Finding balance, power and bravery through fashion, with M.I Woman.

Alisa’s designs are hard to miss. Bold colours, confident prints, exaggerated shapes - a joyful childlike abandon of conformity, merged with cut outs, harnesses and details that make it clear this kid is all grown up. We loved discovering clothing that truly feels grown up without having given up the expression we all had as children, proving women can be simultaneously playful, cute, elegant and sexy. Speaking to Alisa about her designs, and journey as founder of her own label, M.I Woman, we got into her story from inspirations to running a business.

Helloo! We’re so happy to speak with you – for the sake of readers who may not know you can you introduce yourself and your brand? 

Hii! My name is Alisa Ramić, I was born in Bosnia during the war and came to Sweden as a young girl.

Beside fashion I love psychology and spirituality. I have always known that I wanted to become a fashion designer, and my real journey began in high school when I was accepted into a program specializing in fashion and design. At 18 years old, I presented my first graduation collection.

Since then, my focus has been on creating demi-couture designs that fuse bold storytelling with intricate craftsmanship, at M.I Woman.  

M.I's focus is to help people discover their inner power through clothing and self-expression. The brand is all about contrasts, balancing the playful inner child with the darker, feminine adult. 

Growing up in a small town in Sweden with a unique style made me an easy target for criticism about my fashion choices. I could never understand why someone else's opinion mattered more than my own. The power I felt when I could truly express myself through clothing made me strong and confident. That's exactly how I want others to feel with my brand. 

We love that your designs communicate that duality so well! How long have you been designing for M.I Woman, and what prompted you to start your own brand as opposed to working for another brand? 

 It was in 2020 that I finally started my instagram and first official post on M.I, so about 5 years ago. But I've always designed and created so I would say I've designed for M.I since before highschool!

I had a strong vision for my brand! Both the story behind it and the specific style I love creating, it was never even a choice to do something else for another brand.

I am also a natural leader in my character so it just feels fitting for me to step in to that role.

I’m sure any aspiring designers in our readership would also love to hear a bit about your journey from aspiring designer to literally seeing your clothes on the runway at NYFW, could you give us an overview of how you got here? 

I started my brand with zero contacts in the fashion world here in Sweden, but I kept on creating and creating, and found my first photographer that wanted to shoot them! Since then I continued to upload my pieces I've made, that's how I got to know more amazing people to collaborate with. Models, photographers and MUA's.

I started to upload my pieces and pictures on all they platforms that made sense for my brand, and that got the attention of Global Fashion Collective! They found me and contacted me to showcase a collection at Milano FW this February 2025.

I created my collection and showed it on the runway, and then just a few months later I got contacted about NYFW because they saw my previous show in Milan. I took the opportunity and started creating my new collection, I sewed for 2 months and then showcased it in September 2025.

What has been the biggest learning curve you’ve faced so far? 

It was when I started selling for Doors NYC and had to go from creating custom size, one-off pieces to having to create a size chart and do more of the same pieces in different sizes. It was the whole process of figuring out what my official size chart would be and adapt my patterns for all of them. 

Your designs are really unique (something its hard to find at the moment!) bright, unexpected, sexy, playful… what inspires you to design?

Energy!

It's what triggers my creative flow - always!

When I have the right energy in life everything is an inspiration, from the smallest button to the biggest buildings, joy, people, adventure, freedom, knowledge! All of these things hold energy that is so powerful. That's why I am very intentional with who I surround myself with and what I let in to my life. 

Being independent isn’t easy at the best of times – and we certainly aren’t living in the best of times! What do you think is the biggest issue within the fashion industry that young designers are facing at the moment?

It's definitely money and visibility! It’s very expensive to sew and create, and opportunities that do come your way almost always involve some kind of payment!

It's very hard to push forward when you don't come from alot of money. I still work full-time on a regular job to be able to afford and move forward with my brand.

With that said though I really believe that with a clear vision and voice, hard work and a mindset of success you can achieve everything you want regardless of circumstances! What's meant for you will always find a way to you. 

Let’s end on a high – what are you most proud of from your journey so far – and is there anything exiting coming up next that we’re allowed to hear about? 

I'm proud of everything! As cheesy as it sounds I really believe that all milestones are equally important. We can't forget the first milestones, that seem small now, were huge and important at some point in the journey.

But if I have to answer one thing it would be the day I started this journey.

I can’t talk too much about what's coming next but there are fun collaborations coming up and I will be expanding my collection at Doors NYC!