About
The story of Mimz began in December 2016 when its founder, Émilie-Rose Couture, 17, was looking for a one-piece swimsuit for her trip during the holiday break. That’s when she noticed a glaring gap in this market. She has always had an entrepreneurial spirit, probably passed down from her parents, each entrepreneur, and decided to embark on this great adventure knowing what she wanted to offer, but without a clear idea of how to do it. She therefore began to obtain information from various suppliers, the laws in Canada, to set up a website, etc. It was officially on May 24, 2017 that Mimz was launched.
Over time, Émilie-Rose wanted to offer a clothing section, something achieved in July 2019, where she announced the Ready-to-Wear division. The first clothes went on sale in October. This was followed by a long reconsideration in December where she made the decision to close the company in spring 2020, to honor her commitments. With the pandemic, the various events in which Mimz was scheduled to participate were canceled, so the announcement of the closure came sooner than expected.
Another big questioning follows. “I love online commerce, I am passionate about fashion, marketing fascinates me, social media are an integral part of my life, travel allows me to disconnect while achieving personal fulfillment. I love what I do, how can I continue to be happy while linking all these aspects?” Then, the buying local movement became all the rage. The question that Émilie-Rose asks: “How is it that in Quebec, we do not have a large online store exclusively with a wide range of clothes made here intended for young women?” It must also be said that she was afraid of having "nothing to do", besides her university!
Starting a new business was possible. However, the Mimz name is already known in Quebec. Why not just reposition the company completely? As they say, timing is everything . “My dream is to build the largest e-commerce platform for women's fashion in Quebec, to raise people's awareness of ethical consumption in an environment where it has been left aside for too long. I want us to find clothes there that make us feel emotional, that we want to get them right away and that we are proud that this kind of thing is done entirely here.” Obviously, creating a wide range of clothing doesn't happen overnight, but every day we take a step closer in this direction!
We have a new approach, more sustainable and transparent where everyone benefits.
When it comes to sustainability, the clothes are artisan-made, meaning they are produced to order. As soon as you order a piece, a seamstress from our team begins to make it. We therefore avoid wasting clothes as much as possible in this way. Also, we minimize fabric waste by using the same fabric for several pieces and reusing fabric scraps, either by making new products such as hair scrunchies where larger scraps can be used for other pieces. For example, when we make a skirt, there is a fabric balance in width. This is used to make the sleeves of a dress. Additionally, we do not manage inventory. As a result, big sales are no longer there since we have no excess inventory to liquidate. It's a way for us to counter fast fashion, by offering timeless products and opting for practices where happiness trumps performance at a fair price. On the other hand, the supply is entirely done in Quebec, both for the fabric, the elastics, the sewing thread and the labels. In this way, we encourage local businesses, and therefore the local economy.
As far as transparency is concerned, everything is designed and manufactured in Quebec. Everything is done from A to Z in Quebec City, from design to production. In terms of design, a designer works with Émilie-Rose to bring her ideas to life with found fabrics. Several attempts are made to find the perfect cut and test the fabrics. It is also its designer who makes the clothing patterns. Once a final product is completed, it is assigned to a seamstress on the team and it is posted online. Finally, seamstresses only produce to order as mentioned above.
A new addition to our activities, you can now personalize a piece to your size. In the sizes offered on each clothing page, you have the "custom" size. When taking this option, be sure to give us as much detail as possible in the "notes" section during check-out. We will need all your measurements (bust, waist, hips, your height, leg length, length of the desired item, etc.). It's better to give MORE details than not enough to ensure we make a piece that fits your body type. By offering this new option, we want all our customers to be satisfied and to be able to find what they are looking for.