From Holiday Dream to Fashion Empire: How Mister Zimi Brought Bali to Australia

Hundreds of thousands of Australians travel to Bali each year for holidays but what if there was a way of living on the holiday island? After falling in love with Bali these Australian entrepreneurs decided to try to prolong that holiday feeling by setting up a business based in the beachside paradise.

Zoe and Jimi Paul fell in love with Bali and decided to create a clothing line to champion the easygoing aesthetic they enjoyed when they were in this island locale. The idea came about when Zoe ordered a leather jacket made by an artisan in Bali. Back home in Melbourne, her friends loved it and wanted one too.

They needed a name. When the jacket was delivered the label read Mister Zimi which is a combination of Zoe and Jimi’s names. They loved it and moved forward with it as their brand name. Now the real work began. “We arrived in Bali and literally hit the ground running, or scootering should I say. Our days were spent on scooterson dusty, hot roads trying to find factories and suppliers without speaking any Indonesian. It was full on, no one had given us a leg up or information on where to start. But it worked for us.”

Mister Zimi started as a small business, selling dresses, swimwear, and jumpsuits in lively patterns via a Shopify online store. Then they started a pop-up shop in Melbourne, Australia.

The unique Australian brand quickly grew in popularity. What started as a production of two collections per year (winter and summer) quickly increased to seven annual collections. This growth resulted in the opening of multiple brick-and-mortar stores on the East Coast of Australia and a transition into a custom, modern office space in Melbourne, ten times larger than their original HQ.

Mister Zimi is known for its bright, bold, and fun designs, with a focus on versatile and trans-seasonal dressing. Zoe and Jimi believe “Summer is in style all year round”.

VentureMom Tip
Create a brand that embodies a feeling.