I was very lucky to have been literally ‘ born ’ into fashion . My mother was one of the top seamstresses in Trinidad and some of my earliest memories are playing in the sewing rooms among the fabrics and hearing the whirring of the machines ...
Meiling
Luxury Women ’ s Apparel
I was always making clothes for my dolls from fabric remnants and even today , one of my most popular items I sell was fondly nicknamed the ‘ dolly jacket ’ after cutting out armholes to make clothes for my dolls .
On the birth of her label
My mother felt she had taught me all she could and if I was going to grow from being seamstress to designer , she encouraged me to go to London which was the city to be in for fashion . My label was born when I returned from London in the late 70s , after studying design at the Lucy Clayton Design School , which by the way , also honed the talents of designer , Mary Quant who invented the mini skirt . Back then , it was a very innovative move in Trinidad to have a local designer with labels with her name on it . I opened up my first boutique in the garage of a friend and with the help of a loan from my sister Phyllis .
On her design aesthetic
My aesthetic is about the style over fashion trends ... What that means is although I keep my eye on trends such as colour palettes , I design firstly with the silhouette in mind coupled with surprise details . My mantra is , less is more , which includes superb cuts , finest craftsmanship and beautiful detail .
On the design elements used in her collections
My clothes are designed to show off the woman and not the woman show off the outfit . Therefore design elements are always flattering to women which includes innovative cuts and classic handwork techniques such as tucks , beading , smocking and “ fagotting ” which is an old English decorative method of joining two pieces of fabrics together . I am also known for using two colours , white and black .
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