As New York Fashion Week kicks things off this week, I thought I’d bring a little fashion representin’ from the Bay! After all some of the hottest designers are originally from the area (ehem–Alexander Wang, Derek Lam, Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte).
We visited TheRealReal and Everlane offices, chatted with the ladies behind Bonmot and Frēda Salvador,… and today I want to highlight another Bay Area #girlboss and creative entrepreneur: Emily Meyer. I was recently introduced to Emily through my college roommate and was instantly inspired by her story. Emily switched from a career in law, choosing to follow her passion and launched her own bespoke (and eponymous) women’s suiting line in 2013. As someone with impeccable taste, her approach to custom suiting comes naturally, as does her confidence in the brand. I asked Emily to open up a little about how she began her line, EMILY MEYER (great name–right?!), on having a point of view, and where she sees the line in the future.
My style is best described as: menswear-inspired
My style icon is: a hybrid style of my own–[inspired by] Tom Ford, Ellen, Michael Bastian, Kanye West, Sarah Ann Murray, and Jenna Lyons
My best-kept beauty secret: honestly, exercise. I’m also a huge fan of Kiehl’s Facial Fuel eye de-puffer
Favorite San Francisco spots for…
Breakfast: I love the Ferry Building. On a Saturday morning, it’s just quintessential San Francisco (my favorite is Pepples Donuts)
Dinner: Tosca Cafe: it has an old school kind of glamour, but with a great new menu
Breaks: I kind of live for Marina Green. I can’t tell you how many hours of my life I’ve spent walking or running along Marina Green… it’s gorgeous, and has great energy
Where I have been, and cannot wait to get back to: Paris
Where I’ve never been and am dying to go: Morocco, or Maldives
On living in San Francisco: It literally is the Wild West in terms of what’s possible, and for a creative person, that’s heaven. I really like living in a city where so many people are pushing the boundaries and doing new things
On changing paths: I had graduated from law school in 2012, and thought I was going to be a corporate lawyer. I ended up failing the bar exam (which turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me) and going to work for a menswear brand, because what I really wanted to do was be in fashion. I spent nine months at the menswear company making the transition from law, then left to found EMILY MEYER in late 2013.
“Choosing a creative career path was like flipping a switch to see the world in color, or uncorking a champagne bottle… it just felt so natural. Now, I’m excited all the time and feel like I’m constantly growing and being challenged.”
On being original: If you don’t have a unique point of view, you can’t bring anything new to the table. And if it’s not new, what’s the point?
“In my experience, your point of view comes from knowing who you are, and being secure in that. When you put new ideas out into the world for a living, you can’t let yourself or your point of view get knocked and toppled every time someone doesn’t like something you created. You have to be secure in not being for everyone.”
On the future: My ultimate goal is to reinvent how women shop and think about clothes, so in five years I want to have influenced both of those things. I’d like EMILY MEYER to have grown into a multi-million dollar business having national reach and brand recognition, with a brick-and-mortar and e-commerce presence. Personally, I want to be at the creative helm of the company driving design, and brand expansion… and still be as excited about things as I am now.
