Earlier this week, Adelaidian writer Liberty Petersen sat down with Adelaide fashion designer, Mim Harvey, to chat about her upcoming trip to New York Fashion Week. Mim gave us the low-down on what Harvey the Label will be up to while in New York, how it feels to have come so far so quickly, and (very importantly) what the new collection has in store.
So, You’re Going to NYFW….
LP: So, you’re going to New York Fashion Week. Firstly, how excited are you?
MH: So, so excited! It doesn’t feel real. It’s not going to feel real, I think, until the runway is happening. Until I’m behind the scenes, doing the runway, I’m not going to be thinking, “My brand is going down the runway at New York Fashion Week!”
LP: How have you put the show together from Australia? Has that been really difficult?
MH: No! It’s been really great. Because we’re part of Fashion Palette, they have their PR team and their team in Sydney helping us every step of the way. They organise the runway, we do the buying meetings, we’re catching up with influencers, we’re doing our own photo shoot, we’re doing an editorial, we’re doing influencer photos, we’re catching up with buyers from department stores, we’re catching up with agencies over there who do celebrity gifting and placements, and every day is just meetings, meetings, meetings! It’s full-on.
We’ve also been invited to attend runways and go and do all of those exciting things that you do at NYFW. And then we’re doing COTERIE (a global event connecting designers with retailers) at the end of it, so we’re going to be working right up until the point where we have to pack our bags and go straight to the airport.
It’s going to feel like a whirlwind, I think.
The Harvey Brand and the Team
LP: Absolutely. How many team members are you taking with you?
MH: I’m taking Georgia (O’Grady), who’s my assistant. She’s been with me for a year now and is my head of sales.
LP: How big is the Harvey team now? I know you’ve been in here (on Rundle St) for about a year now?
MH: I’ve been here for a year, it was (originally) just myself opening the store, and then Georgia came along in mid-August last year and is now full-time. And then (we have) Taylah (Minchington), she’s full-time as well. She’s store manager and does a bit of marketing for us too.
We’re also really open with our internship program. So anyone who wants to can volunteer their time; we’re a really fast-growing label. From a year ago, we’ve doubled in size. (Our team members are) along for the ride and learning as much as they can as they go.
LP: There’s been a huge amount of change since you started three years ago. How do you feel the brand has changed?
MH: I feel like our core ethos has always been the same. We’ve got our mission statement of affordability, multi-wear, great fabrics, and really cool design. That’s been the same. But in terms of workload, in terms of reach, and in terms of the people that are interacting with the brand… having the store… and all of our wholesalers, creating new innovative ways for our wholesalers to engage with us, joining up with tech teams… We’ve got a lot going on! (laughs)
The New Collection
LP: What about the collection that you’re showing at NYFW?
MH: It’s very flirty. I don’t want to give away too much, but it’s very flirty and the prints are a little bit subtler than what I usually do. But you’ll definitely notice a very Harvey influence in all of them.
Again, you get the idea that they’re from my drawings on sketch paper, brought to life on fabric. Every time I see it happen it’s amazing. I’m just like, how do you guys do this? How do you turn this into fabric? It’s as if it’s (come straight from) my brain onto fabric.
I’m really, really excited to show this softer side of Harvey.
LP: What other designers that are showing with Fashion Palette are you keen to see or meet?
MH: I’m really excited to meet Bronx & Banco. I was wholesaling formal wear for a few years before I started my label, so I’ll always have a soft spot for it. Their designs are incredible, absolutely stunning, (they have) a really beautiful use of lace, but they’re affordable.
I’m also really looking forward to Elliatt, who have beautiful simplistic designs.
And Sapphiroula, who has The Blonde Republic, we’ve actually worked with her as a blogger and so she’s been part of the Harvey journey before. She’s so lovely, such a nice girl, and it’s so great to see her coming up and coming out in her own way.
Keeping Up with Harvey
LP: How can Australian Harvey-fanatics keep up with all of the NYFW goings-on?
MH: We’re on the 7th at 3pm New York time, which translates to roughly 4:30am Adelaide time, so get on Instagram when you wake up!
Follow us at @harveythelabel, we’ll be live streaming the entire trip to New York. I’ve got my boyfriend as my Insta-Bitch (laughs). That was his terms, I said I would take him to New York with me but he has to be our Insta-Boyfie and he has to get everything.
We’re also taking Georgina Soloman with us as our photographer, from Ssol Creative. We’re doing our photo-shoot after the runway with Davroe, who are a great Australian hair care company, and Alison Jade Cosmetics.
For that photo shoot, we’ll just be running around New York, getting really iconic buildings, bridges, parks, and just getting really cool and creative with it. Those will be our campaign shots!
I can’t wait.
A note from Mel and Kristen: As close friends of Mim’s, The Adelaidian has been working very closely with her fashion label for many years now. We’d like to extend a HUGE congratulations to Harvey the Label on this exciting venture; we cannot wait to see one of our favourite Adelaidian labels continue to grow and expand into the future! To see our previous collaborations with Harvey the Label, click here.
*Quotes have been edited for clarity.
Cover image: Mim Harvey
