Mirror Palais
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Marcelio Gaia, a designer, started off with the brand Rosemilk with his friend — which was very similar to Mirror Palais, with a nostalgic essence in their design and reference to the ‘90s — in 2018 after a trip to Italy. After Rosemilk shut down in 2019, Gaia decided to launch his own brand, Mirror Palais. “I feel like all these experiences really prepared me for Mirror Palais,” said Gaia.
Inspirations for the brand came from the show The Nanny, with “sportswear mixed with tropical vibes mixed with references from the Edwardian era,” he explained. “I love anime. I love fashion history and you really see these in my designs.”
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His immigrant mother’s closet in Queens, New York was also a very significant part of his brand identity. “She wore skirt suits. She wore super sexy colorful beach clothes. You could really just see how our cultural heritage shone in the fashion choices she’d make. I’d spend hours sketching designs inspired by her.” said Gaia.
The Silhouette of a Woman, Forever Youthful and Soulful
If you’ve been to Mexico, there’s a certain style of architecture that I would think goes hand in hand with Mirror Palais’ style. Imagine a mix of the boho-chic Tulum weddings, a desert sand aesthetic, with this specific airbnb “DESIGN CASA MIRRA” in Tulum.
Mirror Palais evokes a sense of being down-to-earth and spiritual — with a touch of Spanish flair, grounded in soulful ambiance. Though, it isn’t surprising to see some Spanish influence when the owner of Mirror Palais himself,
is a Brazilian man. However, what is truly unexpected is that this women empowering brand is actually founded by a man.
​Though, let’s not forget that Mirror Palais is the literal embodiment of being a woman. The slip dresses, silk mini skirts, halter neck dresses, colorful two-piece sets, and bridal sets represent many sides of a woman. The brand carries “subtle modernity, with a sophisticated sex appeal that celebrates the effervescence of natural curvatures of all shapes and sizes.”
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But the Mirror Palais girl is also a fashionable urban New York icon. She is a young adult woman who knows who she is, and exactly what she wants. Life is fun, youthful for her. She knows how to have a good time. She’s also not afraid to be extra — she actually prefers to have all eyes on her. Celebrities like Matilda Djerf, Dua Lipa, and Bella Hadid have reped Gaia’s brand.
Mirror Palais is also a women's pre-order brand that prioritizes sustainability. They make every piece of garment locally in New York in order to support fair wages and craftsmanship. “When you buy Mirror Palais, you’re supporting a modicum of the garment district ecosystem.”
That is why their clothing items are typically more expensive, with prices ranging from $100 to $8,195, especially for bridal wear, which tends to be at the higher end of the price range.
Diversity and inclusiveness is also very big for the brand. When Gaia “first started designing, he actually took custom orders that required measuring people in”. Then as he started his own brand, he continued to be intentional about inclusivity by getting a “custom size 20 mannequin that’s really hard to acquire because not many people use it. We have people come up to the atelier to help us test our sizing and fitting.”