Work the Ramp

LA’s most beloved street fashion designer Michael Luis aka M comes to Dhaka looking for inspiration. Tamzidur Rahman catches up with him.

Designer Simplicio Michael Luis, founder of Haus of M, has been designing for near about two decades. He has established a name for himself in the United States especially in the fashion circles of Los Angeles. Having worked with well-known names and celebrities like Britney Spears, The Black Eyed Peas and Carly Rae-Jensen, Michael is looking to further expand his diversity of work.
With a strong portfolio of design, fashion, apparel, merchandising, the man has proven to be a strong presence in the international luxury fashion industry. Michael has worked hard and travelled wide in order to promote cultures from all over the world in his work. “I draw inspiration for my designs from my travels. I have lived in many parts of the world including Peru, India, and China. Every time I bring out a collection, I incorporate colours, culture and fabrics of a country. I try to bring out the interesting aspects of a culture in my work. Considering, I myself am an amalgamation of different races – Spanish, Chinese and Filipino – it is important to me that I explore the beauty that you can find in cultures throughout the world. Every season I try to pick a certain style. This next season I’m going to showcase in March, I’m going to attempt to take from Bangladesh,” shares the designer.
“Asia is an exciting next step for me. I’m very familiar with Asia and it is comfortable to me. My parents moved from the Philippines to the US when I was five. I’m Asian and I’ve wanted to come to Asia – it’s just timing that was a barrier,” says Michael. He considers this plan of expansion to be part of natural evolution in his creative as well as business ventures. “I’ve been through all these steps starting off as an intern to becoming an assistant designer then designer and all the way up to becoming a creative director. I am now a business owner – the next step for me logically is to become a manufacturer. The Asian market is where I want to tap into. I believe it has strong potential.”
For a major part of his career Michael has worked in the luxury market; now he believes it’s his time to delve into a moderate priced appeal. “In the Asian market, it’s much easier to expand into the mass market with one cohesive message as opposed to, say, LA where fashion is driven by trend. I think in Asia if you buy into the business, you buy in as a whole. So that’s very exciting,” shares Michael. The globetrotting, award winning designer has seen much of the world, achieved a great deal – his is one to watch out for.