Whimsy has quickly become one of fashion’s most overused adjectives. In recent years, the word has been attached to pastel colourways, novelty charms and anything with a vaguely nostalgic air, until “whimsical” can seem to mean little more than “cute”. Maelin’s oversized hair-clip, however, makes a much stronger case for the word. There is something genuinely playful about taking one of the most familiar objects in your bathroom and enlarging it to the point where it becomes a belt, a cap fascinator, or a handbag fastening.
Since graduating from London College of Fashion, the brand’s founder Jingmei Lin has built her label around a sense of playful transformation. She draws on an interest in gaming, nostalgic dress-up and the pleasure of designing to an almost uncanny level of misplaced familiarity. At the centre of it all, though, is the hair clip.
Now, through a collaboration with independent and environmentally conscious accessories brand Ecoday, the clip is the defining feature of a new series of handbag styles. It’s a particularly significant moment for a young designer whose work has been developed so publicly. Earlier this year, the designer found herself confronting the uncomfortable side of visibility when she spoke about similarities between her oversized hair clip project and work that appeared elsewhere. Her response was not a claim to own the humble hair clip, but an argument for recognising the research, experimentation and development that can turn a familiar object into a distinctive body of work.
As Maelin continues to develop the clip in increasingly unconventional yet functional forms, BRICKS meets the designer to hear how she took the hair clip from a whimsical idea to a handbag line, and how she’s navigating authorship in an industry where ideas increasingly exist in public.
Let’s start at the beginning! What were your earliest inspirations to study fashion design?
I never had one specific moment when I decided, “I want to be a fashion designer.” It was more like these little things kept appearing throughout my childhood, and eventually they grew into something much bigger.
I was probably a very ordinary child in this sense. I think most girls have, at some point, used a blanket as a dress at home and pretended to be a princess or a queen. One of my earliest memories is watching Sailor Moon; I think it was the first anime I watched while in kindergarten, and I was always fascinated by the characters transforming into their different outfits. I also loved dress-up games, collecting different clothes and creating different looks for the characters.
When I was in primary school, I was influenced a lot by my older cousin. She introduced me to a style that was quite different from the obvious idea of something being simply “cute” or “pretty”. I started wearing clothes with things like bobbles, cat motifs and oversized eyes on them, and I loved clashing lots of different colours.
What I remember most clearly was actually her shoes. She had these short, heeled canvas shoes that I found incredibly interesting. I still remember them now. There was something about them that felt very unusual and different from anything I had seen before. Looking back, I think that was probably one of my earliest experiences of seeing fashion as something that could surprise you.
I also remember something quite funny from primary school; in Year 5, we had an art class where the teacher asked us to draw a machine. I drew a machine that could automatically produce clothes. I obviously didn’t think much of it at the time, but looking back now, it feels like I had already planted a very small seed without even realising it.
What do you think has been the biggest influence of studying at LCF?
I studied Fashion Design at London College of Fashion, where I was exposed to many different approaches to design and ways of thinking. Throughout each project, I gradually began to understand what kind of design feels most natural to me. I think this is similar to the way we dress. You can love many different styles and have completely different pieces in your wardrobe, but eventually you start to understand what really feels like you. Designing is the same, and LCF gave me the space to explore those different sides of myself and slowly find the direction that felt most authentic to me.
I started allowing myself to explore the things I liked, even when they came from completely different directions; sometimes it was more sensual, sometimes sporty, sometimes cute. Through experimenting with these different sides of my taste, I eventually found the direction that felt most like me.
How has your approach to design changed during your time at LCF?
When I first started, I was very focused on making everything feel complete and cohesive. The colours, design elements and overall aesthetic of a collection all had to feel very fixed, and I felt that the construction also needed to be innovative enough; otherwise, I would feel like I hadn’t worked hard enough on the project.
As I went through different projects, I started allowing myself to explore the things I liked, even when they came from completely different directions; sometimes it was more sensual, sometimes sporty, sometimes cute. Through experimenting with these different sides of my taste, I eventually found the direction that felt most like me, especially through my final project.
I also became less focused on the final outcome and more interested in the research and process behind it. Rather than only thinking about how to make something look new, I became more interested in developing new structures, techniques and ways of making. I particularly enjoy taking something familiar and changing it in a way that makes people notice it differently. So now, for me, design feels more like a process of discovery rather than something where I already know the answer from the beginning.
Is there one thing you feel you truly learned at school?
I learned how to take a feeling or an image that exists in my head, but is still quite vague, and develop it into something tangible. Through constant research, sampling, trial and error, and making changes throughout the process, I learned not to rush to find the “right” answer. Instead, I learned to discover the answer through making.
I approach Maelin in much the same way now. For me, the most important thing is not simply turning an idea directly into a product, but understanding why that idea is interesting in the first place, and then finding a way to turn that feeling into something that people can recognise as my own.
How would you describe your aesthetic in your own words?
I think of Maelin as playful, a little strange, and familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. I want the pieces to feel recognisable, but never completely ordinary. I’ve always been interested in taking familiar things and changing them slightly, whether it’s their scale, function or context, so that they become something a little unexpected.
I also think Maelin naturally appeals to people who enjoy gaming, because I like the idea of clothing and accessories feeling a little bit like a game. I want people to be able to style and adjust the pieces according to their own preferences, rather than feeling like there is only one way to wear them. Even the details around the products follow this idea – for example, I’m designing the hangtags like in-game system cards, with messages such as “item unlocked”, and each product has its own unique card.
For me, the most important thing is probably that the work feels fun. I like hiding little details in the designs and imagining someone noticing them later and feeling surprised or amused. I don’t want Maelin to take itself too seriously. I want there to be a sense of discovery when you look at the pieces.
I think of Maelin as playful, a little strange, and familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. I want the pieces to feel recognisable, but never completely ordinary.
Can you describe your design process?
I usually start with a word, a feeling, or a general idea of what I want to create, but it’s often quite vague. I don’t usually have the final outcome in mind, so I prefer to start making and explore the idea as I go. I experiment through sampling, collage and looking at things from different angles. I also do research along the way, rather than trying to figure everything out before I start. Sometimes these experiments lead to something completely unexpected, a new idea, direction, shape or visual that I wouldn’t have thought of at the beginning. I really enjoy that part of the process. For me, design is about discovering something along the way, rather than knowing exactly what the final result will be.
What was the engineering process like behind making the hairclips at such an exaggerated scale, and what did you have to figure out in order to make it wearable?
The first step was figuring out the scale. I started by holding a normal-sized hairclip in front of a mannequin and photographing it from a specific angle to create the visual illusion of an exaggerated size. From there, I could work out the proportions of the original hairclip, calculate the scaled-up dimensions, and then make small adjustments where needed.
The first version was made from resin, but it was more of a visual interpretation because it couldn’t actually open and function like a normal hairclip. The second version was made in metal and became a fully functional, enlarged version that could actually open and clip onto things.
Weight was the biggest challenge; once you enlarge something like a hairclip in metal, it becomes surprisingly heavy, and the edges can also become quite sharp. The grip was another challenge because once the clip was enlarged, the original mechanism no longer worked in exactly the same way. I eventually developed a fixing system using two holes instead of one, with one of the holes positioned slightly lower. This helps prevent the clip from falling off when the wearer moves around.
I also experimented with different materials and construction methods. Some samples took a very long time to assemble and would not have been practical for production, so I had to simplify and modify the construction. Every stage of the process had to work together without creating problems for the next one.
The hairclip has actually continued to develop even after I graduated. Because I wanted it to work with different products, I’ve had to adjust the structure depending on how it is being used. So it’s still something I’m continuously developing rather than a completely finished object.
The oversized hair clip has become something of a signature for Maelin, and your Ecoday collaboration pushes it beyond the body and into the world of accessories. How did the Ecoday team respond to the oversized clip concept when you first started talking about the collaboration, and what did their perspective bring to the way the final piece came together?
The collaboration actually started because the Ecoday team really liked the way I had developed the oversized hair clip as a design element. They asked if I would be interested in working together on bags and shoes. I was also really interested in exploring categories that I hadn’t formally worked with before, so we decided to develop the pieces together.
I then came up with a very simple sketch of the bag, where I wanted the oversized hairclip to sit on the flap and open together with the bag. The Ecoday team immediately loved the idea and were excited about developing it. They were also curious about how I could bring the hairclip into their brand while incorporating some of their own details.
They were very respectful of my ideas, but working with them also made me think much more about the commercial market. I wanted to keep the visual elements that were important to me, while also considering how the pieces could work for everyday customers. They did sometimes think some of my ideas were a little crazy though… like the bob-cut girl gift box and the hair-clip phone case!
Since my background is in womenswear design rather than accessories, their expertise was also really valuable. They gave me advice on materials, construction and whether certain ideas were actually feasible, while also helping me think from a consumer’s perspective. I learned a lot from the collaboration. Compared with my cap, the bag is much more practical and easier to incorporate into everyday outfits, so I think it can reach a wider audience while still keeping the playful character of my work.
I don’t think anyone owns the idea of a hair clip. It’s a common object, and anyone can be inspired by it. But the research, experimentation and development behind an idea are also part of the creative work.
You recently spoke publicly about the experience of seeing your oversized hair clip work appear elsewhere, while being careful to acknowledge that you don’t “own” the idea of a hair clip itself. Where do you think the line sits between an open-source visual idea and the authorship of the research, experimentation and development that turns that idea into a recognisable body of work?
I think it’s completely normal for different designers to be inspired by the same thing. For me, the important distinction is between sharing the same starting point and developing the idea in your own way. It’s a bit like writing a research paper. Many people can explore the same subject, but the research, ideas and development can still be very different.
I don’t think anyone owns the idea of a hair clip. It’s a common object, and anyone can be inspired by it. But the research, experimentation and development behind an idea are also part of the creative work. For me, that’s an important part of what makes a body of work recognisable as your own.
Fashion increasingly develops in public, with designers sharing experiments, prototypes and references online long before a collection is finished. Having experienced the complications of that first-hand, has it changed what you’re willing to share, and what do you think the industry needs to do better when it comes to recognising where an idea came from?
It has definitely made me more careful about what I share, especially when something is still in development. I’m more conscious now about how much of an unfinished idea I want to reveal publicly, but I don’t think designers should stop sharing their creative process because of that.
Sharing your work and ideas is an important part of building a career today, and it also creates more opportunities to be seen.
I also think the industry can do more research when discussing creative work. It’s important to make sure that the information being shared is accurate and that the work is being presented in the right context. For me, it’s about finding a balance between being open and protecting your work. I still want to share what I’m doing, but now I’m more conscious of what stage a design is at and how much of it I want to reveal publicly.
What barriers or challenges, if any, have you experienced in accessing the industry?
After graduating, I found that there wasn’t really a clear entry point into the industry. I have to create my own opportunities, reach out to people and build relationships myself.
One of the biggest challenges has been production. Working with factories was completely new to me. Communicating with manufacturers, developing samples, testing materials and dealing with mistakes can take a huge amount of time, and often means spending more money on trial and error. When you are a young designer without a large order volume, some factories are also less willing to work with you. Of course, I’ve also met some really supportive factories, but finding the right people to work with has been a learning process in itself.
Another challenge has been financial. I’m building my brand independently, so the money I’m currently investing in Maelin comes from what I’ve saved over the years. Because that budget is limited, I have to be very careful about how much I put into development and production, rather than being able to invest heavily from the beginning.
I also currently do almost everything myself; from design and sampling to communicating with factories, packaging orders, contacting buyers, managing Instagram and customer service. Sometimes it’s difficult to balance all of these responsibilities, and it inevitably slows down the process. There are times when I wish I had more time simply to design and develop new ideas, but I’m also learning a lot from being involved in every part of building the brand. I think that has been one of the biggest challenges, but also one of the most valuable parts of starting Maelin. It has made me understand the fashion industry from a much wider perspective than I did as a student.
Don’t worry too much about how other people see you. Start making, start trying, and find your own direction along the way.
What’s one piece of advice you would tell other emerging designers getting started in the fashion industry right now?
First, take copyright and protecting your work seriously. If possible, think about how you want to protect your work before sharing it publicly. This was something I didn’t realise when I first started, and once something is shared publicly, it can be very difficult to control how it is used.
I’d also say don’t worry too much about how other people see you. Start making, start trying, and find your own direction along the way. You will face a lot of setbacks, but I actually think they are valuable. Dealing with those problems yourself gives you a much more complete understanding of what it takes to build a brand.
And finally, don’t be afraid to ask for help, but also actively look for opportunities yourself. Be open to sharing your work.
Who IRL would you love to see wearing your designs?
Hunter Schafer would be one. I’d love to see how her personal style interacts with my designs and what kind of interesting contrast that could create. I’d also love to see NewJeans wearing Maelin; I feel like their style and energy would really suit the brand.
Ecoday x Maelin capsule collection is available to shop now from the Ecoday website.
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