Q&A with Celina Mirau - Cém Founder
Hello Celina, nice to e-meet you. The Fashion Dossier readers are always searching how to make a difference and dress trendy while being kind to our people and planet. That’s why today, we are honored to learn more about your brand and how Cém was born.
“Fashion unites, but makes us unique and that’s what we want to encourage.”
First of all, how difficult was the journey to build a sustainable fashion brand?
It is an illusion to think that starting a business is easy, it is not a linear process and sometimes not everything works according to plan. That's what I learned for sure. But I guess that's the magic of it.
Starting a business will always come along with obstacles that need to be tackled but that's where you learn the most. When everything goes smooth and works out perfectly, you won’t know what things you can do better next time, you will repeat the same process over and over again. But a business needs to evolve, change and improve over time so making mistakes and facing obstacles is actually a very important part of the process. The motivation to make it better will make it better.
So I guess you could say it is difficult to found your own business, because it means facing obstacles, finding solutions and constantly improving your performance. However, I can assure you it is totally worth it because you outgrow yourself and learn more than you can imagine.
Can you tell us more about your brand’s values and mission?
When you start a brand there is always that one starting point. The thing that makes you want to do it. For me, this was using fashion to create a better and happier tomorrow and unite fashion with a charitable ethos. As stupid as it sounds, my passion and our mission is happiness. We want to make women shine and encourage them to feel happy and perfect exactly how they are. We want to empathize each unique character with our adaptable clothing while still providing trend oriented-modern pieces. But we also want to give smiles to people for whom buying clothes seems so luxurious, almost unimaginable.
Our value DNA: Transparency, love and respect for everyone, great style and doing good & better.
Can you give us more information about the fabrics you use, which colors we’ll be seeing on this first capsule drop and where you manufacture your garments?
Generally, Cém only uses fabrics of natural origin like GOTS Organic Cotton or recycled fabrics that are kind to the planet. It is especially important to us to only source components that were made in Europe to support our domestic economy. For the first capsule collection “Chapter 01” we only used GOTS Organic Cotton.
The collection is inspired by colors of happiness and summer excitement offering modest and fitted silhouettes as well as oversized basics. We are trying to close the gap between capsule wardrobe needs and trend pieces.
We work together with a sustainable production agency helping us to find the right European cooperation partners that share our values. One of these extremely valued partners is our production site near Stetin, Poland. The company employs about 10 people and puts their heart into making the garments. Their ambitiousness and eye for detail is extraordinary and makes them the perfect match for our high expectations in terms of quality and fit. It goes without saying, that everyone earns a minimum wage and has appropriate breaks and holidays.
What are some of the biggest challenges you think the fashion industry is facing today?
The fashion industry is acting upon demand. A demand that we as customers are creating. Latest trend developments have focused on sustainability and social corporate responsibility and it is hard for larger companies to shift serving those needs as their organizations are set up to serve a different demand: the fast fashion market.
I think the biggest challenge for the fashion industry is to find a compromise between innovation and sustainability. The fashion world is used to reinvent itself every season but that will never be completely sustainable, so I think that it needs to find a way to reinvent itself. I perceive this as the biggest challenge nowadays.
I believe that we as consumers have a great power that we finally need to recognize because what we ask for is what we will get. I wish for us consumers to reflect upon our needs and wishes and try to find a solution to close that demand gap between trendy innovation and sustainability, forcing the fashion industry to act upon that and follow our lead.
What advice could you give to aspiring fashion designers that want to launch a brand in such challenging times?
Follow your dream. There will never be a perfect time and it will always be a challenge because following your dream also means taking a risk.
I am usually a total overthinker but when I started working on my brand I just did, just started. I advise you to always have Plan-B’s and -C’s. Stay organized but be open to change and try to stay adaptable in every situation, don't be too determined. But most importantly keep in mind: what is the worst that can happen? You learn something new and if it doesn’t work out the first time you can do it better next time.
“Buying something new should make a difference. We are a conscious fashion brand that believes fashion has a deeper purpose than profit.”
Don’t forget to follow Cém on Instagram ( @we.are.cem ) and also visit their website!
And also, follow @thefashiondossierblog to stay up to date about new sustainable fashion brands <3
