THE MYKEL ELIZABETH BRAND

“I began my “brand” in 2016, and it all started with a vision, an iphone 5 and a parking garage off Michigan State Campus. That day specifically, I knew what I wanted to create, although I had no idea how to create it. I remember walking back from that “photoshoot” telling my friend everythng I wanted this brand to be, and everything I wanted to do. 

And, as of today, I have done all of that and more.

I moved to the places I said I wanted to move to. I created the platform I had dreamed of. I did all the public speaking I spent hours rehearsing in my tiny apartment. Every single thing I wrote down that day in my journal, I did. 

Since that day, I have worked on dozens of projects for high end brands and celebrities, worked on my creative dream teams, started a fashion line, featured in magazines and made that young ambitious girl walking back to her apartment that night, dreaming of all the possibilities, proud.

My brand is many things, but what I am most proud of, is that it is a place where I can inspire and encourage women to live their lives to the fullest, to take more chances, and to inspire more passion in our day to day lives.

Passion to be who we are.

Passion to create. 

Passion in being alive and taking advantage of every good thing this world can offer. 

That is what the Mykel Elizabeth brand is. It is about inspiration, motivation and encouragement. It is about potential. It is about passion. 

I hope that you always find that here. I hope that I always inspire that.” 

xx, mykel

MY JOURNEY

                                BY MYKEL

“I have had moments I have been so proud, I have cried. I have had moments I have been so discouraged, I have cried. I have had moments I have felt like such a failure, I have cried. I have looked around and wondered if this is even my actual life because I have felt so fortunate and successful. I have looked around and wished this wasn’t my actual life before because nothing was going as planned, and I was burnt out.

I have faced just about every single challenge you can imagine, and some were not as easily overcome as others.

I have seen it all; the highs and the lows.

I have been there.

Trust me when I say creating a brand and a buisness is by far one of the hardest things that I have ever done. It is also one of the most incredible, fulfilling, and life altering things I have ever done.

My journey is probably very similiar to most in my position. Maybe people look for this secret forumla to success, or creating what they want. I will say, for me, there IS formula. And that formula itself is quite easy.

It is the execution that is where it all gets diffiuclt. If I could sum it all up into one “formula” it would be:

Know what you want + believe in yourself + hard work = the process

Not the most inspiring formula? It is becusae “journeys” in success are a lifetime. My brand has grown and became bigger than I would have hoped, but it’s not where I want it to end. It really is a process, and a journey.

My journey is still going, but I can tell you from where I have been, that I never stopped believing in myself. Maybe its a gift, maybe it’s stubborness, maybe its even pride, but I refused to not believe I could do it. And when the days were extra hard, and the work vs. pay was comical, I just kept telling mysef I believed in me. And by doing that, I created the best version of me. The version I had dremt about back when this was all just an idea on paper, in a small apartment in East Lansing, Michigan. So, believe in you. And don’t stop believing in you even when the times are difficult. 

My journey to where I am now is a compliation of experiences and highs, and a lot of lows.

And there is so much beauty in that.”

xx, mykel

A WORD ON FASHION

FROM MYKEL

It’s called Fashion bRenDa, look it up.

If a person could exist that was entirely unphased by what people say about what she wears, I would be that person.

This dates all the way back to my years as a child when my mother would repeatedly remind me my clothing did not match. Or when I wore platform heels to the dentist in middle school. Or, those countless hours I would spent sewing an outfit for an occassion because it had to be just right. 

Fashion is an expression, but for me it also says a lot about someone. I always ask myself, in day to day wear, or before an editorial photoshoot….

“What does this say about me?”

I have always wanted my fashion sytle to reflect the things about myself that I have learned to embrace and accept; my boldness, my ambition, my precision to details. My lack of desire for the opinions of people I don’t trust, my creativity, and my passion for art.

I love a concept, an idea. A story.

Fashion is a form of communication.

What do you want to say?

xx, mykel

DESIGNING MY COLLECTION

“Designing my own clothing line was both a dream come true, and the challenge of a lifetime for me.

Since I was little, I have sewn clothes. I never could find what I wanted in stores, or online (or could afford it, if I did find it) so, I would make it. I went from making clothing for my dolls, to clothes for myself. I would say it was almost inevitable that I would start designing, I’ve been passionate about it pretty much my whole life.

Many don’t know this, but I orignally started making bows back when they were all the rage– Called Lady Bows

 ( fun fact: my blog first began as LADY because I liked the irony of these really high fashion, editorial concepts with that title)

And sold them on Etsy for years. I would go to craft shows and sell them, and I even had  a girl take them to italy to photograph them in front of famous buildings. I thought that was the highlight of my career!

I always knew that I wanted to design clothing, but to be honest it intimidated me at first. I started making high end styled skirts for myself and photoshooting them in my favorite places (like Charleston, SC) and then after I got enough interest, I hired a team, and we got creating.

Taking on the title of Fashion Designer was intimidating to me, espeically since I never went to school for it, spesifically. But, much like everything else in my life, I am proof that with enough ambition and dedication, you really can create whatever you want.

My first collection will always be closest to my heart. I will never forget the moment I arrived on of our shoot location and they were hanging on a clothing rack, all together. I hadn’t seen them all togeether and finished until that day. I had spent months in fittings, and meetings, and craft stores, and more meetings and more fittings…. I knew every detail of my designs, but hadn’t seen them finished and all together until that day and it will forever be one of the most cherished days in my career. I cried, and I remmebered thinking even if my career ended right now, in this moment, I would be just fine with it.

My collection represents the ambition, grit, nerve, dedication, and most importantly PASSION that I have for creativity. It is my lifes work to always create and inspire. It always will be.

I hope that when you wear my designs you feel as empowered and passionate to make your dreams happen as I did designing them.”

xx, mykel