Mike Amiri

Mike Amiri (born September 6, 1976) is an American fashion designer. He is the founder and creative director of the California-based luxury fashion house, AMIRI.

Early life and education
Mike Amiri was born and raised in Hollywood, Los Angeles. His parents are of Iranian origin. After graduating from Beverly Hills High School, he studied history at UCLA and earned a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School.

Career
After an early career in music and a brief stint with Korean hip-hop group Drunken Tiger, Amiri went on to sew one-off handcrafted stage pieces for musicians. This bespoke, hand-finished approach continues to influence AMIRI’s artisanal spirit. In 2014, Amiri created a debut capsule collection of unique menswear styles for the Los Angeles concept store Maxfield. This line would ultimately become his namesake brand, AMIRI.

AMIRI
Amiri launched his fashion brand, AMIRI, in 2014. The Los Angeles brand is stocked in over 160 high-end retailers around the globe, including Bergdorf Goodman in New York, Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills, Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Selfridges & Harrods in London, Harvey Nichols in Dubai, and Lane Crawford in Hong Kong and China. As of 2023, AMIRI has standalone flagship stores in Beverly Hills, New York, Las Vegas, Miami, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Shanghai, Tokyo, Nanjing, and Dubai.

Music continues to be a source of inspiration for Mike Amiri and a mainstay of the brand’s culture, as does the laid-back influence of the Californian lifestyle. AMIRI has been worn by Justin Bieber, Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def), Jared Leto, Maluma, Shakira, LaKeith Stanfield.

In 2018, AMIRI debuted at Paris Fashion Week. The brand has presented bi-annual collections in Paris each year, growing Amiri’s stake in the global luxury market, according to Vogue Runway: “Generously-sized bags with closures like audio jacks looked luxurious—quite possibly aiming to become a would-be West Coast alternative to Hermès.” In February 2022, AMIRI presented a one-off runway show in Los Angeles in collaboration with the celebrated contemporary American artist, Wes Lang.

Since 2018, Mike Amiri has been a member of the CFDA, where he was nominated for the Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent at the CFDA Fashion Awards. Amiri also won the Emerging Talent Award at the 2018 Footwear News Achievement Awards. In 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023, Amiri was nominated for the Menswear Designer of the Year at the CFDA Fashion Awards.

In 2019, Renzo Rosso's, OTB Group acquired a minority stake in AMIRI. In 2020, AMIRI opened its first flagship store on Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills.

In 2021, Amiri launched The AMIRI Prize. The inaugural prize winner was Philadelphia-based fashion brand Lou Badger. The winner of The AMIRI Prize in 2023 was the South African designer Lukhanyo Mdingi.

In 2023, AMIRI appointed Adrian Ward-Rees, the former SVP at Burberry and Managing Director of Dior Menswear, Chief Executive Officer.

Awards and honors

 * Nominated for the Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent at the CFDA Fashion Awards 2018.
 * Emerging Talent Award at the 2018 Footwear News Achievement Awards.
 * Nominated for the American Menswear Designer of the Year award at the CFDA Fashion Awards 2019.
 * Nominated for the American Menswear Designer of the Year award at the CFDA Fashion Awards 2021.
 * Nominated for the American Menswear Designer of the Year award at the CFDA Fashion Awards 2022.
 * Nominated for the American Menswear Designer of the Year award at the CFDA Fashion Awards 2023.