Meet Miriam Baker, a Canadian Designer Making Bust-Friendly Fashion a Thing

When Miriam Baker recognized a gap in the fashion industry, she was quick to fill it. In 2014, she won the prestigious Suzanne Rogers Award for Most Promising New Label and was featured as a designer to watch in Flare magazine for her line of clothing catering to women with larger busts. Since then she’s shown at the 2017 Toronto Women’s Fashion Week, and looks ahead to continue to serve confident career women looking to build a wardrobe that reflects that.

My first job ever was… As a sales representative in a store called Promised Land in the Toronto Eaton Centre. I was 15 years old and sold candles.

I decided to be an entrepreneur because… I wanted to solve my own problem of never being able to find clothes that are comfortable and figure flattering. Once I had the bust-friendly fashion eureka moment, there was no going back.

I’m passionate about my work because…If I don’t do it, nobody else will. All I want to do is create beautiful clothes for busty women.

To me, the fashion industry is…Currently unsustainable and fragmented. But this can change with an adjustment in consumer attitudes towards the true cost of a garment. Ask yourself, “who made my clothes?” If you don’t know the answer, it’s time to make a change.

My proudest accomplishment is…Being the recipient of the Suzanne Rogers Award for Most Promising New Label. Winning New Labels provided me with everything I needed to get started in the Canadian fashion industry.

My boldest move to date was…First, choosing to create bust-friendly fashion, and then jumping right into New Labels after University.

I surprise people when I tell them…That I’m a very private/introverted person. I guess I hide it well!

My best advice to people starting out in business is…It’s a long and uncomfortable road but hang in there, because that’s how you grow personally and professionally. You never know how far you can take something until you try.

My best advice from a mentor was…Sell, sell, sell! If you don’t do it, no one else will.

Work/life balance is…Overrated. I’ve never been very good at it. I’m a work, work, work sort of girl.

If you googled me, you still wouldn’t know…That I had no online presence prior to 2014. I only got Facebook, Instagram and Twitter after winning the competition.

I stay inspired by…Learning new things, travelling, and surrounding myself with the most amazing friends.

The future excites me because…I have no idea what’s going to happen or where I’m going to be. I’m just taking it one day at a time.

Photos by Tara West.

Do you know a successful female entrepreneur who deserves recognition? Nominate her for the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards!