The Empty District

To bring Miaou-enthusiasts together, from the rolling hills of Hollywood to the picturesque golden coast of Australia, this new creative chapter emerges as a curated travel guide, which will be posted monthly on the brand’s website. Each guide will explore the different travel essentials and perspectives of Miaou’s notable muses, allowing us to see each — and Miaou itself — in an entirely new light.

To kick off this international journey, Miaou started off by recruiting none other than Alexia Elkaim, the brand’s designer and founder. The first travel guide involved LA-native, Alexia, walking us through her favorite haunts and hangouts. office wanted to join in on the fun, so we sat down with Alexia to learn even more about her ideal voyage.

Continue reading the full interview below.

As founder of a brand that has been recognized and adored by many, I'm sure you've been able to travel because of the brand often. What location were you most surprised to see Miaou travel to?

Alexia Elkaim — It's two-tiered — of the places that I've been, I think London I was most surprised because it's not a city that I have too personal a connection with. Miaou had really taken off in London early on. I was really surprised to see how well it was being received because Paris or LA or New York — those are all places that I frequent. I have a community in those places. I put on an event in London, powered by Depop, years ago — I think in 2018. And I remember not being sure how I'd pull it off. I did this small pop-up and it was great. A lot of people came and, you know, London style is really specific and it's different. It's really mix and match and funky and eccentric. So it was nice, as a print-driven brand, to see the ways in which prints were being mixed and styled. I was really pleasantly surprised, I'd say. And then we have our second biggest region which is Australia, after the United States. But as a brand, we actually haven't been to Australia, so I'm always really surprised to see the orders on our online store come from Melbourne. But I'm planning a trip by the end of this year to meet with the Australian Miaou girls.

Australia was the first country that I visited, outside of the U.S., so I always recommend a trip there. As a brand, that has to be the biggest goal — to see it taking off on its own. I feel that a big part of the brand is embracing authenticity and fostering confidence in all of the Miaou wearers. What is your favorite Miaou piece or the piece that you feel most confident in?

I like the micro-mini skirt because of how versatile it is. I could wear it with boots, with heels, with flats, with sneakers. I can wear it during the day or I can wear it at night. It's really short and I like showing my legs. I think the versatility of it makes me feel really good and even though it's super simple, it'll dress up an outfit and it's a little bit more understated than wearing one of our corsets.

And the micro-mini is back in a major way, so I'm with you on that. I'm obsessed with them right now. And since we're talking about travel, what would be your go-to piece for a tropical vacation?

I would bring my Kauai bikini in the Figaro print. I just packed my suitcase for a trip I'm going on tomorrow and it's all bikinis — all Miaou stuff.

This new campaign signifies a new creative chapter for the brand. What new aspects are you hoping that this campaign brings to Miaou? 

I mean it's really an initiative that speaks on the story of the brand, which is travel. There's no monetary goal; this isn't supposed to generate any money. I think it's just to continue to tell the brand story and give the brand context, and essentially to allow Miaou to be a destination beyond clothes. We have a bunch of things we put out — we do mixes every month, a curation of mixes that are created by our community. So I think it's just that. It's building our community and really becoming a lifestyle, a world in which people can enter.

Yeah, and we talked about this idea of unity and fostering confidence, but I feel like that also happens more effectively in numbers. This campaign gives the people who love the brand something to connect through besides just the clothing. So I have a few rapid-fire questions that were not included in your Miaou travel guide, just so we can get to know you beyond the founder and creative director of Miaou. I know you said you're going on a trip with friends tomorrow, but what would be your number one destination for a girls trip?

Mexico!

I totally agree. Can you describe the best meal you've had in another country, or maybe it was here in the U.S? 

The best meal I've had recently were actually carne asada tacos from a place in front of the Ragfinder store, where I buy deadstock fabric in the flower district in LA. I hit them with extra lime and extra hot sauce.

Extra hot sauce — my kind of girl. Have you traveled anywhere that has influenced your perspective regarding fashion in general, but then in a more specific sense, in your approach to Miaou? 

I recently traveled to Brazil, and I can't say that it has dramatically impacted how I look at Miaou because I just went — I'm still very much processing it — but there's a sexiness about Brazil, and Brazilian women, and the culture. That really resonated with me. It's colorful, it's playful, it's hot, it's fun. It's embellished. And it's loud, but I mean that in the best way. So I was really, really inspired by my trip to Rio.

And you brought up before how Miaou is such a print-based brand. So that makes sense if you were ever to incorporate Brazilian influences into Miaou. There are so many things you can borrow from that culture and then maybe put them into new prints or designs. Next question — what is one of your bucket list travel destinations and why? 

I want to go surfing in Japan. I also want to see the pyramids in Egypt and I want to visit the village that my ancestors are from in the mountains of Morocco. I don't know if that has much to do with Miaou, but I think your past informs your current self.

Morocco and Japan are at the top of my list too. Since you mentioned learning about yourself through your travels, what is one valuable life lesson that you have learned through traveling, experiencing different cultures, or meeting new people in different places? 

I think: listen. I usually go to countries where I can kind of figure out how to maneuver the languages, so I think just trying to acclimate and pay attention and listen is important, because there are lessons in that. And just being open to new cultures and new experiences. I can speak on my last trip to Brazil again, for example, it's South America — it's different and it has its own set of rules. It was definitely a lesson for me to just be mindful, to be open, and to listen. When I travel, I love to try to acclimate into the environment that I'm in and stay for as long as I can and find out as much as I can about the place.

And I think traveling allows you to be more open; the more you do it, the more comfortable you are with putting yourself in those new situations. 

Check out part of the campaign below, and you can view the rest monthly on Miaou.com.