Imi Studios is a fashion label whose design aesthetic is imbued with an eccentric escapism that manifests itself in fierce and fabulous pieces that come to us in a serotonin-boosting palette. Pieces created with the intention that the wearer live their life with confident self-expression. With the wearers of designer Imogen Evans covetable creations including Doja Cat, Anderson Paak and Christine Quinn, it’s a brand that’s becoming a fashion favourite not just among iconic celebrities but all who want to look iconic.
Imi Studios intentionality extends beyond the clothes themselves, to an ethical and environmental awareness which underpins all the brand does , with a commitment to minimize waste and to reuse and recycle as much as possible. It’s a consciousness that’s also inspired the designer to speak out on societal issues that she cares passionately about.
Broke Magazine spoke to Imogen when the designer visited her hometown of Edinburgh to talk about her unconventional route into the fashion industry, the brands era defining identity and her inspirations and aspirations.
For those new to Imi Studios how would you describe the brand’s aesthetic and style?
I would describe the brand as one which encourages people to express themselves through clothing and our aesthetic is a mix of eccentric mixed with Y2K, modern, deconstructed silhouettes. We use a lot of print, and the aim of my brand is to design clothing from the female gaze rather than from the male gaze. I want to encourage women to have fun with their style and be experimental.
What ignited your love of fashion and who are your fashion influences and inspirations?
I’ve always been creative, and I’ve always been into art but my love for fashion came at about fifteen years old and basically came about once I stopped caring about what other people thought about what I was wearing. Once I stopped caring I felt really liberated and started expressing myself through fashion.
As to influences I have so many, some more specific to fashion. As with anyone in fashion I feel McQueen is one of my earliest influences and from there designers like Molly Goddard, Craig Green, all these new-age designers from the UK who have really signature, recognizable work. They inspire me because they have shown that it really is possible to create a brand in this era and to become a successful designer at a young age.
You started Imi Studios in 2019 and showed at Vancouver Fashion Week that year. The pandemic struck shortly after so how resilient did you have to be to navigate those times and keep the Imi Studios dream and vision alive?
My journeys a bit backwards as I actually started the brand in 2020 during lockdown. However, I did two fashion shows before that in 2019. I basically applied for sponsorship for those shows, managed to get it and then because I received the opportunity, I felt I can’t miss out on this, I need to take it. I didn’t have a website; I didn’t have a place where people could actually buy my stuff. So, I did New York and Vancouver Fashion Weeks but had nothing to sell afterwards.
When I reflect, that was definitely a moment where I made a business decision for my ego rather than for the benefit of the business. Although the shows were sponsored, I still had to pay to go out to these places and had to pay to make the collection. It cost me a lot of my savings and I had nothing really to show for it afterwards. So, when I launched my website in December 2020, I wanted to make sure that I was making my business decisions based on what was actually best for the business, rather than what looks the coolest or sounds the coolest. At the time I was nineteen, so I had a lot of learning to do.
Sustainability is at the core of everything that Imi Studios does. What steps do you take to ensure that you’re as sustainable as possible through your sourcing, production processes and also at point of sale?
Something about our brand that we really pride ourselves on is being as transparent as possible. So, we’re the first to come out and say that we could be doing more to be even more sustainable, but we try to do as much as we can throughout all sections of the brand. For example, our pieces are currently made-to-order to minimize waste. We have small amounts of offcuts. We use just about every piece of fabric we have, whether it’s for samples or stuffing bean bags. We also sell product samples on our Depop page so that they don’t go to waste. We’ve created a lot of denim pieces using recycled denim and recycled Lycra, all of our packaging is plastic free and we’re really careful about where we source stuff. When we were outsourcing previously, we were working with a small-batch Europe based manufacturer. We ship all our packaging by train instead of by plane. We just try to take steps where we can.
As a consumer I only shop second-hand and not from fast-fashion brands. I know how hard it is to put your trust in a brand when you don’t really know where they’re getting their materials or where they’re getting their products made. I want people to trust us and know that we do really care about these issues and that were going to try and be as sustainable as possible, wherever we can.
In terms of price point affordability and sustainability is there a tension or dichotomy between both and how do you navigate that?
It’s hard because nowadays everyone has such a warped view of what clothes cost to make. People think that stuff is overpriced if it’s not £20 and under. Thats not a normal price. People have been exploited to make cheap clothes. I’m often anchored towards the prices charged by fast-fashion brands, and I do want to actually charge more for my products. Its definitely hard and I’m hoping as I grow that I’ll be able to increase the price point as we gain credibility. It’s definitely one of the hard things being an independent brand getting that price point right.
As well as being created with intentionality you’ve also not been afraid to address issues such as sexual assault and the survivors’ stories. How important a vehicle do you think fashion is in telling the stories of those in society who are often unheard?
I think it’s really important that if you have a platform, you are mindful about how you use it. I think as well, fashion is something that people overlook as superficial, but it is something that we all have in common. Everyone wears clothing and gets up in the morning and chooses what they’re going to wear. It’s definitely a vessel for expression and at that time in 2019 I wanted to elevate the voice of other people who maybe felt like they hadn’t been heard.
How do you want the person who wears Imi Studios to feel about themselves and the world about them when they wear one of your garments?
I want them to feel confident. I want people to look at them as they walk past and see how confident they are. When I see models at my shoots wearing my pieces I think if I saw you walking down the street, I’d be thinking about you all day. I want people to have that confidence and enjoy the fact that people will look. At the end of the day, it’s just a bit of fun.
A host of celebrities and public figures have worn Imi Studios such as Becky Hill, Doja Cat and Christine Quinn. How does it feel when people choose your clothes when they probably also have access to every designer and brand world-wide?
It feels amazing, it’s so surreal. Especially because a lot of these celebrities actually seem to have a big interest in supporting and uplifting small creative brands and sometimes, they just don’t know where to find them. For example, Doja Cat follows so many small creators, designers, make-up artists, and other fashion people. People who aren’t necessarily mainstream. We were speaking about using your platform to do good and I think that it’s such a small thing but her showing support and following these small creators says a lot and means a lot as she could literally be dressed by anyone. She gets dressed by Schiaparelli and all these couture fashion houses so it really means a lot.
I did a TikTok showing how I’d made Christine Quinns pieces, and she sent me a message saying that she didn’t actually think or realize that so much work went into making the skirt. I had to go out and buy all the denim from the charity shops, come home and bleach it, unpick it and reconstruct it. She said that she was so impressed as she never thought that so much work went into gifts from small brands. She actually wrote in her Instagram caption all about the making process and I thought that was so nice as they don’t have to do that. It shows that there is an interest for small creators and their specific craft. As celebrities have access to any couture fashion house in the world. Maybe the thing that sets these celebrities apart from others is by supporting undiscovered, independent brands.
Is there anyone else in the public eye who is on your wish list to see dressed in Imi Studios?
There are so many. Julia Fox, Kim Kardashian, people will give me hate for that, people think Kim Kardashians basic, but you can’t deny she is one of the most influential celebrities currently, in terms of fashion, so I would love to dress her.
To be honest who I would love to dress even more is North West. I think North West is so cool but she’d be a tough critic, I don’t think she’s out there wearing anything she doesn’t like. Of course, I would love to dress Rihanna and ASAP. And the Tik Toker Wisdm Kaye. Honestly, there’s so many people that I would love to dress.
Before starting the brand you did a fashion diploma in Milan and interned with Richard Quinn before founding the brand. What did these experiences teach you and what have you taken from them into Imi Studios
I actually took an unconventional route into fashion. My dream was to go to Central St Martins, and I actually got rejected three times. After first being rejected I didn’t want to go the other Universities I’d been accepted for as I had to make a three-year commitment and I wanted to reapply to St Martins. So, I found a one-year course in Milan and after it, reapplied to CSM and got rejected again.
So, I started working in the industry and am actually glad I took that route. I started interning and although I felt quite out of my depth and was surrounded by people who had been at St Martins and LCF and all these really good universities, I really just winged it and then ended up learning loads on the job. They’d ask me if I knew how to do something and I’d say yes, then run to the toilet and google it. I feel that I learned so much being chucked in at the deep end.
By my third rejection I decided, you know what, I’m just going to keep working and not go to Uni. I would say to anyone who is looking to get into the fashion industry , or any industry where they maybe feel that they don’t have enough experience , you don’t always need to know people in the industry, you don’t need to go to an amazing Uni. Nowadays with the power of social media , I was just posting all my work online and was receiving opportunities from my posts as well as cold emails/DMs. You never know what could come from putting yourself out there so don’t be afraid to do that.
Don’t be afraid to worry about coming off as too keen or embarrassing yourself, you need to leave that ego at the door, message people and get cold emailing people. At the time I had about 4000 Instagram followers and thought I’m just going to message Depop and find the person there in charge of collaborations and email them. I sent a few emails and never thought anything would come from it and then they replied and said that they wanted to do a collaboration. They would never have approached me for that. If you email someone enough and pitch a good idea you never know if they’re going to come back to you, so yes put yourself out there.
How was the collaboration with Depop, what made you want to work with them and how rewarding was it?
I saw that they’d partnered with a couple of independent brands on upcycling projects, and I thought I’ve got a really cool idea for this. So, I just did some digging, found out who to contact and pitched my idea and they said yes. I also only really shop from independent brands or from Depop and when they accepted my proposal I was absolutely buzzing. It also reinforced that idea of you never know what you might achieve unless you ask so keep asking?
As we reach the end of 2023 what’s been your highlight of the year and what are your ambitions and aspirations for 2024?
I think it’s definitely been a year of lessons for me. I had some problems this year with a manufacturer which definitely caused the business to take a hit. So, I was originally seeing this year as a bit of a negative year, but I’ve decided to reframe it to see this as a year of lessons. I’ve learnt a lot this year.
My highlight is probably Anderson Paak wearing one of my hats. People who have worked with me know the first music I put on in the studio every single day is Anderson Paak. I didn’t know he was going to wear it, I just happened to see it on Instagram. I was freaking out as I love him so much. That was a highlight.
As I said, it’s been a year of lessons and I’m going into 2024 with a lot more knowledge about manufacturing, about contracts. I’m just excited to grow, I really want to get into retail and start putting more money behind scaling up and also do pop up shops. I’m really excited to take the brand to the next stage.
Harnessing the transformative and invigorating power of fashion, Imi Studios is a brand that has tapped into the zeitgeist, providing us with the unapologetic escapism and dopamine hit that only truly exciting and exceptional clothes can bring. Her studios sensibility is to make clothes that encourage women to have fun with their style, experiment and feel confident.
Ticking those boxes and more, that sensibility is equally underpinned by a commitment to work as sustainably and ethically as possible. Transparency is the benchmark of sustainability and the tangible steps that Imogen takes to minimize the labels waste and carbon footprint is testament to a brand that’s acutely aware of the environmental cost of overconsumption.
As Imogen told us , at the end of day clothes are all about a bit of fun , and here at Broke Magazine we think wearing Imi Studios is probably just about the best fun you can have.