CLOSET COUNT
100+ T-shirts 71 pairs of shoes 40 pairs of jeans 38 jackets 13 jumpsuits
THE NATURAL Fran Miller quit her retail job to make a super-cool line of skin and hair oils By Alex Laws | Photography by May Truong
HER WORK
What made you want to start your own line? I was a product junkie. I kept buying things and was really underwhelmed by them. I bought essential oils wholesale for another project I was working on (making candles), and I started creating skincare oils on the side. I was blown away by the improvements in my skin. Was there a light-bulb moment when you thought, “This is it!”? I had been in a fashion program for four years and I came out with skills, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I ended up managing boutiques, which was comfortable but it wasn’t challenging. The skincare thing came at that moment when I thought, “It’s now or never.” What was your goal with your line? I wanted to create something botanically based but that looked as if it was from Holts or Barneys: simple, beautiful and luxurious and that didn’t look like it was made in someone’s kitchen. What does your job involve? It requires me to wear different hats: I develop and create products and oversee packaging and shipping, social media and press. Where do you make your products? Sometimes [my girlfriend] Jackie helps me, and we do everything on our dining table. My friends and family try things out. My family has a bakery in North York [Chocolada], where I store all my boxes. What do you dream about? I’m going to New York for a trade show next week, and the other night I dreamed I didn’t bring anything at all, and I woke up mortified. I did the show last year, and that’s where I 40
NAME: Fran Miller AGE: 29 JOB: F. Miller Skincare founder QUALIFICATIONS: Ryerson fashion communications degree LIVES: Roncesvalles loft STYLE INSPO: Jane Birkin, Phoebe Philo, Lauren Hutton, Annie Hall
picked up my first stores in New York. You can’t just email Barneys and say, “Can I send you a sample?” What are your career ambitions? My longterm goals aren’t necessarily skincare because I’m interested in so many things. I’m collaborating with menswear designer Sean Brown on a candle and hoping to move into a more lifestyle arena. Basically that’s what I do: play around. What has been your proudest moment? The launch of the brand, because I never expected that to actually happen or to be a real thing outside of my home. Who is your role model? My mom. She’s been through so many shitty things in her life and came here from Russia during the war. Even though she’s nearly 70, she works almost every day at the bakery. I wouldn’t have half of what I have if it wasn’t for her.
SHOPPING STRATEGY
“I TRY TO BUY PIECES WHEN I’M TRAVELLING BECAUSE I TEND TO FIND MORE INTERESTING THINGS.” CRESCIONI CHOKER, MILL MERCANTILE. CAVE COLLECTIVE NECKLACE, RELIQUARY (BOTH SAN FRANCISCO)