Exploring Life & Business with Mariam Haidara of Trois.Seize

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mariam Haidara.

Hi Mariam, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been creative and one day one of my friends was having a pool party and the colors that he wanted us to wear to the pool party were either gold, white, or brown. I started to look for a brown bikini and I couldn’t find one that was chocolate enough. All of the brown bikinis looked either dingy or washed out, like it just wouldn’t pop on my skin color so I got the idea to start my own bikini line and I just kept thinking about it and I kept saying that I was going to do it but I never did it. Fast forward a year later to the day that I moved to Orlando to start law school me, and my little sister Ramata, we were sitting on my balcony and just started to talk about the bikini line idea and my sister was like “oh well I want to start an Athletic wear a line,” and I was like ok we could do a collab, like that would be really cool. My sister was really big on not getting a vendor because she did nothing want to support child labor so we talked about getting our items made in Mali. I always knew that my first collection was going to be called “Send Nudes.” I just love the way that it was like a “play on words” and it was kind of a way for me to take a statement that some guys will say to girls like: “send me some nudes real quick” you know so it’s kind of like a playful way to say “okay I’m going to send you some nudes but they are going to be nude bikinis.” So fast forward one day me and my friend Kristin were in the car, and Kristin goes to law school with me, and she was like “you know Mariam, I don’t know why you’re in law school, like you’re such a boss, you’re such an entrepreneur, like you really could just create your own thing and work for yourself. I don’t see you working for anyone else.” She began to say “since you want to do the bikini line why don’t you just make them yourself ?” Mind you, I’ve never used a sewing machine in my life. I’ve only sewn by hand and I can braid hair. I can do a lot, but I’ve never used a sewing machine. I knew that if I put my mind to I could do it because I’m really a fast learner so I was like “Okay. You know what, you’re right.” When I tell you within the next day I went to the sewing studio store to buy a sewing machine and during that time I was trying to think of a name for the company. I couldn’t think of anything. I wanted to use my last name, but then again I’m from a Mali and my family is  very big on women being covered up so I was like maybe not my last name. So I get in the car, and I look at the clock and the clock says 316. Now the backstory behind 316: I was born on March 16 and anytime I see 316 anywhere I feel like it just gives me the sign that I was looking for with anything that I’m questioning. It is as if it gives me the approval that i’m looking for. So I was like do I like 316 but I didn’t want to be called 316 because then people amy think that i am reffering to John 316 and I am Muslim, so I was like yeah no that doesn’t correlate. I called my little sister Ramata since I knew that she was fluent in French, and I was like “hey Ramata what’s 316 in French?”  and she responded “trois seize.” I was like wow I love that name so I chose that name, I went to my sewing class right after, and then I designed the logo that night, and then I got to work on the bikinis. I learned how to sew in January and had my first collection released on March 16, 2021 (My Birthday of course). I used the names of my friends for the styles of my bikinis. I felt like it matched their personalities and it was a cute way for me to make the styles personal.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It definitely has not been a smooth ride. When I started sewing, I only bought a serger machine. I soon realized that I would need an actual sewing machine as well. This caused me to break down one night because I had to go buy a sewing machine and then teach myself how to use it (I didn’t want to take it to the first place I bought my serger from since I didn’t buy the second machine from them). I sat and watched a couple of YouTube videos and finally figured it out.

The week leading up to my bikini launch/ birthday trip, I didn’t know how I was going to make my inventory so I just ended up trying to make a small, medium, and large of each of the 3 styles for all 3 of the colors. I wanted to make sure I had enough bikinis for the girls that were coming on the trip so I stayed up for 72 hours straight all the way through the day of my flight to Tulum. I ended up falling asleep later that night at the dinner table at the restaurant.

When it comes to how I was going to sell these bikinis, I had no clue what I was going to do. My friend Ariel Ewell honestly helped me with all of the logistics. She created my beautiful website for me and taught me how to manage my inventory there, as well as how to edit the site for new collections.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
My business is Trois.Seize. It is a handmade bikini line that I plan on expanding to other things soon such as accessories, clothing, etc. What sets me apart from others is that I put a lot of care into my items. If one little thing is off or does not look right, I will redo the whole order. I never want to give any of my supporters anything that is not up to par. I also allow my supporters to contact me if they need help on different ways to the tops or the bottoms. Brand wise, I am most proud of myself for actually going out and doing this and putting it out to the public. From the day of my launch to the day after, I made over $1500 in revenue. I want the readers to know that I am just getting started. I have so many creative ideas going on, I just have to make sure I execute them. I plan on dropping a kids’ and men’s line soon. I have even been thinking about selling my own shoes. I want any Malian woman who has felt constricted to the stereotypes that have been placed on us to know that they can be more than that. I am literally a bikini designer and I started this during my first year of law school. The opportunities are endless, you just have to bet on yourself and believe.

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Covid-19 honestly is the reason I am in law school. In October of 2019, I took my first LSAT, and then I took my second one in February of 2020. During that time, I was also working full time at a Mercedes Dealership and still had my Air Force Drill one weekend a month. In March of 2020, my job furloughed me. This allowed me to finally have time for my law school applications. I was able to do so much research on where I wanted to stay while attending school, I was able to finish my applications, and write up my letters. In May of that year, my job officially laid me off. My unemployment honestly was a blessing because I was getting paid more than I was actually making at that job. I was not as stressed and I was able to focus on myself. I used the covid stimulus to pay off my car and start saving up to move. I did not tell anyone, but two close friends and my family, that I was going to be moving to Orlando for law school. I believe that putting out information about your life can “block your blessings” sometimes so I waited until the day I was in my new place to post that I had moved. Covid has taught me how to tap into my “hustle mentality.” I learned that there are so many ways to still network and it does not have to necessarily be in person. I loved clubhouse because it connected me with people who I am now friends with, whether they are in the entertainment industry, sports industry, or even practicing law.

Contact Info:

• Email: Troisseize316@gmail.com
• Website: Troisseize.com
• Instagram: @mariamhaidara/@trois.seize
• Twitter: @mariamhaidara
• Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC6ummO3bF96aZ-f3vcQSXnw

Image Credits
@adreamvisionent
Terrel Antoni
Mannificentdesign