INTERVIEW with Dr Louisa Parkinson || Co-Founder & Director of Mestiza Filipina
SD: Hi Louisa, can you please introduce yourself to my readers who don’t know you yet?
LP: Hey everyone! My name is Louisa, I'm a scientist-turned-business co-founder of an online Filipino clothing brand, Mestiza Filipina! Some fun facts about me, I'm an award winning scientist with a PhD in Plant Pathology and Molecular Biology; I was the commercial face of the University of Queensland in the 2010's; and I had a 10-year science career before I made the leap into full-time business & entrepreneurship in 2024. It turns out I've always been pretty business savvy though, and I think that's been my real passion all along, as I had a successful face mask business in 2020-2022 called The Mask Boutique, which provided jobs to people in Brisbane who lost their income during the COVID-19 pandemic and supplied over 10,000 face masks to people in Australia. I'm also an actor and content creator in Brisbane, alongside my partner Matt, showcasing the fun and vibrant lifestyle our city has to offer. You can follow us on Instagram here: @mestizafilipina.co & @dr.louisa.parkinson
SD: What have been your main challenges when starting a new brand?
LP: I'm Filipino-Australian and for many years I struggled with finding Filipino cultural clothing that looked modern and stylish, so in 2021 I co-founded our own fashion brand, Mestiza Filipina, with my brother Anthony! At the beginning, it was a fun passion project selling Filipiniana (Filipino clothing) online but our business kept scaling to the point where I had to decide between my science career or entrepreneurship as I couldn't do both full-time. One of the main challenges I faced when starting out was maintaining the time and motivation to run a business while having a full-time job. For nearly three years I would work in my 9-5 day job as a scientist, then continue well into the late hours of the evenings, working on my side business and also on weekends. I dedicated every spare minute and energy I had into Mestiza Filipina while working full-time, and I'm so grateful to be where we are today because I kept going!
SD: And what’s been the highlights?
LP: Ah, where to begin! Looking back, we've achieved a lot with Mestiza Filipina so far. Some noteworthy highlights from the top of my head:
Mestiza Filipina is one of the leading online retailers for Filipiniana worldwide! Our clothes are worn by thousands of Filipinos and people with Filipino heritage across the globe.
We're platinum sponsors of the stars from Drag Race Philippines who will be touring in Australia next month for their 'Mabuhey! Australia - Oh Diva' show.
In 2024 I became the recipient of the Brisbane Lord Mayor's Multicultural Business Scholarship for training to become a fashion designer for my brand.
Seeing our customers, stars and influencers around the world, wear and love our Filipiniana pieces has been super rewarding! I'm so happy our brand resonates with many people and that connecting with your cultural heritage through fashion is something that many people are proud to do!
SD: What are your plans for the future of the business?
LP: I'm currently learning fashion design, so next year we're planning to release a collection of my very own designs! It would be so cool for us to have a runway show at a fashion festival in Australia to showcase what Filipino cultural fashion has to offer. So that's also in the works for us very soon. Our business is constantly growing and changing and we're working hard in the background, scaling our business, so watch this space!
SD: How do you want people to feel when wearing your pieces?
LP: Fabulous, stylish and connected to their Filipino roots!
SD: What does sustainable fashion mean to you?
LP: Sustainability is an important theme in fashion - not just for the environment for the people who make the clothes that we wear. As a cultural fashion brand, it's important for us to honour the cultural significance of the pieces that we wear and support the makers of our garments. Our business is actively working with artisanal makers across various regions in the Philippines, providing jobs to preserve & sustain Filipino culture and train new generations of makers in the trade. We're also an environmentally conscious brand with all our packaging being recyclable or compostable; and as part of our brand strategy, we encourage customers to make many different outfits from our pieces, to help reduce only wearing a garment once (just for the event we bought it for).
SD: How would you like to see the fashion industry evolve?
LP: I'd like to see the fashion industry evolve into a more ethically and environmentally responsible industry. Many fashion brands are leading the way but there is a lot to be done and I think we could all be better with this. I feel very sad when I hear people gushing about their Shein purchases for instance. Fast fashion clothing may be cheap for consumers, but that comes at a huge cost to the environment and the people who make these.
Louisa’s Links:
Website: https://www.louisaparkinson.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.louisa.parkinson/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/louisaparkinson
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louisaparkinson/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrLParkinson
Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/7v3p4v5s
Casting Networks: https://tinyurl.com/4mwftcud
Mestiza Filipina’s Links:
Website: https://mestizafilipina.co/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mestizafilipina.co/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mestizafilipina.co
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mestizafilipina.co