With a family tree full of artists and designers, Mila was destined to be in a creative profession. After graduating from Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Apparel Design, the Dallas native with Latvian/German heritage headed to New York to pursue her career in Fashion. Starting as a design assistant at Calvin Klein, she then freelanced at other design houses, a fashion trend forecasting publication, and as a visual merchandiser for upscale 5th avenue stores. Mila began to explore costuming films, enjoying an alternate approach to clothing as character building and storytelling, which eventually relocated her to Los Angeles, where she currently resides.

Having now contributed to many notable productions in various capacities, Mila is seasoned in a variety of genres from contemporary action to western, period, and sci-fi. She loves the collaborative process of filmmaking and the novelty, challenge, and excitement of each project and what it ultimately brings: enhancing each character through the costume. Mila’s fashion experience and extensive knowledge of textiles, tailoring, and construction support her passion for designing and building costumes from the concept through to the screen.

In 2009, Mila was selected from thousands of applicants to compete in Project Runway Season 7, earning a spot as as finalist and showing her collection at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York. The collection was extremely well received by critics and potential consumers alike. Tim Gunn said, “The fashion industry needs Mila!”. On the heels of this accomplishment, Mila launched her eponymous brand of women’s ready to wear and successfully sold the collection to boutiques worldwide for the following 5 years. Mila was invited to compete again on Project Runway All-Stars.