Emily Miller-Sharma, Liam
ON HER FEMALE MUSES
“When designing my autumn/winter 2017 collection I was thinking a lot about how important it is for us to expand our perspective on the world by consuming art. I became obsessed with a Rita Angus series of crayon drawings of the moon, whilst simultaneously reading A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara and Hera Lindsey Bird’s self-titled book of poetry. I can’t specifically point to a button detail or a sleeve shape that is ‘inspired’ by these particular women but all three of them, in their own way, shifted my way of thinking. This ability to shift keeps my brain nimble and able to keep finding newness and beauty while working within the same seasonal framework that I need to work in.”
ON THE WOMEN WHO INSPIRE HER
“There are so many! Kim Hill’s ‘Saturday Morning’ show on Radio New Zealand has given me so much — introducing me to people and ideas I hadn’t heard or thought of before and expanding the way I think and the depth of my understanding on a topic. Jessica Hansell (Coco Solid) is another person who I think is amazing. I really respect and admire her approach to art-making and her ability to communicate that approach. Both of these women manage to exude fearlessness while still allowing themselves to be vulnerable which is incredibly powerful.”
ON THE LIAM BRAND ETHOS
“A really important thing for me both as the Liam designer, and in my capacity as the general manager of the Ruby company, is that we empower our staff to develop and grow. We want our team to be happy, healthy women (at the time of this interview, we are an all-female team of 64 people) and this filters down through all facets of our company into real actions — whether it be internal or external training for career-based or personal development, the ability for anyone to suggest improvements to the way we do things, to making our workplace more fair and inclusive (and making sure the environment is one that encourages that kind of conversation), or actively encouraging positive engagement with the community through our newly-implemented volunteer scheme which is part of our Ethical Policy.”
ON ‘FEMINIST FASHION’
“I’m all feminist, all the time so I guess ‘feminist fashion’ is just ‘fashion’ to me. But what is empowering to one person may be seen as objectification to another, which is why it’s important that we respect women enough to allow them the freedom to make their own value judgements about what is empowering for them, and make their own individual choices about what they want to wear.”
ON TRUMP, GENDER EQUALITY, AND THE WOMEN’S MARCH
“Without wanting to diminish the genuine concern I have felt since the US presidential election, I’ve found events like the Women’s March empowering and invigorating. The main thing for me is that we all think about what matters to us and choose one or two things to really spotlight our attention on — whether it is continuing the fight for women’s reproductive rights, or closing the gender and race-based pay gaps, or caring for those who are affected by our appallingly high levels of domestic violence. If we focus our energies instead of despairing at everything we can be more effective.”
“A really important thing for me is that we empower our [female] staff to develop and grow.”