If you haven’t seen Mahila Intimates‘ latest campaign, where have you been? We linked up with the girls behind the campaign – co-founders of Mahila, Jasmine Gaziza Muller and Bella Gaziza Muller, and the director behind their campaigns, Jasmina Wood – to find out what inspired the viral short film, the ethos behind Mahila, and more. Keep reading to find out what the girls had to say.
Obviously, I have to ask as it’s the focus of the campaign, what is each of your worst dating horror stories?
Bella: I was abroad and went on a date and he was ordering everything off the menu and acting like a man child, complaining etc making a scene, turned out his dad owned the restaurant.
Jasmine: there have been quite a few odd ones, I showed up to a date and it turned out to be a double date with two very strange people that were much older than I was
Jasmina: My worst dating story is that I was asked out by a media mogul’s son. I knew it wasn’t going to go anywhere, but I was bored so I went. When I turned up, there were three other girls there! Thank God I was the last to arrive. I found the whole situation funny, and since it was a boujie sushi restaurant, I stayed, ate my £200 sushi and left, never to speak to him again. I cherish those men and experiences dearly, as they give me something to write about.
Jasmina spoke in the press release about how an experience of a friend who changed after using ChatGPT as a therapist inspired her. As creatives, how do you feel about the rise in popularity of AI platforms like ChatGPT?
Jasmina: I think the rise of AI is inevitable. However, I don’t think it’s taking over creative jobs. At the end of the day, AI is still quite dumb. If you ask it to write something, it makes something pretty lame and cringe. Humans are unpredictable, and that’s something AI can’t replicate. I think, like tools such as Photoshop or editing software, we need to use it to help us create. That said, they do need to figure out how to make it more sustainable.
The model in your campaign feels like a kind of “every woman” that we can all imagine knowing or even being. Why was it important that the star of your campaign be relatable?
Bella & Jasmine: It’s always amazing working with friends, because they share similar morals and experiences, making it easy to draw inspiration from the people around us. The Mahila girl is someone we have imagined a thousand times, she’s an amalgamation of all the women and girls we have grown up with. She feels familiar, especially to those of us who have grown up in big cities, specifically the London space which is a true fusion of culture and character. She feels relatable because she is comprised of traits we all know and understand, the good and the bad.
Why do you think you’re being drawn to this sense of dystopia in your campaigns?
Jasmina: I’ve always been interested in AI and the idea of the world ending. If you’re not thinking about how much time you have left to achieve what you want, are you even human? I grew up during the 2007 financial crash, where we were told our generation had no hope. Now, all anyone talks about is the climate crisis, economic crisis, and cost of living crisis. We are living in a dystopia, but that doesn’t mean you can’t create art.
Looking at the collection that “Dinner Date” showcases, what inspired your designs this season? Can you share any references from your moodboard?
Bella & Jasmine: Our garments are a physical manifestation of the Mahila world. It provides a sexy, comfortable and practical solution to everyday busyness and spontaneity in a woman’s busy city life. It has built in shorts, and a flexible kangaroo pocket to hold lip gloss, phone, cereal bar and keep your hands warm. For design references we always look back at photos of our mum living in London in the 90s and 2000s as well as old Bollywood glam.
A huge part of your brand’s ethos is about community, and particularly female friendships, and that’s reflected in the campaign. How did your own support networks help you to create this specific collection/campaign?
Bella & Jasmine: We have both worked in the fashion and creative London space for over 7 years and have forged relationships that are vital to our womanhood. Community is central to who we are as people, and we are lucky to have found women who challenge, love, and encourage us fiercely, Lauren being amongst them. We have collaborated with Jasmina twice now, both times being overly rewarding and exciting and filled with honest conversations. We could not pull off half of what we set out to do without our extensive support network.
