The Brand By Malina was established together with Malin Ek Andrén’s mother Elisabeth Andrén in 2010 and ever since the brand has stayed true to its original vision: sophisticated femininity, a passion for detail and a love of colour and print. By Malina has always been the go-to brand for women in Scandinavia who love irresistible patterns and timeless silhouettes. The Wedding Edition sit down to hear all about these By Malina timeless cuts and silhouettes in irresistible, bold, and colourful patterns – perfect not only for wedding guests but bridal parties and beyond.
Malin Ek Andrén
Founder of By Malina
“The journey of By Malina started when I was living in Hong Kong, I was working with production for big Swedish brands. I felt that I was always drawn to silk and more precisely silk with prints. When I moved back to Sweden, I felt that there was a big gap in the market for occasion wear. Every time I was attending a wedding or big party, I never really found anything that I liked, I wanted feminine and colourful stand-out pieces, so I started to create some pieces and gave away to editors, bloggers, and my friends. Then retailer started to reach out, but I didn’t then have any dresses left. So, my first look book was based on people wearing the pieces to real events. Then By Malina was founded in 2010, now we still offer our core of occasion wear but also Bridal, Resort wear and everything for your workwear closet. I wanted women to feel special and unique in my pieces back then, this is still my main motivation for By Malina and that has transitioned into our Bridal segment as well. In 2014 I had a huge demand for creating wedding dresses for a couple of years, so I thought why not try and now we offer everything from bridal sets, party dresses or big classic gowns..“
I love working in the fashion industry because….
I love to create pieces that makes women feel their best and wearing something special . I have always been a creative person and I think it’s such a blessing to be able to work with something you are passionate about, I also like to be able to impact the fashion industry in terms of showing how occasion wear are good investment pieces and can be sustainable. I love the collaborative side in the fashion industry, meeting likeminded people who are as creative as me and share the same passion. I feel that people are so open in sharing experiences with each other, my motto is helping others in succeeding, I think that comes a long way.
By Malina is best known for…
I would say our occasion wear dresses in unique patterns and feminine silhouettes. Usually when RSVPing yes to a wedding a lot of people tend to visit us for finding that stand-out dress.
My biggest achievement to date is…
My kids, build a family and create my By Malina family.
We’re inspired by ….
Mostly travels! I feel as for the ready to wear segment, I get so inspired by travelling, not only by the different people you see from around the world but also what I am missing in my own wardrobe. As for Bridal I get inspired by friends getting married, talking about what kind of dresses they want or attending weddings, but of course traveling as well.
The current honeymoon wardrobe trends we’re loving are…
- I really love to focus on the wearability when packing for any trips, breezy dresses that are good for strolling in a city but can also be dressed up for dinner with a pair of heels. As for honeymoons I love the trends with bridal swimwear, especially bathing suits that can be paired with a skirt or shorts to be a more dressed up outfit.
- I do also love the cute bridal accessories trend, we recently created this bag in the bridal collection, and it has been so popular, it’s a special memory of that honeymoon but can also be used for any other vacations to come.
- And finally, like the dressy but short bridal dresses, for example you might have worn this to the wedding as a part of the day-before reception or the afterparty, but to bring this along and wear for dinners and cocktails, I feel is so special for your honeymoon.
My favourite pieces from the collection for wedding guest dressing are…
I really like dresses that you can re-use, I would say my top choices would be the Lowa Maxi dress. It’s quite a simple slip dress with a timeless flower pattern, the dress can be dressed down later with sandals or paired with our iconic Cleo blouse on top. Same goes for our Livy maxi dress, this silhouette is so flattering and yet very comfortable. It has a really fitted top part, but with adjustable straps and the skirt has a layer of organza which gives it volume and contracts with the rest of the dress. This I could pair with sandals and a blazer for daytime use. For a cocktail themed wedding I would certainly say our Noella dress, the draping is really flattering, and it is versatile with the puffy sleeves that you can do off shoulder and add a nice necklace for dressing it up even more. Also, I am obsessed with the green olive colour now.
My favourite pieces from the bridal collection are…
Our Mila bridal gown is just so special, the combination of the feminine silhouette and romantic off shoulder detail paired with the high slit just gives the dress the perfect balance. The fabric is in this perfect shade of ivory and the dress is heavily lined, so it adds a thickness to the dress, it also adds drama with a bit of a trail.
A bridal trend that has grown a lot in Sweden is city weddings. Since the pandemic a lot of people rearranged their weddings to be at the city hall and then organize a nice dinner at a restaurant or private party. This suit is perfect for such occasions, its feminine with the belted waist and the Ivory colour combined with lustre in the fabric makes the suit feel so luxurious. Best part is that you can use it as a suit afterwards for other occasions.
By Malina Bridal also offers great veils and accessories, I would say that my favourite veil in the new collection is our pearl veil. I think it’s something classical mixed with something new, also if you choose to go for a simpler wedding dress this is a great way to elevate the bridal look.
If you aren’t that into classic veils, I would say that this cape veil is something else. It adds a bit of a modern twist and can be combined with either a short dress and or a classic slip dress.
The best person to follow on Instagram for big-day inspo is…
I like Junebugwedding because they have articles of real brides, my wedding below😊)
And finally, what’s next for By Malina …
I always dreamt about going into interior. Our prints and qualities would be so easy to adapt on tablecloths, napkins, cushions and more. But it’s a big step so I might need to dream a bit longer. The UK market is new for us, and we just started to educate the market about the brand, it’s an exciting new step for us.
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