From Mood Board to Finished Product – How a New Collection is Created at mara mea

Beginning a new collection: Where our style ideas come from

Mood board instead of trend scouting is the motto for our idea generation. About six months before a new collection is scheduled to be released, we start collecting inspiration. We pack all the moods, pattern ideas, fabrics, and designs that come to mind onto a mood board and gradually create our own world from it. Sometimes it's nature that inspires us, sometimes a walk through a foreign city, or simply a visit to a cafe where we discover someone with a cool style. For a while now, we have moved away from creating our collections according to upcoming trends, as is usually the case in the fashion industry. Trend colors and cuts usually come and go just as quickly, which is not very sustainable. At mara mea, we want to create durable products for every season and every style.

Of course, we still consider: What would be nice for the summer collection, what works well for autumn... These thoughts primarily come into play when it comes to the concrete development of the new collection. Our mood board is "tidied up", the final ideas are made into sketches, and the decision is made which product will be made from which material. This also happens very individually according to our feeling and with the underlying thought of how we can make each piece as sustainable and durable as possible.

Handmade production: Every piece a lovingly crafted unique item

What is special about the production process at mara mea: Each piece is handmade in our two partner factories in India, with whom we have been working since day one and whom we personally visit at the beginning of the production process. All fabrics are hand-woven, all embroideries are created manually, and every single tassel is hand-tied. This loving production makes each bag unique.

Another great advantage of the long-standing and familiar cooperation with our production teams is that we are now perfectly coordinated. The prototypes, i.e., the first pieces that are created based on our sketches, are usually finalized after the second run, so that little material has to be wasted. Products that still show minor defects after delivery to our stockhouse are not thrown away but go into our sample sale, which we organize regularly.

Tried and true in new colors & new XXL bags

To avoid overproduction and waste in general, we will continue to rely on popular NOS products in our Summer 2025 collection. This definitely includes our bum bags in various sizes, which we have designed in additional colors and designs and which will certainly play a role in upcoming collections. The bum bags will be joined by our new shoppers, which are available up to mega bag size XXL. We were inspired by the feedback from our great mara mea customers, which is also an important part of our production planning. And the next ideas are already budding: A small interior collection could soon become part of the mara mea range. Stay tuned!