In August of 2013, after being dissatisfied with the clothing available to fit their Orthodox Jewish standards of modesty – covered collarbones, elbows and knees – the two Brooklyn-based designers put their idea of clothing that is both modest and fashionable into action.
The name MIMU MAXI is a combination of the first two letters of both of their names and maxi from a maxi skirt; which was their first design. But now the name means something different to them.
“We’re not just doing maxi skirts anymore. Our overall collection incorporates tops, skirts and dresses,” states Hecht. “The way we see the name is ‘Mi’ and ‘Mu’ infusing ourselves in our brand. The maxi is maximizing on your clothing and actually getting the maximum from your clothing: that its fashionable, modest, quality, affordable, effortless.”
In a time where people on television and in magazines are often overly exposed, it comes as a refresher to see people covering up rather than dressing down. Mimi Hecht and Mushky Notik, two sisters-in-law, have made that easier with their modest and stylish fashion company, MIMU MAXI
“I think the notion of modest fashion is the idea of modesty not being about hiding yourself but about empowering yourself and not about having to give into society’s standard of what’s fashionable,” says Hecht.
Though they design all of their pieces with their orthodox guidelines in mind, they want their clothing to be about more than just religion. “The only way that I feel like our fashion line has anything to do with religion is with those guidelines otherwise it’s just clothing,” Notik said. Hecht agreed saying “we try to make it not like a dress that just covers up all the right places, but is actually a piece that someone will feel excited to wear.”
If their clothes could talk, Notik thinks they would “be so happy, because they’re so easy and comfortable.” Hecht admitted that they’re clothing does not necessarily make the biggest statement and may not be the most interesting in terms of patterns but it’s something simply done very well and will make consumers “feel amazing on every level.”
But creating an amazing clothing company was no easy feat. “We’re both moms. We both have two boys so balancing life can be difficult,” said Notik. Hecht agreed saying “when we first started out we dragged our kids on the subway to the Garment District.” Notik went on to say “it’s about the minor things and making sure that they are done right because one mistake can ruin the end product.”
The number one change to their lives according to Hecht is that it’s easier for them to get dressed. “If we do wake up like we have nothing to wear then we go into work and fix that,” mentions Notik.
So what’s next on their agenda? The two want to keep building their brand and their company. “We want to keep doing what we’re doing just on a larger scale. We want to keep adding to our collection, and keep shipping internationally, nothing major changing except for being bigger,” says Notik! “There’s always little things like having a show at fashion week one day or having someone famous wear our stuff,” she continued, “but really it’s about what we’re doing now.”
With a modest clothing line that is quickly taking on the New York scene and the blogger world we have no doubt that the MIMU MAXI empire will succeed even more. The businesswomen have already garnered attention from the likes of Refinery29, Huffington Post and blogger, Summer Albarcha, who is rocking their noteworthy skirt legging.