Accessories brand Mlouye has been one of our favorites since we first discovered it a few years back. We love the unique silhouettes—like their signature lantern bags—and couldn’t be more excited that they have branched out into shoes and ready to wear. We caught up with the brand’s finder Meb Rure on what inspired her to start the brand and where she draws her inspiration.

What inspired you to start Mlouye?

I was always into fashion even though I was educated to become an industrial designer. My mother was an educated tailor, she gave up her job after I was born but never quit being a tailor. She sewed all of my clothes. I grew up with fashion and tailoring magazines and I think the seed of the brand was sown back there. After I graduated from university, I practiced industrial design for five years. And then one day I decided that I really want to make something related to fashion. Fashion is my happy place. It was an instinctive move to change gear.

What’s the meaning behind the name?

Mlouye is a made-up name. The business started online-only, it needed a unique name so online searches can only produce results relevant to it. It should be unlike anything else in the market so that it could be easily trademarked. Keeping that mind, the rest was fun. I love the “M” sound, it is soft, relaxing, and endearing somehow. Mlouye sounds like “love” with an “M” to me. It is pronounced as me-loy.

What period are you lost influenced by when it comes to design?

Mid-century, definitely! I’m obsessed with mid-century modernism; the use of color, geometry, and the relationship between form and functionality. And I’m also a huge fan of Bauhaus architects and artists who pioneered modernism.

What prompted you to branch out into shoes and ready to wear?

As a direct-to-customer brand, Mlouye, we always listen to our customers. We’ve been asking them for more than 2 years; what more they’d like to see from Mlouye's perspective? Shoes and clothing were their first choices equally. So we’ve listened to them.

I absolutely adore the accordion effect on your bags and now shoes. What inspired it?

The first time I created this accordion effect (pleats) was for our iconic Lantern bag, which was the best seller of that time, the end of 2017. I was browsing lights for my home and saw those classic pleated lamp shades. They inspired me with their simple yet so elegant texture. I love this kind of ordinary details to take and transform into something unexpected.

Who is the Mlouye woman?

-The one who loves art and architecture dares to express her style, has a utilitarian approach to fashion. Her priority is functionality and she is confident to wear colors.