YESAET is Style x Positive impact.
I’m Mimi Girma, founder of YESAET — pronounced 'YE-SATE' - a contemporary womenswear brand based in DUMBO, Brooklyn, built at the intersection of my Pan African artisanal heritage, sustainable practices and New York luxury craftsmanship.
YESAET stems from, and is nurtured through, my roots in Africa' where I grew up surrounded with bountiful intricate textiles, bold colors, patterns and prints. I was born in Ethiopia, raised in the Cote d'Ivoire and the UK. My origins and exposure to textile and craftsmanship in Africa ignited my passion for textile innovation and fashion design. Textiles have always fascinated and inspired me - they are the starting point for a collection.
The name YESAET is Amharic. It means a woman’s essence, a woman's work. That’s not incidental — it’s the whole philosophy.
Every piece we make is connected to women: the artisans in Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Addis Ababa who spin the yarn and weave and the cloth, the women leading the studios in New York, and construct the garments, as well as the women who ultimately wear them.
I came to the point of building YESAET after 25 years in fashion — Armani, Vivienne Tam — and what I kept returning to was a question the industry rarely asks honestly: what does it actually cost to make something beautiful, and who bears that cost? How can I keep creating and building my own business but make a positive impact ? I want to reconnect with my heritage, work with the cloths I love so much.
YESAET is my answer to those questions. We work with women-led artisan cooperatives. We produce in small batches. We botanical dye using plants and local farm donations.
We build for longevity, not trend cycles.
Out tagline is ‘Style x Positive Impact’ and the multiplication is intentional. Neither one works without the other.
I launched YESAET in February 2020- a couple weeks before the world stopped. And what that moment taught me is that slowness isn’t a liability. It’s the whole point.
We believe the past informs the present and the future hinges on the decisions we make today. We believe in timeless design, exquisite craftsmanship in textile and construction whilst reducing waste and striving for positive impact.
I fulfilled a lifelong dream in the fall of 2019 and returned to my roots in Ethiopia to not only connect with my heritage, but also embrace and learn more about the art of weaving integral to my culture, with the goal to source for YESAET.
Every day was an adventure, a sensual immersion in beauty, craft, human and cultural connection. But the culmination of my trip was completely unexpected: an invitation to visit an artisan studio and member of the World Fair trade organization, to learn how to weave.
That day, while I passed the shuttle back and forth slowly across the loom, the quick, musical rhythm of cloth woven by the artisans around me filled the space. The energy and pride of the weavers was palpable as they guided, shared, smiled, and wove.
It was an emotional, inspiring moment – a dream come true.
My lifelong love of textiles, born in my African childhood and cultivated in my career as a New York designer was brought back full circle that morning.
I often draw on the energy and inspiration that filled me that day at the weaving studio, and I’m reminded that our dreams are at our fingertips.
The beauty of African craft partnered with small local production ateliers in NY is something I am proud to showcase through YESAET.
Please follow us at 'One Cloth at a Time' on Substack.
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