In short MEIS is a small street wear clothing business created in australia by Mataylah Meis, but here is where is all began ….
I Mataylah have had a great interest in fashion since I was a little girl, but what I didn’t know is just how important it would become.
Growing up I was influenced by my dads parents who were very talented in their own field. My grandpa was an engineer, metal worker & wood worker. He could build anything from a trinket box to a bed frame. My grandma was an excellent painter, pianist, seamstress & teacher. She was able to paint and sew anything.
But where did my fashion inspiration come from, well my dad was a very stylish teen, he decided to dress me in all types of clothing which kick started my journey. When I was able to choose what I wanted to wear I picked tracksuit pants, funky shorts, weird graphic t-shirts, crusty demons jacket, stylish glasses and so much more.
My mum thinks I’m very much like Punky Brewster. I enjoyed the tomboy like lifestyle. I love BMX, going to the skate park with dad, going camping and infatuated with cars.
In primary school I excelled very quickly in art and design, then when started high school I couldn’t wait to enter year 9 so I could pick my first elective in textiles. I was able to pick skills up very quickly, I understood how fabric worked, pattern making was a bit difficult but when I finished the assessment I loved the results, I couldn’t believe I was able to make my own clothing from scratch.
Moving in to year 11 is when it started to go down hill, I had chosen to do fashion design and art for my ATAR elective but they decided not to run the fashion class so I had to seek other options, at this point I was completely invested into fashion and art didn’t do enough for me. Even with my art major I still tried to incorporate fashion.
My next option was to study through TAFE with school 1 day a week, but unfortunately TAFE didn’t have enough people to run the class which left me at a loss, until I found a university that was doing a short course during the school holidays. I decided to go with this course and sacrifice my holidays for fashion, I loved it so much.
I decided high school wasn’t serving me in terms of future career, so I decided to drop out at the end of year 11. This may sounds stupid to some people but I did have a lot of problems at this school which made it easier for me to leave. I enrolled in the TAFE CERT 3 in fashion design and technology, now this course was great I could finally starting seeing my goals become easier to reach.
Once I finished that course I had enough knowledge and skill to be able to make my own moves from here so I announced Meis Apparel and released my first ever collection.
Not only did fashion help shape my personality but it enable me to be apart of something, it gave me a future. Fashion is so much more than an item of clothing. It has allowed me to express my complicated personality in so many ways.