Edgy, functional and ethically-made, SÜK is the brainchild of founder Mimosa Schmidt who spent her twenties slogging it out in male dominated industries on long-haul ships, farms and building sites in chaffing overalls and uncomfortable work shirts.
Tell us about SÜK.
SÜK is the world’s first feminine, sex-appeal saturated workwear label. Our brand is a powerful signifier that feminine expression is as strong as it may be soft. SÜK says that women and expressions of femininity have a place in hard labour.
What inspired to you start SÜK?
I came up with the idea whilst working on long haul ships: I needed adequate protection from the demanding work and extreme environment. The standard issue garment given to me was unflattering and uncomfortable to the point of being comical. After a decade spent working in hypermasculine spaces I was tired of the toxic male attitudes I faced daily. I was angry. I started out as a very young woman and had been repeatedly disrespected and stifled by men on the job. To be frank: I was ropeable.
I wanted to channel that energy into something constructive. Femininity is powerful, sacred and necessary. The more I thought about starting a workwear label that celebrates femininity the more excited I felt. It’s rare you engage with an idea that doesn’t lose its shine.
Tell us about your career and background.
I’m a country girl. My first memories are from Far North Queensland. I was the youngest of three and I was allowed to run amuck. A pretty grotty tomboy who spent far too much time under the house with the dogs.
I was never super academic and was always drawn to physical work. I spent my twenties on farms, cattle stations, building sites and long-haul ships. I absolutely loved the work. I am naturally strong and athletic, so climbing scaffolding, pushing wheelbarrows and working long days in yards felt natural to me. Unfortunately, I experienced pretty horrendous harassment and by the end of the decade it was starting to wear me down. Feeling unsafe, threatened and demeaned on a daily basis started to outweigh the satisfaction and excitement I got from the work.
The idea for SÜK had been building at the back of my mind for several years, slowly heating up and starting to take shape. When I walked away from the physical work, I had a fire burning pretty savagely, fueled by a decade of being talked down to, groped, dismissed and censored. So, I was ready to let rip.
Describe a typical work day for you.
These days I’m a business woman, I guess. And let me tell you, it’s not glamorous! My days are spent writing emails, running errands and attending meetings. My heart rate, even when comfortably seated behind a desk, is usually well above resting. Working in some very dicey situations in my 20s left me with a rather accomplished poker face, so I can at least do it with some style and calm. I keep my mental health in tight shape with daily dog walks, volunteer work and explosive gym sessions.
What advice do you have for those wanting to start a business?
In my green-horned opinion, a business should aim to be ethical wherever possible – this should be non-negotiable. The beauty of starting a business from the ground up is that you can bring this intention to bear on every decision. If you’re going to add to the world, make it count and make it clean. Also, no matter how great your ideas are, don’t fool yourself that making money is a replacement for a healthy ego and good relationships.
At the end of the day, the ones that truly know and love you are the most important thing, and they are few.
What’s next for you and SÜK?
We are working on new piping hot styles as well as a few collaborations in the works that are set to be gorgeous. We are also working on our size chart in order to make our garments more inclusive, especially to larger bodies. What I’m most eager to get stuck into is reducing our carbon footprint. Now that we have finally launched, we can start to understand our carbon usage and develop a plan to become neutral: that feels really important to me with the Climate Crisis being officially declared in the Pacific Island Forum recently. Even if I am making a great product that feels necessary, the beauty of the idea turns to ash in my mouth at the thought of contributing further to the destruction of our ecosystems. Every step of the way I have been conscious of this and have made choices that are environmentally responsible, but we will always be striving to improve.
To find out more about the range, please visit https://sukworkwear.com.au
