There is a particular kind of invisible that only mothers know, and it creeps up on us so quietly we almost miss it. It does not necessarily have anything to do with being unloved. We may have families that adore us and our children that need us—yet, somewhere in the busyness of it all, we realize that we’ve slowly stopped taking care of ourselves.

It’s when getting dressed in the morning begins to feel like a chore, putting on makeup starts to feel pointless, until we stop liking what we see in front of our mirrors. For Trisha Young-Yu, that sense of invisibility became apparent around five months postpartum—when she realized she had not taken selfies or photos of herself since giving birth.

“Every time I looked in the mirror, the words that kept repeating in my head were, ‘Ang pangit ko. Ang taba ko (I'm ugly. I'm fat),’” she says with a quiet laugh. “I probably said them out loud so many times, my husband had already heard them a thousand times.”

Her body, Trisha says, did not bounce back the way social media tends to portray. It was so difficult to lose the pregnancy weight, and finding clothes that fit her changing body was equally challenging.

Her postpartum size was rarely available in the stores she used to love, and the options that did fit were either uncomfortable, unattractive, or lacked the functionality she needed as a breastfeeding mom. She specifically noted instances when she felt shy pumping in public because most of her clothes weren’t designed for easy access.

Her yearning to find herself and the confidence she lost in her postpartum body became the beginning of Soomi.

“I did not just want clothes that covered me,” she says. “I wanted clothes that helped me feel like myself again. Comfortable, beautiful, confident—even while my body was still changing.”

That desire, when verbalized out loud, actually feels so simple and straightforward. Yet, when Trisha scrolled through online shops looking for those exactly, her searches came up empty.

Thus, it was with the following three things in mind that shaped what would eventually become Soomi: style, comfort, and functionality.

Her unique selling proposition for Soomi is that it has to have all three. Moreover, for Trisha, the order of those words matters. Style comes first, because for too long, the fashion industry has treated maternity wear as something temporary—literally, short-term options that would be functional enough just to get through the nine months, but not worth the full investment of beauty or intention.

“She should still feel stylish, confident, and like herself,” she says. “Becoming a mom doesn’t mean you have to pause your identity.”

Carrying this ethos to heart, Trisha decided to co-found Soomi with designer RR Pineda, whom she had known long before motherhood entered the picture.

She first discovered RR when she was searching for someone to dress her bridesmaids before her wedding. She wanted pieces that were elegant and timeless, beyond the usual color-coordinated themes, and RR delivered. In fact, because of her confidence in RR’s designs, the designer went on to dress her for her prenup, despedida de soltera, etc. Event after event, “Every time I wore his creations, someone would compliment me,” she recalls. “His pieces always made me feel beautiful and confident.”

So when she decided to build Soomi properly—not just as an idea but as a real brand—he was the first person she called. She told him about her experience and personal frustration as a new mom, and hoped his expertise could help bring her vision to life.

She officially launched Soomi online last October 2025, but it was not until February of this year that she mounted her first physical event at the Momzilla Fair held in the Fifth at Rockwell.

While designing their 2026 collection, there was a specific piece that Trisha felt doubtful about. But RR expressed his confidence in her and encouraged her to trust her gut. It ended up being one of their bestsellers at the pop-up, which shows just how important having a partner that trusts your shared purpose is.

“That experience taught me that sometimes the piece you are most unsure about becomes the one moms connect with the most,” she says.

While Trisha conceptualized Soomi with the goal of making moms feel more confident and put together, the reality of mom life, plus the additional responsibility of building and running a brand, is a completely different story.

“I was never really the natural multitasker type,” she admits. “Motherhood was a huge adjustment for me. Suddenly, I was trying to be a present mom, a working woman, a good wife, a homemaker, and a daughter all at once. It felt like I was constantly being pulled in different directions—and somewhere in the middle of all those roles, I started to feel like I was losing parts of myself.”

Mom guilt was real, too. It’s as if we’re wired to never feel enough. Despite knowing her daughter was safe at home, she felt extreme internal pressure whenever she left her daughter to check samples, attend fittings, or spend a full day on set. A voice showed up every time, “Shouldn’t you be with her?”

“At times, it felt selfish because I knew I was also doing this for myself—for my passion, my purpose, and this brand I deeply believed in,” she shares.

Thankfully, she was able to slowly overcome the negative thoughts and reframe her understanding. She acknowledged her job as a way for her to honor a part of herself that still needed to create for advocacies beyond herself.

“Soomi became a reminder that motherhood does not have to mean disappearing completely into the role,” she says. “I can be a mother who is present and loving, while also being a woman who builds something meaningful. And hopefully, one day, my daughter will see that and know that pursuing something you love is not something to feel guilty about.”

At the heart of Soomi is a woman Trisha knows well—because she was her. The mom who is giving everything to everyone around her and has somehow stopped giving anything to herself. The one who doesn’t feel seen, even in her own wardrobe.

“I want her to feel taken care of. Relaxed. Seen,” Trisha says, when asked what she hopes a woman feels the moment she puts on a Soomi piece. “Because those are feelings we often lose when we become moms. We are so used to taking care of everyone else that we forget what it feels like to be considered, too.”

Soomi pieces are designed to move with a woman from pregnancy through breastfeeding and beyond. Defining characteristics of Soomi clothing include flattering silhouettes, discreet nursing and pumping access, but more importantly, designs that can stay in their wardrobe long after the maternity phase ends.

“In many ways, Soomi is a tribute to all the unseen moms,” Trisha says. “My hope is that through our clothes, mothers feel important, well-loved, and reminded that they deserve to feel good, too.”

When asked what advice Trisha can share with other moms who are also hopeful of building something, whether it’s a business, a project, or a dream they have been shelving, her insight is less about strategy and more about grace.

“You don’t have to have it all figured out,” she says. “Start where you are. And remember: Choosing your child over a deadline on some days is not failure. That is also what building something on your own terms looks like.”

Trisha looks back to the version of herself who was standing in front of the mirror, feeling unseen, unrecognizable—the one who also eventually built the answer she couldn’t find. It was not so long ago, but Trisha has evolved so much since.

“I would tell her, thank you,” she muses. “Thank you for not waiting for someone else to solve it. Thank you for building Soomi—not just as a clothing line, but as a space where moms can feel seen. I know how heavy it felt to wear so many hats at once while still trying to feel like yourself in a body and a season that felt completely new. But you were slowly finding your way back. Slowly becoming more intentional. Slowly remembering that you are worthy of the same care you give so freely to everyone else.”

For Trisha, motherhood isn’t the reason she stopped feeling like herself. It’s the reason she finally built something that helped her find her way back.