Ellie Mae designs cater to free-spirited women

Kate Beckinsale, Gwen Stefani, Jamie Chung, Bella Hadid — the list of stylish celebrities and models who have stepped out wearing pieces from the Canadian label Ellie Mae Studios is impressive.

We caught up with Ellie Mae, the creative director and founder of the clothing company, to learn more about the line, who her target customer is, and why the celebrity association has been such a blessing for her brand.

Q What is Ellie Mae?

A Ellie Mae is a Toronto-based, direct-to-consumer fashion brand focused on casual luxury. We specialize in hand-crafting thoughtful pieces for the vibrant, free-spirited woman.

Q What makes the brand unique?

A Ellie Mae is all about raw authenticity and an unapologetic commitment to individuality. We take this approach in everything from our design sensibility — using vibrant, high-quality fabrics, unique textures and striking accents with tons of personality — to our production process making everything locally and by hand in limited runs.

Q What inspires your designs?

A Each collection is inspired by something different, but it usually starts with a personal experience or feeling of nostalgia. For example, this season’s collection is inspired by the kind of retro-chic appeal of Palm Springs grannies. Every season also has a different playlist; music is constantly inspiring us in our design process and it usually tends to be from a different era to evoke those nostalgic undertones.

Q How has celebrities wearing your pieces affected your business?

A After Bella Hadid wore our trousers when we debuted them in fall 2018, they sold out immediately. Gwen Stefani was spotted wearing our coats and Alessandra Ambrosio has worn a number of our pieces, as well. All of them have chosen to wear Ellie Mae organically, but I’m just as excited to see girls on the street wear it, as well.

Q Who is the target customer?

A Creative and powerful women of all ages.

Q What is the price range?

A Our prices start at under $100 for accessories and bodysuits and go up from there for things like coats and knitwear. We also offer leather designs — jackets and trousers — priced around $1,200, but these are made-to-order in limited batches.

Everything we do is also done in-house — from design to production to manufacturing to order fulfilment — and everything we make is handcrafted locally with high-quality fabrics sourced from some of the top European mills in the U.K. and Italy. As a result, these pieces are as thoughtful, unique and eco-conscious as possible.

Q And, lastly, where can people check them out?

A Our online store at elliemaestudios.com is in full operation and we continue to offer free shipping in North America.