Continue reading to step into the world of sun and fun that is Emma Mulholland on Holiday.
Emma Mulholland on Holiday is your namesake brand — can you tell me a bit about who you and the brand are?
Emma On Holiday began in 2017. We have a pretty wide range of women's ready-to-wear. We started off really small with one or two styles of pants — which have definitely become what we're most known for. The patterns, especially the checkerboard, are something that really set off our brand. But denim is something I've been wanting to do for a long time. I've done bits and pieces of denim in the past and been quite disappointed. I knew it was something you really need to put time into — just to develop the denim; it's not as easy as a printed fabric. I find the washes and the fit change so much with the techniques that all the manufacturers use. We started working on the denim in the very first lockdown in 2019, on and off. It took a while to find the right manufacturer. I just wanted the product to be the way that I wanted it to be and we weren't in any rush to fit them into any certain collection. So I'm really happy that they're finally ready and they are our two most popular styles of pants, the Kokomo pant and the Vacation pant.
Why did you decide to tackle denim?
I've just always wanted that piece that you can pair easily with more of a crazy-colored top. I didn't want our customers to feel like they had to clash prints all the time. Denim has always been such a big part of my wardrobe, but I found that with vintage denim, they look great for maybe a couple of months and then they'll tear or stretch out in a weird way. So I wanted to make something with a focus on longevity.
I think it's a very cool evolution for your brand. It's great to offer some staple pieces that can anchor those busier pieces.
We definitely wanted to have that offering for our customers that love the fit and shape of the pants, but maybe aren't super confident in making a huge statement. We started off with the classic blue wash to test how that goes. That's the most versatile, I think. And then we'll start seeing if we can introduce a few different colorways and styles as well.
Nostalgia within fashion has become heavily focused upon, especially after the past few hectic years. Some of your prints and designs are like an instant time machine to the 80s and 90s. Why did you decide to focus on that?
It was something I was always sort of interested in, from a young age. I got into eighties movies, like The Breakfast Club and all John Hughes movies. I had a fascination with it. I just thought their clothes were so much more interesting than what was happening now. Even though I definitely loved the early 2000s. I think when you are living through something, you don't really have as much appreciation for it as maybe you do looking back. It's one of those things where you always think it was cooler back at a different time. That's why it's so interesting now, watching the younger generation becoming so into Y2K trends and things like that — when we were all living through it, we sort of thought it wasn't very cool. But I think the 80s and 90s — there was just something so different about that time. People were so creative and willing to try anything. It was like a big celebration and party. So that definitely has always found its way back into my brand — the movie references, the video clips, all the music, and stuff like that. But I also do think it's interesting to look back on things and then modernize them and give them a new spin. Like the super low pants, which aren't always flattering for everybody's shape — only thinner people would wear them. So our spin was a high-waisted suit, which can suit people with all sorts of body shapes. I think looking back and taking inspiration is good, but we also don't want to make people look like they're going to a costume party. We're always modernizing it and bringing a new take with the brand.