Some people wear colour. Loan lives in it.
There are customers, and then there are the few who were there at the very beginning. Loan — @inspi.by.loan — has worn Mateeno since the brand opened its doors, long before anyone was watching. That is not a partnership we bought. It is one that grew.
She writes from the Paris region, and describes herself in three words: modeuse, déco, cuisine. The outfit of the day, the dinner she is making, the corner of a room she has just restyled. She built it on Instagram and Snapchat, and she talks with her followers rather than at them — which is why they answer.
What she also does, quietly and consistently, is wear bold colour better than almost anyone. Here are seven of her Mateeno looks, and what each one teaches.
Part One — Colour
Pink against orange
One dress, not two. That is worth saying first, because the mirror makes it look like a bustier and a skirt — and it isn't. The Rosa Tangerine 3D Floral Bandage Maxi Dress (£96) is a single sculpted piece: a tangerine bandage column with an oversized pink 3D rose at the bodice and its stem drawn down the front of the skirt.
Most people would try to calm a dress like this. Loan does the opposite and lets it sit alone: stacked gold bangles, a fine necklace, hair down, nothing else asking for attention.
Note the jewellery. Gold, warm, stacked on both wrists — and no earrings competing with the rose. That is a decision, not an accident.
White on white, in full sun
The Joaillerie Embellished 2-in-1 Maxi Dress (£139) is the most intricate piece we make — an allover jewellery print layered with hand-placed crystals, gemstones and pearls, worn here with the detachable chiffon skirt attached.
It could easily be over-styled into something costume-like. Loan goes the other way: a raffia bag, flat woven mules, hair loose, and full daylight doing the work a chandelier would do at night. In strong sun the jewels read as texture rather than sparkle, and the whole thing softens.
If you have been saving something embellished for an occasion that never arrives, this is the argument for wearing it on a Tuesday.
One flower, one colour
The Lys Raspberry Embroidered Strapless Midi Dress (£105) rests everything on a single oversized hand-embroidered lily across a rich raspberry ground.
Worn here for dinner with a fine pearl choker and one statement earring picked out of the flower's own palette. The same instinct again: one accent, drawn from the dress, then stop.
Pattern that moves
The Dahlia Raspberry Floral Embroidered Midi Dress (£112) scatters hand-applied 3D blooms across a sheer embroidered ground, so the surface shifts as you walk — the petals catching light separately from the fabric beneath.
Which is why it deserves to be seen outside, in motion, rather than standing still in front of a mirror. Flat lighting kills this dress. Sunlight makes it.
Satin and a single rose
The Serena Rose Floral Maxi Dress (£94) — halter neck, cutout at the waist, a rose at the bust and a ruffled split running up the front.
Satin punishes fussy styling; it already has movement and shine of its own. Loan answers it with a crystal sandal, a gold cuff, and hair pulled back into a high ponytail so the neckline stays clear.
Two remain, one small and one medium.
Part Two — After Dark
The black rose
The Noir Midnight 3D Rose Bandage Midi Dress (£88) puts two oversized 3D roses at one shoulder, cascading over a corset-inspired bodice and a body-sculpting bandage skirt.
Restaurant lighting is the hardest test a black dress faces — it flattens everything. What survives is structure, which is precisely what this dress is made of. The roses read as shape rather than decoration.
Worn a second time with a black clutch and heels, and again: nothing at the neckline, no necklace, gold at the wrist only. When one shoulder is doing something dramatic, the other side of the body stays quiet.
Long sleeves, one detail
The Rita Black Embellished Midi Dress (£129) — a Mateeno original, designed in-house, and the piece our Rosalie was later built from.
A sweetheart neckline, long sleeves, and a single spray of crystal and pearl beadwork placed low at the hip rather than across the chest, which is where everyone else would have put it. That one decision is what makes it look expensive.
Loan wears it entirely unaccessorised. With a detail this precise, anything added would be noise.
What we take from her
Seven dresses, and one consistent method:
- One metal, worn generously. Gold throughout, stacked rather than scattered.
- One accent, drawn from the dress. Never a colour introduced from outside it.
- Nothing at the neckline when the bodice is doing the talking — and the reverse when it isn't.
- Real light. Daylight or warm evening light, never a flash. Bold colour and 3D detail both need it.
You can follow her on Instagram at @inspi.by.loan and on Snapchat at inspibyloan, where the outfits sit alongside the cooking, the home and everything else.
Shop Loan's edit
- Noir Midnight 3D Rose Bandage Midi Dress — £88
- Serena Rose Floral Maxi Dress — £94
- Rosa Tangerine 3D Floral Bandage Maxi Dress — £96
- Lys Raspberry Embroidered Strapless Midi Dress — £105
- Dahlia Raspberry Floral Embroidered Midi Dress — £112
- Rita Black Embellished Midi Dress — £129
- Joaillerie Embellished 2-in-1 Maxi Dress — £139
More on wearing bold print with confidence in our guide to styling a bold floral maxi dress.
With thanks to Loan, who has worn Mateeno since the very first collection.
