WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.360 --> 00:00:06.080 There are some names that just echo far beyond the runway, 2 00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:09.919 and Meiling is one of them. You see, when we 3 00:00:09.960 --> 00:00:14.320 speak of legacy in Caribbean fashion, we can't do so 4 00:00:14.679 --> 00:00:18.879 without speaking of me Ling, not simply because of her 5 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:23.160 decades of work, but because of the values woven through 6 00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:31.760 every scene discipline, artistry, minimalism as philosophy, and Caribbean storytelling 7 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:37.719 through design. Her Attilie at six Carlo Street is more 8 00:00:37.759 --> 00:00:43.479 than just a workspace. It's a sanctuary, a place alive 9 00:00:43.679 --> 00:00:49.640 with light, clothing and possibility. To me in many ways, 10 00:00:50.159 --> 00:00:54.320 it evokes the spirit of thirty one ru Cambon, the 11 00:00:54.439 --> 00:01:00.359 legendary and iconic address where Gabrielle Coco Chanel read find 12 00:01:00.439 --> 00:01:06.640 fashion from the inside out. Both houses are defined by 13 00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:11.719 restraint and timelessness, where the focus is not on trend 14 00:01:12.120 --> 00:01:17.480 but on truth. And yet Mailing is far from settled. 15 00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:23.840 In fact, her artistic compass remains forward facing. As she 16 00:01:23.920 --> 00:01:27.799 shares in this episode, she's currently working on a bold 17 00:01:28.040 --> 00:01:32.439 new collaboration with a young male designer in a style 18 00:01:32.719 --> 00:01:36.879 that surprised even her. It's set to launch in December 19 00:01:36.920 --> 00:01:41.200 twenty twenty five, and it speaks directly to her lifelong 20 00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:48.319 commitment to relevance without compromise. In this episode, we discuss 21 00:01:48.400 --> 00:01:53.840 her origins, her creative convictions, and what it means to 22 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:58.599 hold fast to your truth in an industry often dictated 23 00:01:58.680 --> 00:02:05.680 by trend. We also talk about leadership, mentorship, and legacy 24 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:09.840 as seen through the eyes of a woman who chose 25 00:02:09.879 --> 00:02:14.319 to build something lasting from the soil of her own island. 26 00:02:15.400 --> 00:02:21.000 Mailing is a legend, yes, However, she's also a woman 27 00:02:21.159 --> 00:02:25.840 who still sees herself as a student, still reaching, and 28 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:32.039 still evolving, and that is perhaps her greatest design yet. 29 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:39.800 If you're listening to the podcast on Apple Podcast, please 30 00:02:39.840 --> 00:02:44.879 remember to rate and leave a comment below. Also, don't 31 00:02:44.879 --> 00:02:49.680 forget to follow us on Instagram at Let's Talk the Things. Now, 32 00:02:49.719 --> 00:02:53.280 grab your tea, coffee, or a glass of wine and 33 00:02:53.439 --> 00:03:00.000 Let's Talk the Things. Hello everyone, Welcome back to Let's 34 00:03:00.280 --> 00:03:06.080 Talk the Things, where we discuss personal growth, travel, music, beauty, 35 00:03:06.439 --> 00:03:11.759 fashion and wellness while encouraging you to live fearlessly and fabulously. 36 00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:16.680 I'm your host, Ash and this week we are talking 37 00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:19.439 to Things with the woman at the helm of the 38 00:03:19.439 --> 00:03:24.719 most renowned designer labels in the Caribbean, Iconic Trinidadian fashion 39 00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:28.039 designer mailing, Hi, mailing, how are you hi? 40 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:34.080 What a wonderful introduction. I'm one of the ones in 41 00:03:34.120 --> 00:03:35.479 Trinidad that makes it happen. 42 00:03:36.360 --> 00:03:40.000 Yes, yes, definitely, for sure. Thank you so much for 43 00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:41.400 coming to talk to things with me. 44 00:03:41.759 --> 00:03:44.360 It's a pleasure, all right. 45 00:03:44.520 --> 00:03:47.120 So for the first part of the show, we like 46 00:03:47.159 --> 00:03:49.560 to do a little icebreaker to loosen up the guests 47 00:03:49.560 --> 00:03:53.280 something fun. So as a first time guest and for 48 00:03:53.439 --> 00:03:57.120 persons listening for the first time, we begin each episode 49 00:03:57.479 --> 00:04:03.719 with our listener's favorite segment, and it's called that Sounds Safe. 50 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:06.360 So basically all it is is, I'm going to read 51 00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:09.680 messages or social media posts that listeners sent in, and 52 00:04:09.719 --> 00:04:11.599 if you think it sounds a little crazy or a 53 00:04:11.599 --> 00:04:15.360 little concerning, you just say that sounds safe or whatever 54 00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:18.720 version of that you would like to say and explain why. 55 00:04:18.879 --> 00:04:21.040 And if you agree, you can just say you agree 56 00:04:21.079 --> 00:04:22.720 and explain why sounds good? 57 00:04:24.160 --> 00:04:25.519 All right? All right? 58 00:04:25.639 --> 00:04:30.199 So the first person said, sometimes I replace my feelings 59 00:04:30.279 --> 00:04:33.079 with new clothes, and I'm okay with that. 60 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:37.279 I'm good with that. I know some people for a 61 00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:40.000 chair up, they do come, yes, and they want to 62 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:42.959 lift they come, you know, they come for a if 63 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:46.279 they have a break up in a relationship or stressed 64 00:04:46.279 --> 00:04:48.560 that would they say, oh, let me just come and 65 00:04:48.639 --> 00:04:50.399 have some retail therapy. 66 00:04:50.839 --> 00:04:54.360 There you go. I think that sounds very safe because 67 00:04:55.000 --> 00:04:57.800 my mom always says to me, when you look good, 68 00:04:57.839 --> 00:05:01.399 you feel good, right, So yeah, like you said, if 69 00:05:01.439 --> 00:05:03.319 you're having a bad day or a bad week or 70 00:05:03.319 --> 00:05:06.279 a bad month and something happened, why not look fabulous. 71 00:05:06.360 --> 00:05:08.360 You don't want to look popped down and feel bad. 72 00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:14.360 So yeah, that one sounds safe. We both agree on 73 00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:18.000 that one, all right. The next person said, the older 74 00:05:18.040 --> 00:05:21.439 I get, the more I realize my mom was always right, 75 00:05:21.839 --> 00:05:25.000 but I guess I just didn't like her tone. 76 00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:29.720 I think it's I agree, I see it funny enough, 77 00:05:29.839 --> 00:05:32.439 I see it. Like with my son. He thought I 78 00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:35.240 was like this, he had the strictest parents, But now 79 00:05:35.279 --> 00:05:38.879 I see him being a parent, and he's almost repeating 80 00:05:38.920 --> 00:05:43.600 the things that I said. So now and although they 81 00:05:43.639 --> 00:05:47.439 would kick against it's somehow you plant seeds that grow 82 00:05:47.519 --> 00:05:50.759 and they stay with you and they repeat it without even. 83 00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:54.079 Yes, absolutely absolutely, I think at the time, when you're 84 00:05:54.079 --> 00:05:58.600 a child, you can't appreciate your parents' you know, strictness 85 00:05:58.600 --> 00:06:01.600 and rules and things like that. But I think the 86 00:06:01.639 --> 00:06:04.040 older you get, you realize and you appreciate it and 87 00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:06.360 you say, whoa, Thank god, my parents, you know, had 88 00:06:06.360 --> 00:06:09.120 those rules for me, because you probably know people that 89 00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:11.680 didn't have rules, and they didn't, you know, have such 90 00:06:11.720 --> 00:06:12.920 a great time in life. 91 00:06:13.040 --> 00:06:14.639 So yeah, that's true. 92 00:06:14.720 --> 00:06:17.480 Yeah, for sure. Okay, that one sounds safe too, So 93 00:06:17.480 --> 00:06:19.560 so far, so good. Everything sound in safe? 94 00:06:21.319 --> 00:06:21.680 All right? 95 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:25.680 Two more? The next person said, some people say she's 96 00:06:25.759 --> 00:06:29.879 so lucky. No, darling, she worked hard, she stayed up late, 97 00:06:30.079 --> 00:06:33.600 she lost people along the way, she ignored critics, she 98 00:06:33.680 --> 00:06:37.839 invested in herself, and she wanted to quit countless times, 99 00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:38.800 but she didn't. 100 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:44.759 Absolutely correct. I think no. People look at even they 101 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:46.720 think it's easy for me, but they don't know all 102 00:06:46.720 --> 00:06:48.800 the things have been true. You know. I see it 103 00:06:48.800 --> 00:06:52.439 a lot now, especially when I do a collection and 104 00:06:52.480 --> 00:06:54.759 they say, oh my god, but why are you stressing 105 00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:57.480 out like this? You know you've done so many more, 106 00:06:57.639 --> 00:07:00.639 you've done so many before, but they don't what goes 107 00:07:00.680 --> 00:07:03.319 into it. And I think that no one is lucky. 108 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:06.800 You have to walk the walk, not just talk the talk, 109 00:07:06.839 --> 00:07:07.720 but you walk the wall. 110 00:07:07.839 --> 00:07:11.639 Absolutely. I love that. Absolutely, Yes, it's so true. I 111 00:07:11.639 --> 00:07:16.879 think people can see the output of all the years 112 00:07:16.879 --> 00:07:19.600 of hard work and think it's just so easy, you 113 00:07:19.639 --> 00:07:20.279 know what I mean. 114 00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:23.240 And I think, oh, they also think that your privileged, 115 00:07:23.560 --> 00:07:26.120 Yeah you didn't have to work for it, that's very true, 116 00:07:26.879 --> 00:07:31.480 moneyed family, or that you had it easy and you 117 00:07:31.560 --> 00:07:33.920 had everything not knowing the story, you know, they have 118 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:34.720 their own narrative. 119 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:39.160 Absolutely, absolutely, one hundred percent agree with that. And I 120 00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:41.759 think that, you know, a lot of times, even if 121 00:07:41.759 --> 00:07:45.120 someone does come from privilege, it still can be difficult 122 00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:48.120 for them because maybe they're doing something different than that 123 00:07:48.240 --> 00:07:50.319 privilege that they came from, you know what I mean. 124 00:07:50.360 --> 00:07:53.160 So if you came from a privilege of a business, 125 00:07:53.240 --> 00:07:55.959 but you want to be in fashion, your parents and 126 00:07:56.079 --> 00:07:58.399 family aren't going to understand that. So you're going to 127 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:00.319 have to, you know, work hard and do that on 128 00:08:00.360 --> 00:08:03.079 your own because the privilege quote unquote you come from 129 00:08:03.160 --> 00:08:05.639 has nothing to do with what your gift is, you 130 00:08:05.639 --> 00:08:09.279 know what I mean. So I yeah, I one hundred 131 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:12.800 percent agree with that. Okay, perfect, so far, so good. 132 00:08:12.839 --> 00:08:14.839 All right, So last one, and I think this one's 133 00:08:14.879 --> 00:08:16.240 going to be safe too, So I think we're in 134 00:08:16.279 --> 00:08:21.319 the clear. But the last one, somebody said, there's a 135 00:08:21.439 --> 00:08:25.560 Japanese legend that says, if you get on the wrong train, 136 00:08:25.879 --> 00:08:29.160 get off at the nearest station. The longer it takes 137 00:08:29.199 --> 00:08:32.440 you to get off, the more expensive the return trip 138 00:08:32.519 --> 00:08:32.840 will be. 139 00:08:33.559 --> 00:08:34.320 I love it. 140 00:08:34.399 --> 00:08:37.000 Yes, same, isn't that true? 141 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:39.639 I would remember this one. I must remember this one. 142 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:42.879 Yes, that one sounds very safe. And I love the 143 00:08:42.960 --> 00:08:45.759 analogy because it's so true. The longer you take to 144 00:08:45.879 --> 00:08:49.919 get off, the more expensive the return trip will be. 145 00:08:50.080 --> 00:08:55.279 That is wow, that's amazing. Yes, so definitely. I think 146 00:08:55.320 --> 00:08:58.000 that's basically saying, you know, if you have an intuition 147 00:08:58.120 --> 00:09:01.320 that something doesn't feel right, just leave it alone, you 148 00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:03.200 know what I mean. Don't think about it too much, 149 00:09:03.320 --> 00:09:06.440 follow your intuition. Especially as women, you have. 150 00:09:06.480 --> 00:09:08.480 Like, yeah, most of the time you have like a 151 00:09:08.559 --> 00:09:14.759 gut feeling y. Yes. And I truly believe in energies, Yes, absolutely. 152 00:09:15.480 --> 00:09:18.159 Yes, absolutely, And I think as women were gifted with 153 00:09:18.200 --> 00:09:21.399 that right, having that intuition, and sometimes I feel like 154 00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:23.840 we always we don't always trust it, and I think 155 00:09:23.919 --> 00:09:26.200 as women we just have to do better at trusting 156 00:09:26.240 --> 00:09:27.960 it and being okay with being like, you know what, 157 00:09:29.399 --> 00:09:31.480 this doesn't feel right, or as we would say in 158 00:09:31.480 --> 00:09:39.559 this segment, this not son safe all right, So that 159 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:43.399 was fun. But now we're going to talk the real things. Mailing. 160 00:09:43.559 --> 00:09:48.080 Before all of the accolades and the runways and the 161 00:09:48.159 --> 00:09:51.559 international acclaim, I'm sure there was a young girl in 162 00:09:51.600 --> 00:09:54.879 Trinidad with a needle and thread and a point of view. 163 00:09:55.279 --> 00:09:57.600 So if you close your eyes and go back to 164 00:09:57.639 --> 00:10:01.240 that time, what do you see? What moments or memories 165 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:05.440 stitch themselves into the foundation of your creative spirits. 166 00:10:06.399 --> 00:10:09.120 Well, I see a young girl sitting in her I 167 00:10:09.159 --> 00:10:12.159 love this question. I see a young girl sitting in 168 00:10:12.200 --> 00:10:15.759 her mother's sewing room, her mother being one of the 169 00:10:15.799 --> 00:10:20.840 finest needlewomen of Tronidad and Tobago. And I see this 170 00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:24.879 young girl sitting in sitting in her mom's room, in 171 00:10:24.919 --> 00:10:29.480 her sewing room, amidst the wearing of machines, buttons, threads, 172 00:10:29.519 --> 00:10:33.320 book magazines, and with a needle, all with the scissors 173 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:37.120 and peace, trying to dress my dolls and begging my 174 00:10:37.360 --> 00:10:40.039 ladies to ladies who worked for my mom to show 175 00:10:40.120 --> 00:10:42.960 to teach me. And then sometimes they never had time, 176 00:10:43.080 --> 00:10:46.440 so I experimented on my own, you know, Okay, so 177 00:10:46.559 --> 00:10:49.000 this is what this is where it started. So really 178 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:53.360 I knew from the age eleven what I wanted to do. 179 00:10:53.399 --> 00:10:54.960 I wanted to be a fashion designer. 180 00:10:56.919 --> 00:11:00.360 I love that. Wow, So you knew that from early on. 181 00:11:00.919 --> 00:11:03.759 Very early on. I think it was like I think 182 00:11:03.879 --> 00:11:08.320 my mother's so in rumors, my playground. I think I 183 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:13.440 was always maybe it was just innate in me. And 184 00:11:13.559 --> 00:11:18.120 my mother was very, very very creative and very skilled 185 00:11:18.519 --> 00:11:21.919 without I mean, she must have had some sort of 186 00:11:22.279 --> 00:11:24.639 teach I think she learned it on her own because 187 00:11:24.679 --> 00:11:27.519 I knew a man would arrive with Vogue patterns which 188 00:11:27.519 --> 00:11:31.440 were quite complicated, and she would just look at the 189 00:11:31.600 --> 00:11:34.399 design on the cover and then she would just take 190 00:11:34.440 --> 00:11:39.200 out her scissors and cut her fabrics, you know. And 191 00:11:39.679 --> 00:11:42.480 she really was an amazing need of woman. 192 00:11:42.679 --> 00:11:46.240 I love that. What's a beautiful story. And for you, 193 00:11:46.360 --> 00:11:49.240 what do you think it means for a woman, especially 194 00:11:49.240 --> 00:11:52.480 in the Caribbean, to claim her path so boldly and 195 00:11:52.559 --> 00:11:53.159 so young. 196 00:11:53.639 --> 00:11:56.759 But I also, besides claiming my path so young, I 197 00:11:56.759 --> 00:12:02.399 think it was great that my mother was, like almost 198 00:12:02.480 --> 00:12:06.639 all of my father was very academic. He was a mathematician. 199 00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:09.440 He was a soil research at the university. Before it 200 00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:11.919 was the University of the West Indies, it was the 201 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:16.679 Imperial College of Agriculture, and I was his only child 202 00:12:16.799 --> 00:12:19.679 my mother by my mother's second marriage. But we had 203 00:12:19.720 --> 00:12:22.440 lived that one hugh big family, my half sisters and brother. 204 00:12:22.960 --> 00:12:28.279 But I think my mother was she helped put food 205 00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:30.600 on the table as well as my dad, you know. 206 00:12:30.759 --> 00:12:35.320 So she was very an independent businesswoman, you know, an 207 00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:39.720 entrepreneur in her own rights. And women found her and 208 00:12:39.759 --> 00:12:42.279 they came to her, and she dressed from you know, 209 00:12:42.360 --> 00:12:46.720 the woman next daughter, the to the you know, people 210 00:12:46.759 --> 00:12:51.480 in high in government, to the president's wife or whoever, 211 00:12:51.679 --> 00:12:54.279 you know, the governor's wife. There was no president then. 212 00:12:54.799 --> 00:12:57.679 And I was always amazed at you know that the 213 00:12:57.759 --> 00:13:00.279 respect she got and the work she did, and she 214 00:13:00.360 --> 00:13:02.879 brought money into the home. You know. It was just 215 00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:06.399 you know, and she helped, you know, with my education, 216 00:13:06.759 --> 00:13:11.600 and she also mentored me. I mean, I I was 217 00:13:12.039 --> 00:13:17.320 it was I always say part of my success not 218 00:13:17.399 --> 00:13:20.440 creatively from my mother, but the discipline of how I 219 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:23.440 approached my work is from my mother and from the 220 00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:27.840 I was schooled at a convoun from a league, and 221 00:13:27.919 --> 00:13:31.600 I think the nuns and my parents and still great 222 00:13:31.639 --> 00:13:34.519 discipline in me, which up to today I think has 223 00:13:34.639 --> 00:13:35.360 saildy well. 224 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:39.759 And it's evidence. I mean, your mother was a revered dressmaker, 225 00:13:40.399 --> 00:13:43.919 your father a thinker. In what ways do you think 226 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:47.919 those two worlds converging in you as a designer, as 227 00:13:47.919 --> 00:13:50.720 a leader, and as a cultural force, Like, what ways 228 00:13:50.720 --> 00:13:53.639 do you think that those two worlds kind of connect 229 00:13:53.879 --> 00:13:54.440 within you? 230 00:13:55.080 --> 00:14:00.720 I think my mother creatively, my father still in me, 231 00:14:00.840 --> 00:14:05.320 which which helps me in me creating reading. He was 232 00:14:05.360 --> 00:14:09.279 a great reader, and you know he loved silence. I 233 00:14:09.320 --> 00:14:13.080 love silence. My mother was a bobby bar who was 234 00:14:13.159 --> 00:14:15.399 you know, she was ready to party and my father 235 00:14:15.559 --> 00:14:19.600 was part Yeah, he was a rather thinker and we 236 00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:22.399 would spend a lot of time just in silence, reading 237 00:14:22.919 --> 00:14:26.159 and also by just disciplining me. And I mean he 238 00:14:26.200 --> 00:14:29.200 adored my mother. I remember they were my mother lived 239 00:14:29.200 --> 00:14:31.879 till night night and I remember in the eighties they 240 00:14:31.879 --> 00:14:35.120 would still sit and hold hands and it was a 241 00:14:35.159 --> 00:14:37.360 lot of love in the family and a lot of 242 00:14:38.440 --> 00:14:43.519 I think in a way, my mother my father really 243 00:14:43.919 --> 00:14:46.679 I really had Although my mother was a creative one, 244 00:14:46.720 --> 00:14:48.799 I had a greater connection to my dad. I think 245 00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:51.080 it was something I don't know what happened. Well, they 246 00:14:51.120 --> 00:14:54.360 say father's daughters about fathers, and I was his only child. 247 00:14:54.440 --> 00:14:57.440 Yes, definitely, definitely, I know that all too well. I'm 248 00:14:57.480 --> 00:15:03.159 a daddy's girl myself, so definitely. And then I just 249 00:15:03.200 --> 00:15:08.039 thought about the fact that you went to London. That's correct, right, 250 00:15:08.679 --> 00:15:12.360 So when London came around, you know, a time and 251 00:15:12.360 --> 00:15:15.120 a place pulsing with creative energy and I'm sure a 252 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:19.000 lot of social change. What did studying fashion in that 253 00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:21.879 era really like unlock for you as a designer? 254 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:25.279 Would you say? Well? First again, coming from an island, 255 00:15:25.799 --> 00:15:28.879 you know that. And I have to tell you that, 256 00:15:29.320 --> 00:15:32.679 of course, my father couldn't see how his one and 257 00:15:32.799 --> 00:15:36.919 only child would make a living studying fashion. 258 00:15:36.639 --> 00:15:37.919 Right, especially in those days. 259 00:15:37.960 --> 00:15:41.759 Eh yes, But my mother I think was living very 260 00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:44.799 curiously through me and was the one who really pushed 261 00:15:44.799 --> 00:15:47.320 for it to happened. It was a very humble home. 262 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:50.679 We didn't have much, but they scripted together whatever. And 263 00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:54.159 I went to not Odd School, but a school that 264 00:15:55.120 --> 00:15:59.840 Lucy Cayton School of Design. And I mean I was 265 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:05.200 fortunate because imagine I go there in nineteen sixty four 266 00:16:05.399 --> 00:16:09.720 where it's almost the start of where the mini skirt 267 00:16:09.960 --> 00:16:16.440 just came in Mary Kwan, the beats potus ready, you know, 268 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:20.360 flower children. It was an amazing time in fashion. Is 269 00:16:20.360 --> 00:16:23.960 when fashion became something. You know, the skills got shorter, 270 00:16:24.080 --> 00:16:29.120 their eyelashes got longer. There became everything. There are people 271 00:16:29.159 --> 00:16:32.960 in the streets. The music was the Rolling Stones, the Beatles. 272 00:16:33.039 --> 00:16:37.039 So it was I mean that for me, was that 273 00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:40.039 added to what I learned in fashion. I mean it 274 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:42.559 showed that you can be anything you wanted to be, 275 00:16:42.879 --> 00:16:47.120 which was a freedom, a joy in the street. I 276 00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:50.440 mean London at that time was just amazing. I mean 277 00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:53.480 the world looked, the creative world looked at London at 278 00:16:53.480 --> 00:16:54.799 that time. Wow. 279 00:16:55.039 --> 00:16:56.159 That's amazing. 280 00:16:56.759 --> 00:16:57.559 Wow. Wow. 281 00:16:58.080 --> 00:17:01.440 And when I think about the philast of your style, right, 282 00:17:01.919 --> 00:17:05.200 one of the hallmarks of your work is it's restraint. 283 00:17:05.400 --> 00:17:10.480 So you've embraced minimalism and monochrome. Monochrome, excuse me in 284 00:17:10.680 --> 00:17:13.440 a region that's known for a lot of vibrancy. So 285 00:17:13.480 --> 00:17:17.240 can you talk about how that artistic direction, not just 286 00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:21.480 esthetically but philosophically, like what you did to create that? 287 00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:26.839 Well? I think one of the things is that I 288 00:17:27.000 --> 00:17:30.079 was very I know, I came from a and I 289 00:17:30.119 --> 00:17:33.119 even wore color in my young in my early days 290 00:17:33.319 --> 00:17:36.519 now when you were black, but I came Two things 291 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:39.680 I think brought me there. Not that people have a 292 00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:43.480 thing that I were the only design in black and white, 293 00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:46.039 but I do color as well. Black and white are 294 00:17:46.079 --> 00:17:51.519 the main things. And I think that the philosophy for 295 00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:55.319 me was that less is more, that I think that 296 00:17:55.519 --> 00:17:58.279 you have to learn to edit. Editing in fashion is 297 00:17:58.279 --> 00:18:02.799 so important. I grew up wearing a uniform for so 298 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:05.839 many years in my life, by a white shirt, and 299 00:18:06.599 --> 00:18:09.079 I always love a uniform up to this day. I 300 00:18:09.119 --> 00:18:11.839 love a uniform. And probably because I get up in 301 00:18:11.880 --> 00:18:14.519 the morning and because I have so many I think 302 00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:17.279 of how I'm dressing so many other women. I just 303 00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:19.759 want to think, well, which black trousers and which black 304 00:18:19.759 --> 00:18:22.200 shirt I'm going to wear. It makes it easier for me. 305 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:28.000 So I myself upound my signature, my uniform. But I 306 00:18:28.079 --> 00:18:33.240 just think I just I'm not one for fust. I 307 00:18:33.400 --> 00:18:36.240 like a pair down lock, a minimal look, and I 308 00:18:36.279 --> 00:18:40.359 think that speaks much louder than too much. So less 309 00:18:40.440 --> 00:18:44.559 is more is my tagline. Less is hard, and but 310 00:18:44.839 --> 00:18:47.359 rarely honing in on the details that I put in 311 00:18:47.400 --> 00:18:51.480 that black and white. You know, the hand embroidery, they 312 00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:55.279 all the all the literal buttons that are different, all 313 00:18:55.319 --> 00:19:00.000 the little nuances, tiny details that make my signative. 314 00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:03.279 Oh I love that. And it's funny you say that 315 00:19:03.359 --> 00:19:07.000 because a lots of persons associate black, for example, all 316 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:11.000 black with elegance. Right, how do you define elegance and 317 00:19:11.079 --> 00:19:14.720 what role do you think your culture plays in shaping 318 00:19:14.759 --> 00:19:16.119 that definition for you? 319 00:19:17.240 --> 00:19:20.880 Well, my culture, it's difficult to say how my culture 320 00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:23.319 is cheaped. I think I have sheaped what I believe, 321 00:19:23.400 --> 00:19:26.680 and I don't think some people don't think about what elegance, 322 00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:30.720 So elegance my piman elegance is. I don't think a 323 00:19:30.720 --> 00:19:35.960 lot of people because sometimes elegance, this is my feeling. 324 00:19:36.400 --> 00:19:39.359 Elegance for me is okay, you wear a beautiful government 325 00:19:39.400 --> 00:19:43.240 that is beautifully style. Elegance for me comes from within. 326 00:19:44.039 --> 00:19:48.759 You have to be concident, you have to be a 327 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:55.880 self assertive, you have to be some sort of respectability. Mystery. 328 00:19:57.000 --> 00:20:00.200 Yesterday I set a young woman to my student you 329 00:20:00.319 --> 00:20:04.079 and she was wearing I mean it was like elevenly morning, beautiful, 330 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:06.720 beautiful girl, young girl and model to be who had 331 00:20:06.799 --> 00:20:11.599 come in from meagements. And she came in wearing lovely 332 00:20:11.640 --> 00:20:17.799 fitting jeans, lovely trousers, but the tiniest top, tiny stuff. 333 00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:20.200 And I said to her, which may or may not 334 00:20:20.279 --> 00:20:22.200 be wrong, and they may think it's an age thing. 335 00:20:22.279 --> 00:20:26.839 I'm not. And I said her, you know what, young 336 00:20:27.519 --> 00:20:30.480 I said, young women today have no longer two of 337 00:20:30.519 --> 00:20:35.039 them have mystery, and I think elegance is mystery. This 338 00:20:35.079 --> 00:20:40.400 is how I'm connecting. And she said, oh, mystery is what? 339 00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:46.799 Mystery overrated? They said, mystery overraated? Really, And I said, 340 00:20:47.160 --> 00:20:49.400 and and it's okay, It's cool if she thinks so, 341 00:20:49.480 --> 00:20:55.279 and happy, you know, but I think elegance comes from within. 342 00:20:55.960 --> 00:20:59.240 Elegance comes to that sense of mystery, that sense of 343 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:03.640 editing to wear and not just you wearing a fabulous, 344 00:21:03.640 --> 00:21:06.480 elegant gulment what I have given you some other but 345 00:21:06.799 --> 00:21:10.039 you the goverment. You wearing the government, and the government 346 00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:12.519 is not wearing you. To me, that is. 347 00:21:14.559 --> 00:21:16.960 I love that. And I actually agree with you because 348 00:21:17.000 --> 00:21:22.079 I think in my generation and the younger generations, I think, 349 00:21:22.200 --> 00:21:25.160 because we have social media and a lot of women 350 00:21:25.319 --> 00:21:29.039 are overexposed, I think that the women that do stand 351 00:21:29.079 --> 00:21:31.480 out are the ones that have an element of mystery. 352 00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:34.799 So I think that that's definitely a real thing. However, 353 00:21:34.920 --> 00:21:36.000 I think there is space. 354 00:21:37.160 --> 00:21:39.759 Do you really think that they are because I understand 355 00:21:39.880 --> 00:21:42.599 that it's very hard I keep saying, I'm glad I 356 00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:45.400 didn't grow up in the stage of social media because 357 00:21:45.960 --> 00:21:48.519 to me, there are few, well not few. There may 358 00:21:48.519 --> 00:21:51.720 be many, but few I know that are brave enough 359 00:21:51.799 --> 00:21:56.440 to wear, to step out of that box and not 360 00:21:56.559 --> 00:21:58.680 be just a clone of the girl next to whose 361 00:21:59.240 --> 00:22:02.720 not be wearing trends whether they suit you or not. 362 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:06.160 Just being confident in choosing what you want to wear 363 00:22:06.279 --> 00:22:08.559 and how you want to wear it, and not just 364 00:22:08.640 --> 00:22:12.240 following fashion. To me, style is much more than fashion. 365 00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:15.400 Fashion is friend but changed every day. But if you 366 00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:19.279 don't have that style, and to me, that is what 367 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:19.839 is what is ellen. 368 00:22:20.039 --> 00:22:22.599 No, I absolutely agree, but I do think that that's 369 00:22:22.599 --> 00:22:24.839 something that you either have to witness or it has 370 00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:27.799 to be instilled with you. For me, I have a 371 00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:30.960 mom that was always very stylish, so that's what I saw. 372 00:22:31.160 --> 00:22:34.000 She was a flight attendant for Air Jamaica, so she 373 00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:36.599 always even though she had a uniform, as you said, 374 00:22:36.920 --> 00:22:38.960 she always made things her own. So if it was 375 00:22:39.000 --> 00:22:41.680 a way she tied her scarf, or the way she 376 00:22:41.720 --> 00:22:45.640 weighed her you know, or her blows, I vividly remember that, 377 00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:48.839 and I remember the you know bus coming to pick 378 00:22:48.839 --> 00:22:50.799 her up with all of the flights attendants in tow 379 00:22:50.920 --> 00:22:53.319 and they all just had their own little style. And 380 00:22:53.400 --> 00:22:56.319 so that's what I witnessed. And then you know, persons 381 00:22:56.359 --> 00:23:00.880 like Antinovia very fashionable and putting their own style on things. 382 00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:04.160 So I think when you're surrounded by women that are stylish, 383 00:23:04.680 --> 00:23:07.839 you grow up knowing that it means more to have 384 00:23:07.880 --> 00:23:10.759 a certain style than to say you're wearing a name 385 00:23:10.839 --> 00:23:14.119 brand or you're exposing yourself, you know. But I do 386 00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:18.319 leave grace because some people they are only exposed to that, 387 00:23:18.599 --> 00:23:20.839 you know, to the opposite. So they have to kind 388 00:23:20.839 --> 00:23:23.119 of come into their own and build their own confidence 389 00:23:23.160 --> 00:23:25.599 to realize, Wait, I don't have to show my belly 390 00:23:25.680 --> 00:23:28.119 every time I go out, you know, I can wear 391 00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:30.720 nice blouse or whatever. But I think it takes time 392 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:32.480 to get there if you're not exposed. 393 00:23:32.559 --> 00:23:36.759 Yeah, and it takes time to find your own luck exactly. 394 00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:40.839 It doesn't come at a young age. It may or 395 00:23:40.920 --> 00:23:43.359 may not come at a young age. I mean I 396 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:47.200 took a long time. I mean I think maybe in 397 00:23:47.240 --> 00:23:50.119 my thirties I changed to just black and it was 398 00:23:50.240 --> 00:23:52.880 just about me. I woke color and it was just 399 00:23:52.920 --> 00:23:55.240 about every time I put on something black I've had 400 00:23:55.240 --> 00:23:57.240 more confidence, and I said, you know what, it's going 401 00:23:57.319 --> 00:23:59.720