Foundation 5
For Women Who Define Themselves.
Foundation 5 is not an arrival. It is a beginning. A collection of considered garments, made in London, designed for the woman who has always known her own worth. Finished inside and out. Built to last beyond the season that made them.
This is the house of Make Mine Black. At the start of its story, we know where we are going.
The Jumpsuit
The signature piece of Foundation 5.
The Jumpsuit is where the collection's opposing ideas meet.
Structure and movement. Contrast and continuity. Ornament and restraint.
Across the right front and back neckline, hand-embroidered sunray details in old gold and burnt orange fan outward, travelling towards the shoulder and sleeve before moving down the body.
The embroidery doesn't sit quietly on the surface. It moves with the architecture of the garment.
Gold and burnt orange do not compete with cream; they reveal it.
The signature 3cm contrast trim frames the right side from neckline to hem, front and back, giving the colour and embroidery a deliberate boundary.
And beneath it, the Foundation Line works quietly through the construction, shaping the body while incorporating the discreet welt pocket.
Nothing is competing for attention.
Everything is working together.
This is architecture, ornament and movement in conversation.
The Maxi Dress
The piece that stops the room before a word is spoken.
Black, until the light catches the gold at her neck and down her spine, a line drawn with intention, not decoration.
The balloon sleeve introduces volume at the shoulder while the body remains controlled, allowing the silhouette to move between softness and structure.
The signature contrast trim frames the empire line before travelling down the centre back, carrying the invisible zip within it.
And then the Foundation Line takes over, contouring the body, incorporating the welt pocket and continuing towards the hem, opening into a slit that echoes the centre front and adds to the drama of the silhouette.
She moves. And the garment reveals itself with her.
The Midi Dress
Where the world of Make Mine Black begins for many women.
Burnt orange against black.
The warmth of colour meets the restraint of the silhouette, while the balloon sleeve introduces sculptural volume without overwhelming the body.
The signature contrast trim frames the empire line before travelling down the centre back, creating continuity from neckline to hem.
The Foundation Line follows the body with restraint, shaping without interrupting the architecture of the dress.
Nothing competes.
The colour doesn't compete with the structure.
The volume doesn't compete with the body.
Everything has its place.
This is where Foundation 5 becomes wearable without becoming ordinary.
The Skirt
The Skirt is having fun. And she has earned it.
Deep wine. Full of movement.
The silhouette begins with a structured waistband before releasing into volume—a deliberate contrast between control and freedom.
The signature 2cm contrast trim grounds the waistband before travelling down the centre back, quietly carrying the invisible zip within it.
A narrow line holding its presence against an otherwise generous volume.
She was never meant to sit still.
She moves through the room, catches the light, changes with the body.
She is the piece you didn't know you needed.
The Trouser
The affirmative stance.
he Foundation 5 Trouser is about proportion.
A considered silhouette that gives the body room to move while maintaining a sense of structure and authority.
There is no unnecessary detail competing for attention.
The line of the trouser carries the eye, allowing proportion, fabric and movement to create the statement.
It is the quiet counterpoint to the volume found elsewhere in Foundation 5.
Confident without being rigid.
Relaxed without losing its presence.
She doesn't ask permission. She arrives.
The Top
Proof that restraint can make a statement.
The Foundation 5 Top doesn't need to shout.
Its silhouette does the work.
The balloon sleeve introduces sculptural volume around the arm, while the body remains clean and considered.
Beneath the arm, a single 2-inch line of stitching quietly contours the bust—creating shape without interrupting the architecture of the garment.
This is the Foundation Line in its most restrained expression.
One line.
One decision.
No unnecessary seams.
The contrast trim frames the centre front, creating a deliberate point of connection between the body of the garment and the detail that defines Foundation 5.
It is architectural without becoming rigid.
Feminine without becoming decorative.
Simple in appearance. Considered in every line
THE CUMMERBUND
One design. Two expressions.
Silk Taffeta
She doesn't complete an outfit. She transforms it.
The Cummerbund Skirt was designed as an interruption.
A piece that can be placed over a dress, trousers or the simplest outfit in your wardrobe, changing the proportion, silhouette and attitude of what already exists.
Cut in deep wine silk taffeta, the structured waistband holds the body before releasing into an asymmetric silhouette.
The wrap tie allows the wearer to decide how she wants to wear her.
There is no single way to fasten her.
No single silhouette she creates.
That is the point.
She brings structure to softness, volume to simplicity and a deliberate sense of drama to whatever sits beneath her.
She doesn't ask the rest of the wardrobe to change.
She changes the relationship between the pieces around her.
African Wax Print
Same architecture. Different energy.
The Cummerbund Skirt takes on an entirely different presence in African wax print.
Deep wine, burnt orange and white move across the surface, bringing colour, history and pattern to a silhouette designed around structure and movement.
The 10cm structured waistband creates a defined point at the waist before the asymmetric skirt releases around the body.
The wrap tie passes through the side opening and gives the wearer control over the final silhouette.
No two women will tie her quite the same way.
And no two moments will look quite the same.
A piece designed to be layered, wrapped, tied and made your own.
She is structure with personality.
THE EARRINGS
One silhouette. Two expressions.
Leather
Asymmetry, deliberately.
One longer. One shorter.
Not an imbalance to correct, but a proportion to embrace.
Cut from smooth leather and made by hand, the earrings bring the same tension found throughout Foundation 5: structure and movement, restraint and interruption.
They move with the wearer rather than sitting still.
A small gesture.
A deliberate difference.
They were never meant to match.
African Wax Print
A little colour. A little attitude.
The same asymmetric silhouette, reinterpreted in African wax print.
Pattern replaces uniformity. Colour introduces movement. And the familiar shape becomes something entirely its own.
Each piece is cut from the print, meaning its relationship with the pattern can shift from one pair to the next.
No two pairs tell exactly the same story.
Made to be noticed.
Made to move.
Made for the woman who doesn't need everything to match.
Photographed in Brixton, London — Windrush Square, Lambeth Town Hall, St Matthew's Church, and the surrounding streets that carry their own history.
Photography: Keonah Eschoe-Bloise (@klicksbykeonah)
Stylist: Michelle Nembhard
Foundation 5 — designed and individually handcrafted in London. Made in limited quantities. Created to be worn beyond the season that made them.