Milano di Rouge was created by designer Milan Harris as a comfortable and stylish unisex fashion brand.
What inspired her was a bout of wardrobe envy - she loved her boyfriend 's clothes and wished they fit her better. That is how Milano Di Rouge was born in 2012.
Milan Harris' fascination with men's wear made her the ideal person to create a unisex clothing brand.
Today, Harris is very hands on in the way she runs her business. She gets involved in everything - designing every piece and overseeing the entire production process.
She worked as a home health aide first before she became a hairstylist. A friend suggested she start a blog, and Harris quickly jumped on the idea.
Dreams
The name itself was created from a backronym -- Milano Di Rouge stands for Making Dreams Reality.
Harris' audience is other people who are working to realize their dreams, just like she is. She calls them the dreamers and go getters of the world.
Harris herself appears to have made her own dreams a reality. She is now working with major artists like Cardi B, Meek Mill, and Chris Brown as a recognized high-end streetwear brand.
The unisex clothing designer who started off selling T-shirts from her trunk is now leading the pack, influencing trends in street fashion.
True to who she is, Haris treats her followers on Instagram to a mix of fashion related content and inspiring messages.
Harris’ other brand, Womanaire is all about inspiration. She hopes to inspire other women to pursue their dreams, especially in entrepreneurship.
Harris believes that hard work is better than talent.
Blogging
Before she was a fashion designer, Milan Harris was a blogger with a high following. She regaled her readers with inspiration and stories of successful entrepreneurs.
Before long, she had 100,000 views a day. Harris realized that she needed to sell something to her audience to keep her blog going. That was when the idea of street fashion came up. She designed t-shirts which she carried in her car trunk to sell.
It had taken her a record three months to attain 100,000 followers, and she continued to grow from there.
Today, Milano has grown from being just a social media brand to a full on fashion house with a design team, two sales teams, and a production team.
Cash Flow
Milano Di Rouge's greatest challenge in 2012 was cash flow. Even though the designs were selling out, raising money to keep up with demand was a challenge.
Harris’ situation was made worse by a breakup with her boyfriend at the time. A few encouraging words and some advice from her incarcerated father were all it took to keep her going.
The turning point was a fashion show she held back in 2015, which raised a few thousand dollars.
Celebrities
The first celebrity to wear her clothes was Meek Mill who wore one of her hoodies during a recording back in 2012.
Today Blac Chyna, Lil Kim, Rick Ross, Cardi B and Monica have joined the list of celebrities wearing her clothes.
Lou Williams of the LA Lakers has supported her brand. So has Angela Simmons and Toya Wright.
Controversy
Milan survived a huge controversy that - inner own words - almost broke her. She was exposed for printing her logo on clothes from H&M.
The revelation devastated her but she kept going. What was she going to tell everyone? A video message from Shark Tank's Damon Young had the answer: "Tell them we all did that. FUBU did it, Tommy Hilfiger did it. Everybody print on stuff. Sometimes they still do it."
She got through that difficult time by concentrating on her work. Even though the scandal brought opposition, it also brought exposure. She had lots of orders to fulfil.
Social Media
Because of her huge online following, Harris was able to grow her business using social media. Feeling cautious, she had only two sweatshirts made and posted them online. They sold out immediately.
The proceeds from that first shirt made it possible for to make five more shirts. Harris continued growing her brand in the same way.
Today, Milan continues posting inspirational content alongside her brand focused messages on social media.
Today, Milan relies on her Philadelphia store as well as her website to make sales.
Organic Growth
Getting fashion retailers to take her seriously, Milan realized that she had no choice but to grow organically. She started with T shirts, using the money she made from sales to print more, and doing everything herself because she could not afford to hire staff.
When her company started growing, she went through a period of high staff turnover. After going through a steep learning curve, the founder now has a loyal team behind her, supporting her dream.
What fueled her quick growth was that she did not waste time in fear that her idea would fail. Instead, she got busy making her dreams come true. The designer was also fueled by her desire to compete with major fashion brands.
The designer realized that she was the master of her own fate. She told her own story when department stores were not an option available to her.
Her other ambition is for her brand to be a staple part of Philadephia’s culture.
Trailblazer
As a woman in the street fashion business, Milan is an anomaly. She quickly discovered that everyone she was going to work with was a man. The photographers were men. The manufacturers were men. The videographers were men. She had to demand respect to survive.
Acrican Americans are underrepresented in the fashion business and when it comes to Urbana Street wear, she is still a minority in the male-dominated sector. Milan has often found herself going the extra mile to get people to take her seriously.
Safe Sex
Milan Harris has been running her own campaign to reduce HIV infections called the Safe Sex Saves Lives campaigns. The campaign as to promote safe sex practices and provide HIV and AIDS education.
As a native of Philadephia, Harris has been working on HIV awareness in her home state
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