Monoimanii

Monoimanii is a Stockholm based art and women's fashion designer The dressmaking founder Amela Zetterberg studied her craft at Stockholms Tillskärarakademi, she was set to study even further at world renowned New York' Parsons where some of the world hottest fashion designers have learnt their craft but has experinced some deleys due to the COVID-19 Virus. Amela designs dresses using some of the finest materials she has sourced from different cities in the world including London New York and Paris and we sat down with her to talk all things about her brand Monomanii.

How would you describe Monoimanii to those who might not have seen your clothing before?

I would describe Monoimanii as an International woman-centred design aesthetic made to make the woman feel as the best version of herself. 

As a woman and consciously designing, I create pieces that reveal a woman’s personality while providing a sense of strength and courage through the design.I want it isto be the voice of modern minimalism and a strong sense of sophistication, versatility and effortlessness.

 My design style is distinctive, timeless, chic, and can be described as sassy-streetwear meets classy, for the strong feminine woman. I want the dresses to be of emotional value too; so that the dresses could be passed down through generations and be full of memories and love from the loved ancestors. But still, the style must always be modern. I want to make women feel supported and confident, powerful but also embrace their vulnerable and emotional sensitive side, that's truly a gift as a woman. Women today are busy, and I want to make it easy to feel good and get dressed, as well to dress up or down the outfit for different occasions in one day, as work, after work or a dinner.

The fabrics I use are mainly from haute couture stores in London, New York, and Paris and the dresses are mostly made from Brocades, Jacquard,Tweed and Silk.

What was your inspiration behind starting your fashion brand?

The idea of Monoimanii was born after I started to design dresses for my daughter, and I started to take evening courses in Fashion Design and Dressmaking in Stockholm at Tillskärarakademin which is one of the oldest fashion schools, and after some time I made my first dress for me and my daughter and I got stuck. I started to make unique dresses and art that was very appreciated, and I enjoyed it so much. Especially to see how happy the dresses made the girls and their parents feel. Soon, I'll be taking some more Fashion Design courses at Parsons, NYC that I look forward to very much, I always want to learn more and develop my skills.

My dream was to establish the brand Monoimanii with my collection and my art and through the business, the Monoimanii Foundation so I could continue to assist organizations who protect and rescue children from trafficking, in an overall effort to help them recover, build self esteem, and a new safe life even more than I did before. The Monoimanii Talks is also a new part of the foundation, I want it to become a support system for young entrepreneurs and artists that do not have that support from home or friends. I want it to empower and educate them with help from experts in the field and other artists and entrepreneurs. Where did you first start when you made the decision to launch a brand? 

Well to make a long story short, since I was a child, I've always loved creative activities like painting,photography and to make small sculptures from clay. Time and space did not exist when I was in my creative space. But in the sewing classes when I was a child in school I did not do that well, and my teacher was always irritated with me. She told me that It was not for me, and that I will never learn to sew properly. So, for a long time as a child I was scared to sew, even though I did enjoy it so much. But instead continued to enjoy painting and drawing fashion designs sketches when I had time.

I then started out studying Psychology in London and planned to work as a Child Psychologist that was my dream for a long time, but unfortunately, I had to move back to Stockholm because of serious illness in my family and had to be there.

I unfortunately couldn't get into the Psychology program here as there are very few that offer the program to become licensed, so I instead proceeded and studied Political Science and Business; and after graduation I started to work as a Marketing  and Event Manager in the Financial Industry for many years until I got my little daughter. But I never felt that I was truly in my element, so I started to think about what to do with the next chapter in my life, while enjoying being a mother for the first time. My daughter inspired me very much, and I started to sketch and design dresses for her and felt that I was in my true element again. 

So in November 2017 I first started by sharing my art and drawings on Monoimanii´s Instagram account and the brand was growing from there. I was then starting to develop the Monoimanii webshop,but I had to pause that for a while because I was contacted by an Asian/American company that I signed a contract with in Milan this year. They want to manufacture and distribute Monoimanii´s  clothes, accessories and fashion art in Asia and the United Arab Emirates.

Where does the inspiration behind your designs come from?

Inspiration for my Art and Design comes from different sources,my own creativity, from patterns and structures in nature, architecture, sculpture, fashion history, different cultures I travel to. Recurring themes seen is my love of using colours and patterns in my chosen fabrics, whilst the expressive and dynamic prints are informed by modern and contemporary art influences.And maybe a bit strange, but I get inspiration very much from my dreams. Sometimes I wake up and dreamt about making a particular dress or painting and continue the work during the day. When designing new collections do you find yourself sticking to creative processes you used before? Or is it different every time? My creative process is different but I often start with an element that I work with and develop into a new collection. I like to work in different environments in Stockholm and Paris so I do some of the work in my studio but I get very much inspiration from working from my favourite restaurant,cafe or in nature and bring my computer and sketch book with me. 

When considering your next collection,do you take into consideration the current trends? Or do you steer away from the expected? I like to create something unexpected and like to continually evolve in my art and design, but if I like a specific trend or an element from different eras I do like to include it in my collection.

It is maybe a cliche  but I really want to be able to use my own designs, I couldn't design a piece that I don't want to use myself.

How would you Describe Monoimanii in 3 words?

Timeless, Street-chic, Strong Feminine Woman

Where do you imagine Monoimanii in 5 years' time?

I hope that we will succeed with the sales in Asia and Emirates, and I have been contacted by Flying Solo In NYC for their fashion weeks in Paris and Nyc. But we will first start to sell a small capsule collection with pencil skirts in their shop in Nyc, so I hope that it will be appreciated by the New Yorkers! And the Monoimanii shop should launch after  we start selling in Asia because we will manufacture through them. So I hope that it will not take too long with trademark registration and preparation so we could launch soon.

Would you say COVID19 has affected your business? If so in what way?

No I can't say that it's affected my business and that would be the advantage with being a start up brand. I have devoted my time to my family and on Monoimanii Talks which I truly get so much inspiration from! And I had more time to think through what to focus most on right now. And that would be the Monoimanii Talks Foundation, the next episode will be with the founder of Fashion News  Lifestyle Network FNL- Rocco Leo Gaglioti! But most focus will be on our Asian launch and to start selling through Flying Solo, Nyc. 

Are there any exclusives you can give us about any upcoming collections? 

As I mentioned earlier I am working on Monoimani´s upcoming collection for Flying Solo in New York now. I am also working on my first collection for the Asian launch that will consist of dresses,blouses,tshirts,skirts pants and some beautiful and chic loungewear that so many people live in nowadays lol. I would also love to design more accessories and jewelry in the future.

You can check out the full Monoimanii brand over at monoimanii.com (Online shop launches soon) You can also check the brand out on social media Here.