Emily Meel
/Show Day
Apr 16, 2023
/Social Media
Hi,
I’m Emily Meel, 23 years old and living in Antwerp, Belgium. Right now I’m still in fashion school, but I’ll be graduating in June. When I’m not designing, I work at a DIY store and a small lunch bar. In the evening you will probably find me in Gymnastics-club, teaching the little ones some new tricks or following my own training. If I get some free time, I love to hang out or get drinks with my friends. Doing all these things make me a busy girl, but I love this lifestyle.
In fact, this busy lifestyle is where I get the inspiration for my designs, all the things I’ve been through and everything that crosses my path. They often come from a feeling I have, a link to my life. I find it hard to express myself in words so I put those feelings into my designs.
My new collection was inspired by something that happened to me when I was just a child. Suddenly my eyes started to hurt, a lot. It was so painful I went to the doctor and it turned out I had some infection. But the worst part was that for a few days, I couldn’t see anything, I was completely blind.
It was very scary but now I can look back and be inspired. By the doctor’s tools for instance. I also found some painters who became blind like John Bramblitt and Edgar Degas. Bramblitt uses very bright colours and I read a book about Degas and it turned out that he was only able to see a few colours in the end. Those colours were absolutely HOT in the 80’s so I tried to use some influences from that time as well. All these elements combined is what made my new collection.
I hope you get an as nice feeling from seeing my collection as I get!
PREVIOUS COLLECTIONS
What inspired you to create your collection?
My collection was inspired by a traumatic experience I had as a child. When I was eleven, my eyes began hurting so badly that I temporarily lost my vision. This experience made me reflect on what it means to see and how easily we can take sight for granted.
How would you describe your design style?
My style combines elements from the 1980s with Victorian draping. I use these contrasting influences to create designs connected to the themes and emotions behind my collection.
What can people expect from your collection?
You can expect a collection that combines 1980s fashion with Victorian draping and a colour palette inspired by colours that remain distinguishable for the longest time when a person is losing their vision.
How did your experience with temporary blindness influence your collection?
When I temporarily lost my vision at eleven, the experience made me think deeply about the importance of sight. I used this personal experience as the starting point for exploring vision, perception, and what we often take for granted.
Why did you combine 1980s fashion with Victorian draping?
The colours I selected were associated with the longest distinguishable colours when vision is being lost, and these colours were also fashionable during the 1980s. I combined this 1980s influence with Victorian draping to develop the visual direction of the collection.