There is nothing traditional about Sami Miró’s path to fashion. Before she founded her label, the San Francisco native was making a name for herself in Silicon Valley at a successful tech startup. It wasn’t until Miró took a leap of faith and relocated to Los Angeles that she was exposed to a whole new world of possibilities. 

Immersed in a community of individuals from different creative industries, Miró became entranced. She kissed her corporate career goodbye and dove into the world of fashion working as a stylist – and while she admittedly had no idea the role existed, Miró quickly built an impressive roster of clients. Never one to settle for off-the-rack, she became known for her unique style that incorporated reworked vintage pieces. While she was designing custom patchwork denim bomber jacket for a client, she had a vision to create her own brand. Armed with nothing but a Master’s Degree in Global Entrepreneurship and a love of vintage clothing, the self-taught designer officially launched her own company just 10 days later. 

Soon after launching, she was enlisted by Selena Gomez to design her would tour wardrobe. Now, it-girls like Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid regularly hit Miró up for her unique designs, and she just made her Paris Fashion Week debut via a collaboration with designer Heron Preston. 

We chatted with the fashion force about where she gets her love of vintage, and how she is putting sustainability at the core of her business. 

What drew you to fashion? How did you get involved in the industry? 

My story is probably very different than most people with a fashion company. My background is actually in tech. I’m from San Francisco and was working in that traditional startup environment. I was getting my Masters in Global Entrepreneurship, and I was on work study in Asia, Europe, and America, and after my Masters, I ended up working for this consumer electronics tech lifestyle company doing marketing. That was really my whole life four four years, but I’ve always been a collector of vintage. Even in that corporate tech world, I was wearing crazy outfits while everyone else was in pleated khakis and button-down shirts. In San Francisco, fashion is not a typical industry. Growing up, I had absolutely no connection to the fashion world. I was just dressing the way I felt, and had no idea that it was something I would end up doing. In my time at that tech startup, I would travel every week to go meet with Apple HQ and various retailers, and have events all over the world. I didn’t really have to be in our SF HQ, so I took advantage of that and moved to LA where I met people in fashion and more creative industries. They said “your wardrobe is so cool, you should try styling!” I was like, “what is styling?” People don’t know how to put on an outfit? It was the most surreal thing to me. Being in LA and meeting people from different creative backgrounds made me realize I had something creative within me that was dormant, and that I wasn’t able to express in SF. I decided to quit my corporate life and take some time and do some more creative things. In doing that, I had an epiphany of Sami Miró Vintage and just went for it. 

Why did you decide to start your own company?  

My goal was always to be an entrepreneur and have my own company, but I had no idea what it would actually be. I was trying out styling and other creative things, and I started sketching and taking sewing classes. I knew that I wanted to eventually start designing and create my own brand. I knew I wanted vintage and sustainability to be the foundation of my company.. One day I started designing and I came up with a patchwork vintage denim bomber jacket, and this is what Sami Miro vintage is. [The label] ended up getting picked up by Selena Gomez within two weeks, and then from here many other people.

 How did you figure things out for yourself coming with no experience in fashion?

I was employee number two at my startup and it became an international brand, so I had my hands in a bunch of different departments. Doing it yourself is very different, but I definitely attribute my previous experience at school and that startup to giving me some sort of foundation. I purposefully built my company in a way that I had to learn the ins and outs of every aspect of the business. How does fabric selection work? How does production and manufacturing work? How does it go to a website e-commerce? How to work with retailers and sales and the marketing and social media, and art direction? I purposefully did it myself so that I can learn on my own and make educated decisions.

Where did this love of vintage come from? 

I was on a scholarship at a more affluent high school. I went to school with kids with BMWs and Range Rovers at age 16 who were wearing designer brands. We couldn’t afford those name brands, but I wanted to fit in with the cool kids, so I discovered thrift-ing because I could find the on-trend Lacoste polos that everyone was wearing for $5 – even though it had holes everywhere and it was discolored and that wasn’t cool at all. I was really shy when I was in college and high school so finding vintage helped me fit in, but I quickly realized the wear and tear were incredibly unique and from then, it really changed my life. It gave me confidence to be able to wear my tattered clothing and feel like I was different than everyone else. 

How do you still find everything? 

LA is truly a mecca of vintage, and I have the in to all of these secret vintage wholesalers. I have those in LA that I shop at frequently, and some in Miami. I travel a lot for work, and everywhere I go I shop for vintage too. My pieces are really from all over the world –it’s a wide range of pieces from a simple T-shirt to luxury leather items and denim from casual to dressy. 

How do you describe the brand to someone not familiar with it? 

In a few words, I say that Sami Miro Vintage is a sustainable clothing company. When we started off, as I was learning about the business, I wanted to do it in a way where I could approach the production and not spend all my money in places I shouldn’t. Creating one-of-a-kind pieces was definitely the foundation of my brand.

Why is it important for you to be a sustainable business? 

In San Francisco, recycling and staying eco-conscious is a way of life. Because I only shopped vintage clothing growing up, this needed to be the focal point of my brand. The fashion industry is really detrimental to our environment and possibly one of the most toxic industries to our planet. I started this because it’s just who I am as a person, and it’s something that every company needs to be considering. 

Are there any big career milestones that really stand out to you? 

Within the first month or so of starting my brand, Selena [Gomez] had me redesign her world tour in Asia. It was a sudden thing. I had to drop everything I was doing and I had two days to pack it all, so it was the most insane and incredible experience I could ever ask for. It taught me a lot in a very quick way. Recently though, it has been so gratifying to have women like Bella [Hadid], Hailey [Baldwin], and Kendall [Jenner] wear my clothes. . It’s nice, being a small company, when people are asking ”Can we come by and buy some pieces from you?”  and we don’t have to pay anyone to wear it.  

Tell me about your recent collaboration with Heron Preston! How did you guys connect and what was it like working with him?

It was insanely exciting. Initially, it was only supposed to be 15 pieces, but I just kept creating and they loved it all so it ended up being a 35-piece collection. It was mind-blowing for me to see it on the Paris runways, especially how Heron does it.

Where do you hope to take the brand down the line? 

My vision is to stay on the sustainable path and really show the world that you can be fashion forward and wear unique pieces, casual or dressy, while doing something good for the planet. I hope to grow to become a household name and to continue to create pieces that are outside of the box yet wearable.