Michelle Smith of Milly partnered with Pajama Program to host a fashion show with select cast members of "Annie, the Broadway musical," at Milly’s Madison Avenue boutique last week. Guests met the cast and obtained signed photographs, previewed new looks from Milly and Milly Minis collections, and enjoyed Baked by Melissa cupcakes. In attendance were notables including Lilla Crawford, Annie Taube, Gillian Miniter, Emma Snowdon-Jones, Jacqui Stafford, and more.
Examiner.com spoke with Michelle Smith at the event. Check out what she had to say:
Q: What inspires your designs?
Michelle Smith: It's very personal for me, I usually design what I would wear, I wear my own clothes, so I'm always anticipating what I want to wear next, so it's a very fun personal process. And my daughter, I launched Milly Mini when she was four, now she's six, and so my inspiration for this line was, little girls want to dress like their mommies. We're coordinating, not exactly the same, but coordinating with the same fabric (Michelle is wearing a black tulle aspirin dot dress with fitted black lining, Sophia is wearing a "Mignonne!" tee with black aspirin dot tulle skirt and hot-pink and black bow headband, hence coordination).
Q: What was it like for you to design Milly Minis as opposed to the adult line?
Michelle Smith: A lot of it is the same, but the cuts are more modest and more innocent for children, but playful at the same time, mostly the same fabrics, from Europe. Everything is made in New York.
Q: What drew you to team up with "Annie"?
Michelle Smith: I thought it would be a great fit for Milly Mini to be associated with "Annie," it's such a hot play right now and I remember when it first came out, I was about the same age as my daughter is now.
Next month, Michelle Smith will present her collection at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Banana Republic and Milly founder and designer Michelle Smith also announced the Banana Republic Milly Collection - a limited-edition capsule inspired by the summer sophistication of the Hamptons. The women's collection is a natural extension for Milly, with the men's styles representing Smith's first foray into designing menswear - a unique innovation for the design partnership. The capsule launches exclusively at select Banana Republic retail locations worldwide and online in late May 2013.
Comments