.jpg)
Alexia Elkaim and Paloma Elsesser are proof that working with your best friend can lead to some spectacular results. Self-proclaimed besties since 10th grade, the Los Angeles–bred and New York–based duo have supported each other as Elkaim started the buzzy, cool-girl label Miaou and Paloma ascended to supermodel-dom. Now, they’ve joined together on Miaou’s first, 54-piece plus-size capsule, offering the cult-favourite corsets and skirts in sizes from an XS to a 4XL. “This isn’t even where it stops, this is just the bandwidth currently that the brand has,” Elsesser says. “It’s also a way to make a remark to brands that have way more resources to show that you can do this.”
.jpg)
Miaou started as a denim company, but has since become synonymous with curve-hugging going out tops and remarkably non-constricting corsets. Elsesser wore Miaou clothing but felt that she was being afforded a special privilege. “My size was provided, but the community I represent was not,” she says. The timing worked out for both of them to embark on this capsule, and the process of extending Miaou’s sizing as a whole, starting with the core collection. “Any brand I attach my name to needs to also provide for more women that I represent,” Elsesser says.
The pair worked with two fit models – one who wore a UK size 20 and another who wore a UK size 22 – to get the sizing right. Elsesser’s own experience also helped some design elements, as seen in a top that is partially backless to allow the wearer to wear underpinnings but still show some skin. “I was like, ‘I need to wear a bra everyday.’ These things need to be considered,” Elsesser says. “I really value Alexia listening to these needs.” It was important to both of them that the clothes be easy, a word not normally associated with shapewear. “Ease can be a corset, ease can be sweatpants, but it’s the way you can participate in the world and feel at ease in this moment,” Elsesser says. “The community that I care about so deeply is not only deserving of ease but desperate for it. It’s not fair, and it feels like a denial of a certain level of humanity that everyone deserves.”
After 25 fittings and plenty of feedback from the models, Elsesser, and people on the Miaou team who Elkaim says occupy larger bodies, the fit was set. Now on to refine the aesthetics. “The collection itself is such a smoothie of Alexia and I’s personalities,” Elsesser says. “Alexia is very light, playful, and I operate from a more critical lens when it comes to clothes and images.” Alexia counters this assertion slightly by saying that Elsesser is more “mature and sophisticated.” Elsesser finishes the thought by saying, “I’m more serious, and she’s more light. I’m a burgundy and a forest green; she’s a beige and a pink.” The capsule features bold prints inspired by interior design, including a tangerine coloured toile and an abstract blue and white print featuring vaguely discernable Baroque architectural details. In one particularly striking image, Elsesser wears the orange corset with the blue skirt and twirls. That combination in and of itself is a departure from the typical Miaou image, as Elkaim prefers matching outfits to such bold pattern clashing. “I feel really grateful that she trusted me,” Elsesser says. Elkaim says it was as easy as the clothes they made. “It was not difficult to relinquish control because there’s so much trust in her vision,” she says.
Both emphasise that this capsule, available for £105 to £360, is just the beginning of Miaou’s size-inclusivity. “We’ve held off on this to make it right, and do it the right way,” Elkaim says. “There’s more work that can be done, there’s more sizes we want to reach. It definitely wasn’t easy and it had to happen at the right time, but it’s possible and it’s important.”
