OMG Interviews Meiling Esau

Описание: Team OMG visited Meiling at her studio in Woodbrook, Port of Spain and sat down for a chat about her latest collection and collaboration ‘Borrwowed from the boys’ to be held on November 19th at a new space in St. Clair called home. We also had a very candid discussion about her life and her prospectives, after being in the fashion business for over 40 years.

Meiling grew up in St Augustine, surrounded by fabric and sewing accessories of every kind. Her mother, Evelyn Achong, was one of the most skilled seamstresses of her day. In the early 1970s, Meiling left Trinidad for London to study at the Lucie Clayton School of Design. She launched her own business, Meiling Inc. Ltd in 1982, in a renovated garage with two seamstresses. In 2005, she designed the opening ceremony outfits for Trinidad and Tobago athletes at the Commonwealth Games.

Meiling’s designs hit the international spotlight in 1998 when one of her top models, Wendy Fitzwilliam, took the Miss Universe title. In 2011, the Meiling name was back in the news when her intern Anya Ayoung Chee emerged Season 9 winner of the wildly popular fashion reality series Project Runway. Her designs have also found a space in the entertainment MARKETwith performers such as 3Canal and Machel Montano turning to her for their fashion statements.

Over time, Meiling has become an ambassadress for the fashion industry of Trinidad and Tobago. In September 2012, she debuted at London Fashion Week and got rave reviews at Caribbean Fashion Week in Jamaica. In 2010 and 2011, her work was presented at the prestigious Plataforma K in Colombia. At home, the annual Meiling Collection remains a much-anticipated staple on the fashion calendar. A risk-taker, in 2008 she collaborated with clothing retailer Micles in designing the MSquared line for the mass market. More recently, she has branched out into Meiling Complete, a line of room scent diffusers, candles and body creams. For her contribution to the development of an indigenous aesthetic and the fashion industry. Meiling was honoured with the Chaconia Medal (Silver) in 2008.

Recorded Tuesday November 11, 2014, in,Trinidad
Produced by Stephen Doobal. A Real Company Limited Video Production - www.realcompanylimited.com - [email protected] - for the OMG Digital Magazine - www.omgtt.com - [email protected]