Ever wondered what it really takes to build a fashion brand from the ground up? That’s exactly the question Lesa Milan is tackling in her new mini-series Unstitched. Milan, best known as a star of Bravo’s Real Housewives of Dubai, is also the Jamaican-born founder and creative director of Mina Roe, a Dubai-based luxury maternity brand. After launching Mina Roe around 2017, Milan quickly earned a reputation for blending high style with comfort; a gap she herself felt during pregnancy. Now, with over a decade in fashion under her belt, she’s turning her real-world lessons into a bite-sized “style biz” guide.
Milan’s path to Real Housewives fame began long before her Bravo debut. Crowned Miss Jamaica International in 2010, she studied journalism and fashion before moving to Dubai with her husband. There, she found a personal need for fashionable maternity clothes that weren’t available. “I started Mina Roe five years ago,” she recalled in a Bravo Insider interview, fixing that void in the market. Since then, Mina Roe has grown into a full-fledged fashion (and even skincare) label. Milan now jokingly calls herself a “mom of three” who built a business that caters to women at every stage.
In Unstitched, Milan leverages this entrepreneurial experience on camera. She’s already teased that the series will cut through the Instagram gloss to show the real work of running a label; the “late nights, ‘this will never work’ moments, the pivots and the pressure” that most brand decks omit. Her goal? To act as a kind of “stylish business big sister,” mixing strategy, storytelling and plenty of “don’t do what I did” lessons.
In candid short episodes, Unstitched will address the same tough questions Milan has asked herself: How do you believe in your vision when no one else can see it? Can you embrace failure as part of the process? And how do you build something really huge without “shrinking your life”? Viewers can expect Milan to discuss topics like:
Vision & Confidence: Believing in an idea even when others doubt it. Milan knows all about overcoming skepticism; she had to convince herself Mina Roe could succeed when stylish maternity wear was virtually unheard-of.
Failure & Pivoting: Learning from setbacks. Milan admits that many of her biggest shifts happened after moments of doubt. In Unstitched she promises to unpack those “this will never work” moments and what came next.
Work-Life Balance: Growing a business without burning out. As a wife and mother, Milan is candid about juggling boardroom demands with family dinners. She will share tips for “building a brand without shrinking your life” because late-night emails shouldn’t mean missing bedtime stories.
Practical Tools & Advice: Hands-on business tips no one puts in the glossy brochure. From negotiating with manufacturers to smart storytelling, Milan will share concrete tools she’s collected over 15+ years. This includes advice she calls “unsolicited” but since fans asked for it, she’ll deliver it straight from the heart.
Each episode promises a blend of Milan’s personal anecdotes (like the wardrobe malfunctions of season) and hard-earned wisdom. “Unstitched exposes the truth behind entrepreneurship in fashion, not just the glam, but the grit,” Milan says in her previews. Think of it as a masterclass in fashion business, delivered with the warmth of a friendly mentor. Milan’s own words capture her vibe perfectly: she wants to “build something that looks good, feels good, and actually lasts.”
By pulling back the curtain, Unstitched aims to inspire and educate aspiring designers, mompreneurs and style enthusiasts alike. Milan’s journey; from Miami journalism student to Dubai reality star to fashion CEO, shows that building a successful brand takes creativity and resilience.
Ultimately, Unstitched is about confidence, community and the courage to keep sewing your own path even when the threads seem tangled. As Milan quips, she’s giving viewers the behind-the-scenes playbook so we can all learn from both her wins and her mistakes.
Stay tuned: Lesa Milan will launch Unstitched online soon. Follow her on social media (and at @unstitched.tv) to join each new episode. With Milan guiding the way, you just might pick up the tools to start (and sustain) your own fashion empire, one stitch at a time.