Mila Zaharieva is one of the most widely recognised women’s faces in the Bulgarian business circles. She is president of Business Lady Exclusive club, and is a business lady with rich experience in the finance and business consulting sphere.
Before taking on the challenge to run a private business, she accumulated rich experience in the government administration by increasing her expertise and specialising both in Bulgaria and abroad.
In the past, Ms Zaharieva has led two head offices in the National Assembly- “Administrative-legal service and human resources”, as well as “ Parliamentarian office and reception”. Her experience in the “Committee for financial supervision”, and her role as chairwoman of the “ Registry and administrative service” office, also shapes and develops her team working skills. During her time in the Ministry of agriculture and food, Mila Zaharieva worked in different offices within the structures of the ministry. Her most impressive contribution was in the office of “International relations, public communications and protocol”, in her role as a director of the front office of the ministry.
Her Master’s degree in “Public Administration” and in “Political Science, diplomacy and national security”, as well as her BA in “Marketing”, have helped her to successfully navigate and operate the complicated realm of government administration.
A year ago, during the first lockdown, Mila was provoked to turn her hobby into a successful business and proved that even in the recent pandemic environment you can start and develop a business successfully. The boutique clothing brand La Cara Mi EXCLUSIVE by Mila Zaharieva started off with a collection of exclusive home edition clothes and an online store. A few months later, she launched her second collection, officially presented at the “Golden Needle” 2021 award ceremony. It consists of exquisite designs, made from high quality fabrics with designer’s prints, specially designed for the ladies who love to stand out.
Hello, Ms. Zaharieva. It’s a true pleasure for us to have you as a guest. Last year you dove into a completely new and different adventure in the world of fashion, by creating your brand La Cara Mi Exclusive by Mila Zaharieva. Why did you decide to get on this new path?
Hello and thank you for the invitation!
My strong desire to motivate women to feel exclusive, urged me to “dive”, as you call it, in this new undertaking. The basis for the creation of the brand is the time spent in lockdown and the need for comfortable and beautiful home clothes, which we would love to go out wearing as well and this is the exact reason for turning my hobby into a business. I have always loved creating unique models, which I have given talented people to sew for me, using high quality fabrics. That’s the way I have managed to satisfy my desire to maintain a unique dress style.
This is how my brand’s first Home Edition collection was born. It consists of sporty elegant designs, comfortable to wear at home, but also stylish enough to want to wear outside. I have used selected high quality fabrics and prints to make them even more elegant and comfortable.
How did you come up with the brand’s name “La Cara Mi EXCLUSIVE”?
Translated from Italian, the brand’s name means “The precious I - exceptional(exclusive)”. This is exactly how I want my clients to feel about themselves. Every lady must feel respected and appreciate her own qualities and individuality in order to feel exclusive and special. This should be true at home, as well as outside. We should not lose the drive to bring these specific emotions to ourselves.
Where did you draw your inspiration for the first collection from and why did you choose the sporty elegant style attire?
It is interesting to know that the basis for my inspiration was the peculiar situation in the beginning of the lockdown. The prolonged stay under lockdown, the change in the ways we communicate and work, the more frequent meetings in an online setting, all these sides of our new reality inspired me to create comfortable women’s attire for the new “normal” home office setting. Something that was very important for me was not to sacrifice elegance for comfort, but even more so, my goal was to emphasise it in my models so that we can be drawn more to our normal everyday life. As you stated, my first collection is in sporty elegant style. The outfits are made from suede, velvet, satin etc. - all fabrics usually associated with more formal and stylish attire, instead of sporty elegant clothes.
What are the highlights in this collection? What fabrics and colours have you chosen and why?
One of the main highlights in the outfits is the Brussels lace. Together with the golden borders and sequins, they characterise the collection. I pay extremely close attention to the details carrying the brand’s name and make sure they are executed to perfection. An example will be the velvet labels in the collection, which have been carefully crafted and embroidered with golden and silver threads. I was truly trying to satisfy the needs of our customers, mainly working ladies with good fashion taste. So, I made a great variety of sets - long pants as well as shorts with various silhouettes, and tops, both fitted and free-flowing. The collection offers outfits with straps, wide sleeves, dropped shoulders, as well as universal home robes which can also be worn outside. There is also a great variety of colours. There are some pieces in black with special golden or silver details; there are other patterns in soft pink and light blue, combined with sequins for effect. Still other colours in the collection are turquoise green, burgundy, yellow, and white embroidered with coloured elements.
The launch of your collection was received exceptionally well and many ladies discovered their style. Is this the reaction you were looking for when creating your outfits?
We live in a society where new brands are frequently launched and if you are not received well by your target group, your business is at risk of failure. As an artist/designer/ and as an entrepreneur, it was greatly satisfying for me, to see the enthusiasm and excitement with which my first HOME EDITION collection was received by the exclusive ladies that it was targeting. I believe that together with my team, we captured the pulse of the market and we satisfied the desires of the ladies for style during the time when there were no events to attend wearing our elegant evening attire and no business meetings either. The best part is that some of our customers changed their understanding about the quality and style of home outfits and have a new, higher standard. This is also beneficial to their stronger halves.
The second collection of the brand La Cara Mi EXCLUSIVE, named NEW EDITION, emphasises the elegant and slightly eccentric style. What are some of the other characteristics of the collection?
Once again, comfort is the main focus of my second collection, together with practicality. One of the most important highlights in the collection are the designer’s original prints on the fabrics, printed on different materials - wool, velvet and satin - which help their owners stand out in the urban environment and make them feel special. The collection includes models made from fabrics that don’t wrinkle, which is very important and useful in the dynamic lives of business ladies. The outfits are stylish, elegant, and modern. The collection includes “Kimono” style suits, elegant coats with unique designer’s lining and stylish bomber jackets with beautifully finished details, as well as dresses and pants. Each of the models can be paired with a suitable scarf in the same designer’s print but from different material, which makes the final outfit a truly impressive symbiosis from harmoniously overflowing prints and patterns. The interesting trend that I wish to introduce with my second collection is to transfer the philosophy of the HOME EDITION collection - “beautiful at home” - outside. When we make the lining of the pyjama style clothes from natural fabrics, we instantly transform them into comfortable and easy to maintain Kimono style suits. For the colder months of the year, the brand offers stylish coats and functional bomber jackets. In the NEW EDITION collection, once again, much attention is paid to the details. The accessories and the artistic borders are important highlights, especially the scarves which have unique designer’s prints. They stand out with their originality and are a wonderful accessory, perfectly completing the outfits of La Cara Mi EXCLUSIVE. To show my special attention to the clothes, I used the printed fabrics from the suits as linings for the coats as well. My priority as a designer is to make sure that every piece of clothing that I create is made from quality, beautiful material, both on the outside as well as on the inside.
It was a great honour for me that the brand La Cara Mi EXCLUSIVE was noticed by the leading figures in the fashion industry and I was pleased to accept the invitation to present my new collection NEW EDITION during the biggest fashion event in Bulgaria - “Golden Needle” 2021.
What is your vision for the brand’s future development?
I am looking towards expanding my brand beyond Bulgaria’s borders. Part of my strategy for the future of La Cara Mi EXCLUSIVE brand is to develop its presence abroad. I will not give out any details, but my team and I are working intensively towards achieving this goal.
When can we expect your next collection and what can we look forward to seeing in it?
In the past few months, I have been caught in a creative fever, working on La Cara Mi Exclusive’s next collection. I will just hint a bit - expect very fresh, spring-summer colours. We will use a wide variety of fabrics and designer’s prints, which are our brand’s trademark.
Thank you so much for being our guest. At the end of our conversation, what message would you like to share with our readers?
Do not lose your individuality and be natural. This message, especially during Women’s Month, is addressed to the ladies, because these qualities are key characteristics of the unique beauty of every woman. It is a true form of art to be able to preserve your individuality and your personal style, while being constantly bombarded by new fashion trends. This is exactly the concept behind creating the brand La Cara Mi Exclusive. I aspire to make the woman who loves to take care of herself feel exclusive, by offering her the unique boutique designs of the collection. The ladies will stand out from the mass fast fashion and be able to keep their individuality and unique style. The idea behind the brand is to make it possible for us to be different and exceptional, when wearing La Cara Mi Exclusive’s clothes, which we make with great attention to the details and quality of the final products.
You can check out and order all products from the collections here.
Photos: LA CARA MI EXCLUSIVE
Source: Leader.bg
