Fashion bright spark Meera Sharma...designs mix soft and patent black leathers with flowing subtle prints and overlapping sheers to allude to the ultimate image of the femme fatale;
“Dress every day like you’re going to get murdered in those clothes,” says fashion bright spark Meera Sharma as I ask her for her all-time favourite fashion tip.
Clothed for the occasion in sleek black foil-flecked jeans, a draping sheer shirt and every digit bedazzled by a different jewel the 22-year-old designer is certainly one to live by her rules: “I’m kind of transforming into my collection actually, the blacks, the leather effect and the soft and hard textures.”
Debuting at this year’s Graduate Fashion Week Meera’s designs mix soft and patent black leathers with flowing subtle prints and overlapping sheers to allude to the ultimate image of the femme fatale; the very befitting name of her collection. “I’ve always looked up to women who aren’t afraid to speak their mind and think for themselves rather than just following the crowd,” she explains. “I wanted this collection to capture the attention of that kind of girl; the girl who is not afraid to express herself and the girl people aspire to be like.”
And who better to represent that girl than the iconic action-heroine; Wonder Woman? Taking an on-going fascination in superheroes as the central reference in her work the self-confessed ‘comic book geek’ uses a gradient of textures to represent the everyday character and their feisty alter egos. “It’s that contrast between the hard tough leathers and the soft sheers underneath that represents the division between normal person and superhuman. Also when you pull the straps inside the garment it changes the shape, so you create more gathers or make it shorter or bigger, it’s all that kind of idea of transformation.”
Check out Meera’s Tumblr and you meet a torrent of images that prove as diverse as her designs; cut-out shirts, cosmic leggings and curious sayings sit next to best dressed celebs and their fashion faux pas. “ My dream is to start my own line in LA and dress celebrities,” she enthuses. “To style Nicole Richie would be amazing! People are always really shocked when I say that but I think she’s had such a transformation stylewise without losing herself. I’d love to see her on the red carpet in one of my cut out tops with the sheer dresses underneath!”
Citing Alexander Wang and the staple prints of Italian masters Cavalli and Versace among her influences, Meera is soon to be joining her favourite designers on the pages of some of Britain’s best love fashion publications. “I had a magazine request some of my collection and I was like ‘how will they know what it’s meant to be like’! But I think you’ve got to let go in a way, I’ve come round to finding it really exciting how other people interpret my work!”
