Like many women on their fitness journey, Miriatetuara Flavell (better known as Miria), struggled to find good quality activewear that complemented her body shape and size. On social media, she would see activewear brands only catering to women of smaller figures.
“I thought it was unfair that so many women who want to get into fitness or are already on their fitness journey struggle with this. Why were we being left out?” she says.
“So I decided to start a clothing brand that is inclusive of all shapes and caters for women everywhere.”
Yearning to provide for under-represented women, Miria created HINE Collection, an activewear brand that started in 2018 as a solo project from her garage.
“My goal from the start has been to create fabulous clothing that enabled Māori and Pasifika wāhine as well as other women everywhere to see themselves and feel good about what they see… We want them to feel truly represented,” she says.
“It’s important for us to showcase our wahine in a space we have previously been left out of for far too long. It is crucial we include all women of all shapes and sizes to help them feel that they can be that woman in the ads, on social media, in the magazines, on television etc. We have made that promise to maintain these ideals and high standards as a brand.”
A woman true to her words, Miria continues to embrace women of all shapes and sizes by using her own HINE community as models for HINE Collection.
“You don’t have to be a professional model or have a portfolio,” she explains. “So long as you’re confident within yourself, everything else just flows.”
Since the beginning of her business, HINE Collection has risen in popularity and received high demand from customers all over the world. Miria now has nine staff members working at the HINE headquarters in Hamilton, and works with distribution warehouses in New Zealand and Australia. The business has even expanded to include a gym, called The Movement NZ, providing a safe space for her HINE Movement community to train.
“We are all in the same journey together,” she says. “Whether it be online or in person, when you see another wahine wearing HINE Collection, you feel some kind of instant connection with them.”
The success of HINE Collection has exceeded far beyond Miria’s expectations, but she acknowledges that there is still a long way to go.
“We have so many goals left to achieve,” she says. “I want to continue growing and building our brand and our community, not only here in Aotearoa but also across the globe.”
