erlie Wilbanks was born in the Sunshine
State December 1980. Raised in the heart
of Miami, her childhood was most largely
influenced by her mother Hermilia, a
dressmaker who valued a woman’s right to dress elegantly. Herlie spent hours watching her mother create or alter clothing. By the time she was 10, Herlie was designing and constructing clothing for all of her dolls. It wasn’t long before she was creating her own clothing.
Herlie has always loved art, clothing, and landscaping. Herlie enjoys painting, sculpting, photography, dancing, gardening, landscaping, cooking, sewing, dressmaking, custom tailoring... there are few expressive mediums she hasn't explored.
As she attended The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, Herlie desired to better understand the consumer’s perspective of fashion. She already knew what women were being told to wear. She desired to know what women wanted to wear. So she joined the retail industry. For seven years, Herlie enjoyed attending customers with Macys, Bloomingdales, and Neiman Marcus. She learned that the desire of the customer does not change. Every woman wants to look in the mirror, and feel confident. And every woman deserves that.
Herlie started Hermilia Yves in a small apartment in Miami making alterations and constructing simple garments. Before long, she was creating/redesigning custom made gowns and wedding dresses. We are now aspiring to provide modest and elegant clothing for all women.
Hermilia Yves is now a trademark company in the United State. The company is trying to keep everything sustainable and minimum production. It is not about the quantity of the products. It is about the quality of the product. Our mission is to provide unique, chic, modest, fashion-forward, and practical women’s wear. For many years we have specialized in providing exclusive, custom made attire. Our company now provides a full ready to wear line in the women's clothing boutique. As a fashion designer, we are responsible for how we make women feel about themselves. We feel most designers choose to simply influence women to wear their designs. In this, a woman loses her character and dignity. It is our desire to serve women, not mold them.
www.creativmag.com | Special Edition | Feb 2021 | CREATIV | 25
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