iDR has had the pleasure to interview Mataano. When I first heard about them is through a friend of mine.  Apparently they’ve been on Oprah…Oprah you say? We’re all over it!  I had so many questions and honestly I wanted to sit and chat with them, however, they are on the east coast. You can see why they and their brand Mataano was featured on Oprah. Their global mind and vision is inspiring as well as their passion and strive for the fashion industry. Best of all they’re chicks just like us, making it work! Check out their collection online, click here and read on.

First off tell us a bit about how Mataano came about?
While we were growing up in Somalia, we were always aware the fashion of very beautiful women who wore dazzling, colorful dresses. When we moved to Virginia, at 9 years old, we got exposed to a more contemporary style of fashion, especially through the magazines and books our mother gave us to read in order to learn English more quickly. At that point, we didn’t realize that our love for fashion could equate to a career. So, we went to college to earn solid, dependable degrees. And then we moved to New York, for the pursuit of our dream.

I see the two of you have had internships at Jill Stuart and Betsey Johnson. Tell us a bit of what you learned and how you’ve leveraged that into your own company now.
Our internships let to jobs. The best way to learn any craft is to immerse yourself in it. Working in the field of fashion gave us the building blocks to accomplish our goals.

Fall 2009 Collection

How has working in online marketing given you an edge on marketing your own line?
Yes, definitely. E-marketing has given us the opportunity to increase sales and access new markets across the globe.

Working with your sister…good or bad? Annoying or great? I mean after a long day at work, do you guys still hang out after? Has your relationship changed, if so in what way? Give us the dish!
Working together is great. We grew up together. We shared a crib, a room, a car. Now we live and work together. Trust me, when you share a womb with somebody, you learn quickly how to get a long. That being said, we do have the occasional argument and when we do, we give each other space.

Looking at the photos, I see a lot of ethnically diverse women? Is that intentional? If so why?
We hire models that represent the multicultural world we live in.

all photos courtesy of Mataano

What is your creative process like? If we were to step into your studio what would we expect to go through to get the end product?
There are different phases to the design process. There is the design phase, the fabric and color phase and the final phase would be development of samples. So if you were to come to our design studio, you would find fabric, trim, vintage clothes, art, proto samples, a pattern maker, and a sewer. There would also be people coming and going – friends or stylists or our PR rep.

With rich Somali roots and living in NY, does the cultures influence your pieces in a more technical perspective such as relooking at the function of a dress in two different cultures?
We would have to say that color and attitude is derived from our Somali roots, but the cut and silhouette of the dresses are western. We will eventually try and experiment with Somali dress silhouettes.

Your pieces are lovely, how is the line responding to the economy? Do you see repositioning your price point, or changing materials?
The economy is not great. However, we are happy with the response we have gotten. We are positioning ourselves for slow but steady growth. It’s good to remain cautiously optimistic.

Also in the long run, how do you see the fashion industry changing as a whole in response to the financial climate?
It will weed out a lot of mediocre labels. There will be more room for new designers.

What do you love about the Fashion Industry? Is there anything about the industry you cant stand?
We love the fashion industry because we have the opportunity to express ourselves through clothing. Dressing is like decorating your body; we have the privilege to decorate bodies. However, it is important to realize that  it’s just clothes. Sometimes people take it too seriously!

What should we expect in the future for Mataano?
Growth, Ecommerce, and an accessory line

Special thanks to Idyll and Ayaan for collaborating with us on this piece. We can’t wait to see more!