Jesse Arifien was living and working in Los Angeles when she received the unexpected news that she was pregnant with her first child, Leo. “My husband and I found out when we were having our medical checks done for our green card at the GP. It was a complete surprise,” Jesse tells The Inarra. “I always knew that I wanted to be a mother, but it’s not as though I woke up one day and felt ready. However, once I felt life inside of me, I was forever changed.”
It was her experience of pregnancy that inspired the mother-of-two to launch her own Australian maternity brand, iamibu. “When I was pregnant with Leo, I had to find a dress for my brother’s wedding in London and struggled to find anything,” Jesse reflects. “I thought to myself: If I am finding it difficult to dress in something that I feel myself in, imagine how other pregnant women are struggling.”
After countless hours of scrolling, she eventually found a beautiful wrap dress for her brother’s celebrations, but the shopping experience left its impression and in turn, led to Jesse’s most exciting venture yet.
“There weren’t any brands that were speaking to me, and why? Pregnancy is the most magical time for a woman, so why aren’t we celebrating it?” Jesse says. “I’ve always expressed myself through style, and to not have any brands catering to pregnancy when you are already feeling very out of your body can be isolating.”
She recalls speaking to her sister Jane, the senior design manager for Zimmerman at the time, about her difficulty with maternity wear and found that she also had a similar experience during pregnancy.
“We agreed there was something missing from the industry and I felt inspired to create a brand for us, our friends, and other women,” she continues. “Which led to iamibu, which translates to ‘I am mother’ in Indonesian as a nod to our heritage.”
