Mii Collection establishes a 10,000-square-meter production facility in India

Lucie Bourreau and Bapan Dutta, who met at the École des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, are at the helm of Mii Collection. They introduced their accessories and women's ready-to-wear label, Mii Collection, in 2013, emphasizing its made-in-India identity (hence the acronym "Mii"). From haute couture, with Dior's Mumbai fashion show at the end of March, to designers such as Kartik Kumra and Runa Ray, the fashion industry celebrates the craftsmanship of Indian communities.

Honouring ancient Indian techniques

Mii Collection offers a casual-chic wardrobe featuring intricate traditional embroideries like Aari (crochet) and needlework, vibrant screen-printed and block-printed patterns, and meticulously handwoven fabrics. Dutta stated, "Our goal is to bring India's ancestral craftsmanship into the spotlight, as it is a textile heritage that has suffered through two centuries of colonization and is now threatened by the mechanized overproduction of fast fashion."

Bourreau added, "Initially, we collaborated with around 20 artisans, but now we work with over 250 people, including 100 skilled embroiderers. It is creatively inspiring to collaborate directly with them, and with our new dedicated workshop that we will inaugurate in September, we will have complete control over our production chain."

The seed for this idea was planted during Talents, the support program of the French Federation of Women's Ready-to-Wear, in which Mii Collection participated in the 2020/2021 cycle (fourth promotion). In the same year, the brand successfully raised funds and attracted two business angels who collectively acquired a 20% stake in the company. Lucie Bourreau also notes, "We received a generous grant of €400,000 from the Institut pour le financement du cinéma et des industries culturelles (Institut to finance the cinema and cultural industries)."

The new workshop, situated in the Bardhaman district in the northeast of the country, spans a vast area of 10,000 square meters, three times larger than its previous location in Baidyabati. This state-of-the-art facility integrates both design and manufacturing processes. The workshop was designed together with Laurent Fournier, a French architect based in Calcutta specialising in eco-friendly habitats.

Bourreau explained, "It is an eco-friendly building adorned with abundant greenery, four stories high, featuring a brick dome, solar panels, and a rainwater treatment system. We wanted to be close to the villages where our weavers reside and proactively address the challenges posed by climate change."