MIRA
A brand site and design system for a Made in Italy fashion label, built to grow into an online shop.
- Role
- Product designer and Shopify build, solo
- Client
- MIRA, Made in Italy fashion label · 2 founders
- Timeline
- Sep – Nov 2026
- Platform
- Responsive website, desktop and 390 px mobile · Italian, English to follow
- Stack
- Figma · Shopify (adapted Dawn theme) · Liquid
- Status
- Showcase site built, launching with the next drop
7 platforms scored, one picked, so the shop can switch on later without a migration.
The problem
MIRA designs and produces its clothes in Italy and sells them in drops, announced on Instagram. The brand had a strong look on Instagram, but no website and no domain.
- The site had to go live as soon as possible, in sync with the next posts on social.
- The two founders had to update it themselves, without a developer.
- Some pieces are made to measure, which a standard size chart doesn't cover.
Key decisions
A design system read from an Instagram feed
I started from the brand's Instagram: palette, type, tone of voice and photo style. From there I built colour tokens (primitive and semantic), type, spacing and the core components. The sold-out button state was corrected to meet WCAG AA contrast. The same tokens became the theme settings in Shopify: terracotta, sand and anthracite.
Why: the brand already existed. The site had to look like the same label people follow, not a new one.
Let the photos sell
I chose a minimal product card over an editorial one: only the photo, full-bleed and edge to edge. Name and material appear in a translucent band on hover, and on mobile only when the card is fully on screen. White text on the 40% anthracite band measured about 2.3:1 over light photos, so I added a background blur and a soft dark halo behind the text. The look stayed the same; the text became readable.
Why: fashion sells on the image. The interface steps back until you ask for it.
Showcase first, shop later
I compared seven platforms on build effort, how easily the founders could manage them, and price. Shopify won. We launch first as a showcase: cart and checkout are already designed, but hidden behind a "showcase mode" switch in the theme. Until the shop opens, product pages lead to WhatsApp and Instagram. The made-to-measure form waits for the shop, because it collects personal measurements.
Why: the brand can go live with its next drop instead of waiting for product data, policies and payments.
Build hype before the stock arrives
If the site goes live before the next drop, it needs a reason to come back. I designed five options; MIRA picked a countdown with an email waitlist. Around it, the legal basics are done properly: Reject and Accept have equal weight in the cookie banner, the waitlist asks for consent, and the brand playlist links out to Spotify instead of embedding a player that would need cookie consent and only plays 30-second previews.
Why: the waitlist is the first number that tells MIRA whether the site works.
Results
Launch numbers arrive with the next drop
What I'd do next
- Open the shop, and decide with the founders how made-to-measure orders work: a quote first, or straight to the cart.
- A newsletter that rewards loyal customers with early access to drops rather than frequent discounts.
- A short optional onboarding after the first purchase: usual sizes, interests, birthday.
- The English version, once the final Italian copy is in.