was still dominant, the brand managed to elbow its way through the crowd of sports brands that emerged in those years. Today, hype culture has faded, but Miista is still here, still independent. It has just opened its first pop-up store in Milan, on Via Nerino until June 26th, but as Villasenin tells us, the connection between the city and the brand began early on. «Since I founded Miista, Milan has been the city where I met the most premium suppliers,» she tells us. «Italians have always seemed natives to craftsmanship; like it’s their mother tongue, and it's something we have in common in my hometown, Galicia, in northern Spain.»

Despite the brand name having traveled across Europe and soon reaching the American coasts, with the recent Miista takes Rio de Jaineiro campaign shot by Brazilian photographer Fernanda Liberti and the forthcoming opening of the first shop in New York, the founder doesn't like to define the company as an "empire." «Miista is a no man's land, a nomad,» she states, adding that she and the entire team still see the company as a project in progress, as it was in 2011. «We are just a bunch of Miista weirdos spread around the world». Villasenin's work is divided between the marketing office in London – the city where the designer completed her fashion studies – and the production centers in Galicia and Alicante. The mission of the "project" has remained unchanged since day one: «to offer a design that is not out of reach, well made, protect the short supply chain, and revive the artisan industry in Europe.» A rather difficult endeavor, therefore, to which is added the goal of attracting new generations to manual labor. «We are trying to make it cool again,» says the founder. Judging by the good response Miista's content receives on the platforms preferred by Gen Z, TikTok and Instagram, and the growing niche of craftsmanship enthusiasts on these platforms, it seems to have worked. The process of enhancing the Galician textile heritage started by Villasenin with Miista took a decisive turn on the brand's tenth anniversary, when, for the launch of the first handmade clothing line, she purchased a factory in Galicia. «We wholeheartedly believed it was important for the community,» says the designer. «That it wasn't just about the quality of the product, but about giving the region a boost and reviving craftsmanship.» Like a true nomad who likes to explore the less-traveled path, Miista travels on its own. «We stopped being influenced, getting angry, or letting ourselves be bothered by what others are doing and started doing the opposite.»

Miista's tenacity is a double-edged sword: on the one hand, it has helped the brand establish itself in the industry quickly, but on the other, adds the designer, it may alter the public’s general perception of the brand. «Being small but seeming big from the outside,» is why, even after years, Villasenin continues to define Miista as a "project" rather than a company. «It's as if we are no longer a team, but a corporation, and that feels very alien to us. When that happens, there seems to be less and less forgiveness about it, with suppliers as well as with the creatives we have supported for years. Internally everything still works thanks to a close-knit circle of people, but the perception is different.» This intimacy Villasenin speaks of was visible firsthand at the inauguration of Miista's first Milanese pop-up this week. Around two large sewing machines positioned in front of the brand's new collection, the marketing, social media, and PR teams presented the production process of the collections together with two of the brand's craftswomen. The exchanged glances of understanding revealed the true intimate and collaborative  – ultra-feminine, nonetheless – nature of Miista. We got a taste of what happens between one creation and the next in the brand's London offices and Spanish factories. «All members of the design and marketing teams are invited to do a brain dump of what they would like to create in the next season: a collaboration with a photographer, a design for a costume for a musician, we share everyone's story.»