Photo Credit: Kristina Makeeva

Every year, all around the world people head off to college and while some graduate and go on to be amazing in what they studied, there are some of us who trade that for a new passion. I didn’t study to do what I do now, and neither did custom dressmaker Julia Miren. In fact, despite being the daughter of a tailor, she couldn’t sew. It was her husband her gave her a lesson and pushed her towards where she is today – making some of the most remarkable custom wedding and formal gowns out there. Now take a seat and get to know more about this rising designer.

Kendra: Have you always worked in fashion, or did you start elsewhere in your career?

Julia Miren: Actually, I’m a metal engineer by training. I graduated from the top technical university in the country. But in the last year of study, I realized that it wasn’t for me, and decided not to continue my studies.

It is not strange, but I do not have a sewing education. I am completely self-taught in sewing and design and think that it’s easy for me because I really like it. At the same time, I am very scrupulous and perfectionist and bother with the topic of quality.

Kendra: What drew you to wedding gowns and formal evening wear?

Julia Miren: I like that there are no borders and no frames; lace, tulle, chiffon. I also like that a wedding dress is something special; not for every day. This is a dream and every girl has a different one. And I like to create something new – for different tasks and wishes of the bride.

Julia Miren: This usually comes when I have my initial discussion with the bride about her future dress. There is some kind of magic, and it is difficult to convey in words. I am not inspired by nature or the weather. Rather, my clients inspire me. They are individuals, different and interesting. I like to find ideas for their unique dresses for them, and fulfill their dream. This is the happiness of my life and the greatest inspiration!

Kendra: Every decade seems to have its own style when it comes to wedding fashion. Do you have a favorite? Also, what decade do you think had the craziest wedding fashion?

Julia Miren: As I said, I am not a fashion expert and know little about the history of fashion. I focused more on my inner taste of beauty and bring it to the world. The craziest wedding fashion, in my opinion, is now. This is an absolute flight of imagination and creativity. Nothing limits it; not decency, not color, not materials.

Kendra: In the past couple of months, you did this lavish ombre gown that featured beautiful hues of turquoise and blues. How long did that particular piece take to make?

Julia Miren: The first such dress was sewn in ombre from dirty pink, powdery, to white. That was in 2017. And then it was quite difficult – since there are a lot of calculations, money, and fear – how will it work out?

Many tens of kilometers of tulle stripes were gathered in ruffles and sewn. Each transitional shade was made manually by mixing different tulle colors. This is a colossal work, besides monotonous. But I stood it. It took about a month of daily labor.

I sewed a dress in turquoise shades especially for the photographer Kristina Makeeva for a photo shoot on the ice of Lake Baikal. This is an incredible place and it is a delight from the shades of water when it freezes in winter.

I selected the shades of tulle to match the colors of Baikal ice so that later Kristina could photograph this incredible skirt in the same place. It turned out great! When Kristina received the skirt, she was shocked and wrote to me, “Oh my God! It does not fit into my apartment! That’s what I needed!”

Kendra: What do you have coming up as far as work is concerned? Are you working on new pieces right now?

Julia Miren: Each dress I’ve done so far was sewn for a specific purpose and has its own mistress. I do not sew a collection for the sake of the collection. This is not interesting to me. I like to create dresses and solve specific problems of customers. As I already wrote, inspiration comes from solving existing client tasks.

I am constantly working on new dresses and creating custom dresses for brides and photographers, photo projects and dress rental studios around the world. I can’t show a lot, because this is an individual work and it’s bad to show bride dresses before the wedding. And work on such orders can last half a year to a year.

But when the wedding day arrives, the bride puts on a dress and she realizes her dream has come true, it is an indescribable feeling of joy and happiness. A happy review from the bride is the very thing for sewing and working for. This is my love and my passion!