Made-to-order Melbourne fashion label Katharina Lou wants you to dress up
PHOTOGRAPHY BY Eloise Vodicka FOR KATHARINA LOU
WORDS BY IZZY WIGHT
“I have always found comfort in wearing beautifully-crafted pieces that make me feel inspired, confident and supported – like your best friend.”
For Naarm-based designer Katharina Mildren, the catalyst for creating her eponymous label was spurred on by a big life challenge. After studying fashion in Sydney and gaining some experience working for other designers, Katharina moved to Melbourne on the precipice of a lockdown. “Being away from my friends and family, heartbroken and alone… played a big part in the growth of my label,” she said.
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Devoting time to garment development, community building and evolving that all-important brand identity, Katharina launched her distinctively pink label, Katharina Lou, in December of 2021. With sustainability, consciousness and fun at the forefront of her practice, she’s well on her way to creating a community of Katharina Lou devotees. Below, she tells the story of her label so far.
Tell us about you. What’s your fashion background?
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Hello! My Name is Katharina Mildren and I’m the founder and designer of Katharina Lou, a made-to-order fashion label based in Naarm/Melbourne. I completed a Bachelor of Design in Fashion and Textiles at the University of Technology Sydney while I interned and worked in the industry. [I volunteered] at fashion weeks for many designers, design assisting for smaller and larger brands, production assisting, fit modelling and lots of retail, before founding my business in 2021.
How did the label get started? Talk us through the process and the challenges.
I grew up sewing, so having my own label is something I’ve wanted since I was a little girl. When lockdown hit and I had some extra time, I thought ‘now or never’! I’ve since moved from Sydney (where I grew up) to Melbourne, where I think the brand has flourished. Being away from my friends and family, heartbroken and alone during a big lockdown played a big part in the growth of my label.
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Getting through such a big change and challenge in my life forced me to lean into Katharina Lou in a way I don’t think I would have otherwise. I feel connected to my craft and my brand in an unbreakable way. I now have the mindset that the bigger the challenge, the bigger the reward, so I always see things going wrong as an opportunity for more growth. [It] has helped me immensely in starting a brand, as pretty much nothing goes to plan!
What were you trying to achieve from the project at the time? How has this evolved and what are you trying to communicate through the brand now?
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At the time, I was just trying to create a world in which I loved what I did every day. Now it’s become my reality and so much more, which feels pretty cool. Katharina Lou was born out of wanting to create a positive impact in the fashion industry, where authenticity, transparency and craftsmanship are at the forefront of every project. I have always found comfort in wearing beautifully crafted pieces that make me feel inspired, confident and supported – like your best friend.
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Katharina Lou and the community I hope to continue building are exactly that. She’s there for you when you need her most, inspired by the people in my life, who have shaped and supported me. What you wear for the heartbreak, the career successes, the highs and the lows. My hope is to continue designing and making pieces that make people feel empowered, loved, fabulous and heard.
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As a designer and contributor in this industry, I’m ever-conscious of my impact. Prioritising transparency and authenticity in everything I do is key to my personal values and brand. I proudly believe in honest conversations and virtually inviting my community into my studio to see how much it really costs to run a slow fashion label, what conscious waste looks like and how best to minimise it. Creating a community and platform for education, shared passion and extravagance is at the core of my label and will always be my priority over consumerism.
How would you describe Katharina Lou to someone who’s never seen it before?
PINK! Loud, fun, purposeful, strong, bold, distinctive, extravagant.
What are you most proud of in your work on your store?
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I’m very proud to work closely with a female-owned and led block-printing studio in Bangalore, India to create my unique hand-finished prints. This relationship is incredibly important to me, as I wish for my practices to always celebrate craftsmanship. The artisans I collaborate with believe in sustaining the art form of block printing in its purest form. Through these prints and my designs, I hope to educate my community on the skill and story that is imprinted into each piece I produce.
It’s prioritising this ethos that makes the process and my final product worth it every time, and I’m very proud of embodying this as a brand. I’ve just completed my second collection of prints with the studio… which feels incredible to say!
What do you wish you knew when you started?
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Being creative isn’t what you’ll be spending most of your time doing! Staying on top of your finances and planning is crucial to making it in the fashion world. You can’t have a successful business without managing your money and being smart about when and what you’re launching.
Who do you think is most exciting in Australian/NZ fashion right now?
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I don’t think it’s necessarily an individual person, but I’m so excited about the small creative brands popping up everywhere. I think consumers are caring more about the stories as well as the people behind the clothes… which is super exciting.
Dream Australian/NZ collaborators?
Collaboration is such an integral part of my business and creative process, It’s so rewarding to work with like-minded, passionate people who share my values. I’ve been so lucky to collaborate with Melbourne designers Bianca Boyd, Après Studio and Not Sew New. all in the first two years of running my business!
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These fun, experimental, special connections are a big part of my brand and a practice I will continue to prioritise throughout my career. I think next I’d love to collaborate with an Australian swimwear designer and experiment with my prints on some bikinis.
Who is in your wardrobe right now?
I’m lucky to have a very stylish mum. [She] has kept some amazing pieces over the years from the ’80s and ’90s that are staples in my wardrobe today. I use all her fab shoes and sunglasses in my photoshoots. I have some amazing vintage Pucci, Stuart Membery and Covers pieces that I love styling with my Katharina Lou.
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How can we buy one of your pieces?
Straight from my website.
Browse the full Katharina Lou collection here.
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