Former Designer of Milly, Michelle Smith Launches Luxury E-Commerce Business

Michelle Smith who has formerly designed icons like first lady Michelle Obama, Beyoncé, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Middleton is set to strike out on her own.

After she left Milly and divorced her husband and co-founder, Andrew Oshrin last year, Michelle has set her namesake luxury label. The label focuses on softness, comfort, and refinement- the recipe to every polished luxury brand.

The former couple had sold of Milly to MMJ LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of S. Rothschild in April 2019.  Smith was well known for her bold and vibrant custom-made prints, as well as her designs that were feminine with an edge.  She produced approx 28 collections a year then.

Michelle has now launched a limited capsule collection which consists of 17 styles which are sold to the final consumers unlike Milly, which focused on wholesale. The consumers can pre-order on michellesmith.nyc, starting Monday.
The business will be exclusively e-commerce, and Smith plans to release two numbered capsule collections a year.

In an interview with WWD, Smith commented, ‘I started formulating my business plan pre-COVID-19, but I always wanted it to be a direct-to-consumer brand. I was ready for a fresh change following Milly, which I launched as a wholesale brand. I really loved the feeling of independence and control and being able to speak directly to the consumer through a direct-to-consumer brand.”

Besides the annual two collections, one can find themselves a few surprises if she gets inspired to produce something great once in a while. Since she is working on pre-orders only, she won’t be overproducing.

“Because of the age we’re living in with COVID-19, it’s important to be really nimble and cautious,” she said. “Also, it’s more environmentally responsible not to take a big inventory position.”

Her clothes will be exclusively made in New York City except for the cashmere knitwear, which will be produced in China. This first collection will be delivered around mid-November. Smith will put the second collection up in January for preorder and delivery in March and April.

Smith plans on working on cocktail dresses and going-out pieces soon. Due to the current situation, where people are mainly working from home and not going out, her first collection is focused on luxury pieces that one can wear at home and work from home in. It’s very much inspired by the way we’re living now. While living through the pandemic, after much thought, Smith launched her first collection according to how women want to dress today.

“We want to feel and see something more luxurious on our bodies, but we’ve become quite attached to the comfort aspect,” said Smith. For her first collection, she is working with cashmere, silk charmeuse and Italian alpaca.

What can you expect from the collection?

The outfits and looks range from body-hugging turtleneck dresses with slits to sexy midi charmeuse tank dresses to maxi alpaca coats. There are cashmere cable stitch sweaters, cardigans, track pants with a wide stripe down the side, and bralettes. The price point of Smith’s venture is moving up higher.

For someone who has previously interned at  Hermès, Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior after graduating from Fashion Institute of Technology, Smith is a designer who has experienced haute couture thoroughly.

“My aesthetic is minimal, with an alluring twist or detail. When I design, I focus on what I want to reveal, both physically and emotionally,” she said. She’ll be working with a third-party warehouse to fulfil orders that come through her e-commerce websites.

So to say, we look forward to the fresh face of Michelle Smith and her exquisite collection!