Meet Mila Majewska | Model & Founder of The Vintage Riot

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mila Majewska and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mila, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I’d been planning to start The Vintage Riot for a few years, but I was always either too busy or too scared to put myself out there. Before I’d been selling stuff for quite a few years on different platforms such as Poshmark or eBay.

The idea to finally start my vintage store came naturally. It was my personal style and after working for over 15 years in the fashion industry, I became more aware of how destructive it is. It’s the second most polluting industry in the world after the oil industry. I started with vintage classics and vintage accessories from luxury brands. My first customers were my friends from the industry. Nowadays I have returning clients from all over the world.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’ve been working in the fashion industry for almost 20 years now. I have a master degree in political science and at first I thought I’d be pursuing my career in that field but life had other plans for me I guess. I started traveling a lot while studying at university in my hometown in Poland which was pretty challenging but taught me discipline as well as appreciating every moment spent back home with my closest ones. I’m very proud that despite difficulties and challenges along the way I didn’t give up and that I was able to do both, get my degree and pursue a successful career in modeling having been signed with the best agencies in the world. Today all this experience helps me to run my vintage store-The Vintage Riot successfully. Now that I also became a first time mom, finding time to run my business can be challenging at times but with a good time organization I find it even more fulfilling and rewarding. My main idea behind The Vintage Riot was to switch into sustainability while still doing what I love-working in fashion but without feeling guilty. I love sourcing unique and rare pieces all over the world, especially during my travels. My favorite place to buy vintage is Paris, Berlin, London and New York, where I live currently (for over 10 years now)

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I live in what many call the best city in the world-New York, a city that never sleeps, a city of such rich and vibrant cultural offer that if you’re able to see 1% of it you’re lucky. I love having visitors from out of town and we always have such a blast sightseeing and discovering the city ‘off the beaten path’. There are so many things worth seeing here that it would take a separate interview to name them all. I obviously, as a New Yorker now, try to steer clear from typical touristy spots but I think visiting High Line Park or walking Brooklyn bridge are a must! As well as going to Broadway show (Phantom of the Opera is my favorite). If you’re a ballet lover, my all time favorite is The Nutcracker (only around Christmas season). I’m also a big fan of the interactive theater experience ‘Sleep No More’. If you visit New York in the summer season checking out the city’s rooftop bars is super fun! For shopping I obviously would recommend vintage stores, my favorite is Beacon’s Closet. For a fancy dinner out with a friend, I’d recommend my favorite Italian-Scarpetta. But for the most authentic dining experience, visiting Astoria in Queens is a must! Pretty much any restaurant you walk into here is going to be not only cheap but delicious. Favorite Thai place-Pochana, favorite Greek- Anasa, favorite Italian-Figlia.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I think that success of my business definitely depended and continues to depend on support of other women. First professional pictures of the garments I was selling via my Instagram were taken by me fellow model and a photographer-Marcelina Sowa, currently I wouldn’t be able to operate The Vintage Riot without my husband Hugo who is a photographer and helps me with content creation. Also worth mentioning are my fellow model friends who modeled The Vintage Riot’s pieces many times as well as were one of my very first and loyal customers. I also work with my photographers friends on special projects such as editorial shoots for magazines in which we use exclusively The Vintage Riot pieces. So far we were featured in many prestigious magazines worldwide including Grazia and Elle. All these connections that I maintained from working in the fashion industry for so many years helped me to achieve so much more than I would have been able doing everything on my own or having had to pay the professionals.

Instagram: @milamajewska @thevintageriot

Image Credits
Photography: Anka Garbowska, Emmy Park (2 Vogue pictures), Paulina Wesolowska (mustard leather jacket portrait). Sissy Martin (portrait with colorful scarf)