Q&A with Malia Mills: On Inclusivity, Innovation, and Empowerment in Women’s Swimwear by Livia Caligor Tuesday, February 2, 2021
Designer and Founder of Eponymous Label, Malia Mills. Photo credits: http://www.oprah.com/spirit/malia-mills-swimwear-inspiration-guide/all
Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, a mecca for swim and beachwear, Malia Mills graduated from Cornell University where she was initially enrolled in Design & Environmental Awareness. After spending a semester at La Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne in Paris, she discovered that her passion was fashion, and more specifically, swimwear design. She finished her undergraduate degree with a major in the Department of Textiles & Apparel, known today as the Department of Fiber Science & Apparel Design (FSAD). In 1991, after working in San Francisco as an assistant designer for Jessica McClintock, Mills moved to New York City, where she soon founded her eponymous swimwear label. A waitress at the Odeon a trendy downtow