Mikoh was founded by two sisters, Kalani and Oleema Miller, to fill a void for sassy, surf-appropriate beachwear. More sophisticated than ever, their seamless, hardware-free suits remain firmly off the hook. For Oleema, perfecting the fit has been the goal every single season. When she designed the first collection, Brazilian cuts and barely-there swimsuits were just beginning to take hold; over the years, she has noticed a more modest sensibility creeping back. The range now spans every type of coverage, from the itty-bitty to pieces cut for the more modest woman, and she remains convinced that a suit which fits perfectly, with just a tiny bit of detail, will always be a classic.
Kalani describes Mikoh as a label for the modern woman: fashion-forward, happiest outdoors, spending her days in the sun and the surf, and a strong, fierce presence in the workplace. The cuts and styles are designed to flatter and to boost confidence, celebrating a woman who loves the body she is in. The brand's beginnings were similarly instinctive. Oleema, who had surfed for Roxy for almost a decade, decided in her final year of high school to take the road less travelled rather than head off to college. With a background in the surf industry, continuing in beach culture felt a natural progression, and she rang Kalani, then still studying, to ask whether she would start a swimwear line with her. The rest, as Kalani puts it, is history.
The first big break came soon after launch, when samples sent to a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit shoot made it into print in what the sisters call the bible of swim. They raced to get their website live and to secure stockists, and seeing their suits in such a legendary publication remains a touchstone. Oleema attributes much of their early momentum to a kind of fearlessness: with no formal training or schooling, she went into the venture refusing to take no for an answer, buoyed by parents who plainly believed in her. Working together suits them. Oleema handles design, Kalani the business and production, and the family-run operation keeps them away from any nine-to-five desk, holding meetings at their homes in Hawaii one week, at the Newport Beach office the next, and in Tahiti after that.
The team has grown, yet the original four remain, joined by colleagues of eight years' standing and the sisters' own brother; convention says never to mix work and family, but they have done the opposite and would not change it. Now thirty and more than a decade on from launching at eighteen, Oleema feels Mikoh has matured alongside her, expanding from a handful of swim and resort styles into a full swim, resort and ready-to-wear line that is more polished and modern while staying young at heart. Away from the studio, Kalani surfs with her partner, the champion Kelly Slater, recalling a recent barrel at his man-made Surf Ranch wave that she could not stop smiling about. Looking ahead, Oleema is most excited about the Resort 2020 collection, her favourite line yet and, she says, truly a piece of her heart.
