Miphai, the Malaga fashion label that has conquered the national market in Spain

Alicia Davila Phaithayad started sewing almost as a hobby. When her partner, Miro Taboada, moved his company to Malaga, she started making dresses as a freelancer. Having previously studied design and pattern-making, she threw herself into the venture. She began by making samples of collections for other companies and they liked her creations. Her work became so popular that this entrepreneurial pair has just opened their fourth, own-label Miphai shop in Barcelona, a brand that has captured the national market.

Miphai (the word comes from linking up both names) was born in 2019 with a simple website as the only point of sale. For the first collection they used friends to act as models and it didn't go well. Still, the second one was a big hit. "We had a very iconic dress, the Paris dress, which was worn by Princess Letizia and that helped us to climb a lot," says Miro.

In the midst of growth, the Covid-19 pandemic arrived and destroyed all the hard work done during the first months of their business venture. However, Miro and Alicia decided to push ahead and not give up. After an agonising wait, they saw the opportunity that opened up for them with weddings, which continued to take place during the pandemic despite numerous restrictions. They then launched their first capsule collection with dresses ranging from 150 to 200 euros and this really hit the mark.

Over the next two years they took over a large part of the market and wedding dresses helped to grow the company to the point where bridalwear accounted for half of total turnover. When the restrictions were lifted, they also introduced bridesmaid dresses. "When people went back out on the streets, orders increased tenfold," says Miro.

That was when they decided to open their first high street shop with the Miphai name. After analysing the market, they realised that most of their clothes were going to Madrid and so they decided to look for opportunities in the Spanish capital. It was the year 2021 and the closure of numerous shops during the coronavirus pandemic allowed them to find premises at affordable prices and they set up in Calle Claudio Coello in the heart of the Salamanca district.

They currently have their own Miphai shops in Madrid, Valencia, Seville and Barcelona and four more points of sale inside El Corte Inglés department stores in Valencia, Cordoba, Murcia and Zaragoza. Malaga, however, is still the company's unfinished business. Despite having started up on the Costa del So, there is currently no retail space here where their clothes are on sale, although they are looking for premises in the area around Calle Nueva. "We used to sell in Malaga, but the company has grown so much that we had to use all the space for offices", explains Miro.

Although specialising in bridalwear and other wedding attire, Miphai wants to expand its range of products with accessories (earrings, scarves....), perfumes and collections that are a little more informal. "We want to be an all-encompassing women's fashion brand," says Miro. For this reason they aspire to double last year's turnover and reach 18 million euros by the end of 2025. At present, Miphai has a staff of 60 employees, although they expect to end the year with over 70.

Regarding the products they offer, the co-founder explains that they make "accessible luxury fashion." He continues: "We sell quality, on-trend colours and we are always up to date." Unlike other fashion retailers, Miphai launches a collection every month in order to always have the latest in both fabrics and colours. In addition, all their workshops are located between Malaga and Madrid and all footwear is made in Elche. All they need to do now is to open up for business in the province where it all began.