Meet the Fashion Designer Making Mistakes on Purpose

Meet The Vanguards, Marie Claire's fashion franchise spotlighting the names to know. Here, the thought-leading designers, both emerging and veteran, provide a peek inside their process.

Jack Miner of Interior enjoys the messy bits of life—or “screw-ups,” as he calls them (technically, he uses the supercharged, explicit version). The New York-based designer isn't interested in making clothes for people who pursue perfection. "It's not about putting on a front or a veneer; It's about authenticity and honesty, being vulnerable and exposed, more than anything else," he shares over a video call. Consider the brand’s Riley Coat, a deconstructed double-breasted style with frayed seams and open slashes on the shoulders and spine. It’s outerwear for someone who bares their mistakes with pride. "That's what's great about humanity: the flaw. We want to celebrate it," says Miner.

As of late, the designer's own life has been both a bit messy and unexpected, too. He's only “just coming out of the woods” from COVID when speaking with Maire Claire. On the upbeat, it was also when he found out that Interior was nominated for Fashion Trust U.S., a nonprofit organization supporting emerging US-based design talent.

The whirlwind continues: As of earlier this week, Miner and Lily Miesmer, his co-founder and best friend since middle school, have officially parted ways. “We've charted so much together. She’s been so integral to Interior since its inception in 2020. But Lily had some personal life changes and interests to pursue, part of which was relocating to Paris.” Together, the duo decided that Miesmer would exit her active role in the business but remain a silent partner.

That's the tree of life, right? Despite sprouting from the same trunk, branches are known to grow in their different directions. Still, it’s a lot. Here, he addresses the universe directly: “Just bring it on—we can handle it. What's another little thing, you know?” Not all designers whose lives were recently shaken like a snow globe would be as even-keeled a week out from showing their newest collection. But again, Miner flourishes in the chaos.

Interior has carved out a corner in womenswear that’s sophisticated and sensual but dark, perhaps even perverse. “The easiest way to distill what we do is that we take styles canon to American sportswear and subvert them. How do we eff this up? How do we make it interesting and create tension? The result is clothes that feel familiar but also interesting and fresh,” explains Miner, who worked at the cult menswear label Bode before starting Interior.

The brand's Fall/Winter 2024 collection, debuting this season on February 13, is quintessential of the brand’s M.O: The edit features plenty of power suits—which the designer dubs “big energy tailoring”—done in dashed and broken pinstripes; Cotton poplin distorted into something far beyond the button-downs hanging in your closet; A chiffon gown that unravels at the hem and a sharply-tailored overcoat with a mangy shearling collar.

His work might be wild, but Miner, who honed his business savvy working under venture capitalist Chris Burch (yes, as in Tory) and previously ran his own successful menswear line, Hecho, knows what he’s doing. “The end goal of the brand from a product perspective is to create a novel wardrobe for our woman across every touch point of her closet. It’s full wardrobing. Whether denim, knitwear, tailoring, or eveningwear, she can come to Interior and find us as the resource for her needs.” 

As a screenwriter would flesh out every detail of their characters, Miner intimately knows the Interior woman. “She revels in what makes her different. She's messy and human and likes that about herself. She’s not this shellacked social media image.” Her manicure is chipped, and you won’t see her carrying a $10,000 bag or wearing a gold status symbol bracelet. Miner believes she’s also annoyed with the current state of society—because he is, too. “Today, we see this drive toward assimilation and pervasive sameness. It’s an aesthetic flattening due to a social media-dominated world, where there's a monolithic understanding in the culture of what looks good. This is what the North Star is, and it's very one note.”

Interior serves as the antidote to all of that. “We want to give her the alternative option of wearing something that feels distinct, different, and more authentic to the reality of the human experience: what it means to be a person and have to get dressed and put clothes on every day.” What it means to put yourself together even on the days when you’re sick. Or processing that your best friend is moving halfway across the world. Or when your brand is growing, growing, growing, and about to start a whole new chapter at the same time.

It can be overwhelming, maybe even sad and scary, to get dressed on those days. But if you lean into the chaos, Interior has an outfit for you.