MAYA MEIRAV
MAYA MEIRAV
MAYA MEIRAV GREW UP IN ISRAEL AND WAS CONSTANTLY SURROUNDED BY ART AND DESIGN. THE DAUGHTER OF CHILEAN IMMIGRANTS, HER GRANDFATHER WAS A PATTERN-MAKER AND CLOTHING MANUFACTURER WHO OWNED A BOUTIQUE WHERE, AS A YOUNG GIRL, MAYA SPENT COUNTLESS HOURS SCOUTING GLITTERY TRIMS AND SHINY BUTTONS. IN LATER YEARS, EXPLORING FLEA MARKETS AND STUDYING THE HISTORY OF ART FURTHER ENRICHED BOTH HER FORMAL EDUCATION AND THE PROPENSITY TO LEAD A CREATIVE LIFE.
IT WAS THAT CONTINUOUS EXPOSURE TO VARIOUS FORMS OF DESIGN AS AN INDISPENSABLE PART OF LIFE, THE QUEST TO SURROUNDING HERSELF WITH BEAUTY AND THE PURSUIT OF INDIVIDUALISM, THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THE REALIZATION OF MAYA’S FASHION PHILOSOPHY IN ONE-OF-A-KIND COUTURE GARMENTS.
FOLLOWING HER LIFE-LONG INTEREST IN THE WORKINGS OF THE HUMAN MIND, MAYA STUDIED PSYCHOLOGY AND WAS PREPARING TO TRAIN AS A THERAPIST. BUT THEN CAME A TURNING POINT.
WHILE A STUDENT, SHE TOOK A PART-TIME JOB WITH HER AUNT, A DESIGNER EXTRAORDINAIRE, THE LATE RUTH MOLCHO. WORKING SIDE BY SIDE WITH HER GREATEST MENTOR, SHE LEARNED THE MEANING OF LIVING PASSIONATELY, LISTENING TO ONE’S OWN VIOCE AND SUMMING THE COURAGE TO BRING ONE’S AESTHETIC VISION TO LIFE. ACCOMPANIED BY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, BRENDA LEE, INTI-ILLIMANI AND MERCEDES SOSA. THEY SPENT LONG DAYS MAKING JEWELRY, SCULPTURES AND OTHER OBJECTS D’ARTS, WORKING WITH METALS, GEMS, TEXTILES, PAPER MACHE AND A VARIETY OF PAINTS AND WOOD TYPES.
DURING THAT TIME, MAYA REDISCOVERED HER LOVE OF HAND CRAFT AND BEGAN DESIGNING AND MAKING CLOTHES, EXPLORING THE JUXTAPOSITION OF RAW AND PROCESSED MATERIALS, AND SIGNING HER CLOTHES WITH HAND-PAINTED LABELS.
EARLY ON SHE RECOGNIZED THE IMPORTANCE OF MASTERING THE TECHNIQUES OF FINE-TAILORING AND DRESSMAKING, IN ORDER TO ALLOW HER DESIGNS TO SOAR. SHE APPRENTICED WITH BRIAN GLICK, A GIFTED BRITISH PATTERN-MAKER WHO GENEROUSLY MENTORED HER AND TAUGHT HER THE EXACTING SKILLS OF SAVILE ROW MASTER TAILORS. MAYA SPENT THE NEXT FEW YEARS REFINING HER CONSTRUCTION SKILLS AND DEVELOPING INDIVIDUAL PATTERNS FOR HER CLIENTS.
SINCE MOVING TO BOSTON, USA MORE THAN TEN YEARS AGO, MAYA HAS ATTRACTED AN EXCLUSIVE CIRCLE OF PRIVATE CLIENTS, CREATING ONE-OF-A-KIND PIECES, FROM ECCENTRIC WEDDING GOWNS TO SIMPLE – YET FABULOUSLY LUXURIOUS – COUTURE DAYWEAR.
TODAY MAYA IS ONE OF THE VERY FEW DEDICATED TO NOT ONLY PRESERVING BUT REVIVING THE OLD-WORLD ART THAT IS HAUTE COUTURE. HER WORK EXHIBITS IMPECCABLE CONSTRUCTION, HAND-STITCHED SILK LININGS, UNIQUE EMBROIDERY OF SEM-PRECIOUS GEMS AND ANTIQUE ORNAMENTS, ALL PUT TOGETHER WITH AN EASE AND SIMPLICITY THAT CELEBRATE THE FREE-SPIRITED INDIVIDUAL.
MAYA’S CLOTHES ART INTENDED TO “SPEAK TO THE WEARER”; TO EXPRESS ONE’S INNER QUALITIES IN THE FORM OF A WORN CANVAS. HENCE, THEY ARE TRULY ONE-OF-A-KIND. HER DESIGNS LAY BARE THE SUBTLE SIGNATURE OF LUXURY-BEAUTIFULLY FINISHED INSIDE, HAND-ADE OF THE BEST FABRICS WITH PAINSTAKING ATTENTION TO DETAILS.
MAYA DRAWS HER INSPIRATION FROM THE SOUNDS AND IMAGES OF THE MULTIPLE CULTURES SHE EMBRACES AND THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE IN HER LIFE. “HAUTE COUTURE IS ABOUT ONE SIZE FITS ONE. PERFECTLY.”
Tiffany Dowd and Adriana Sassoon at “The Fashionably late” at Liberty Hotel, Boston.
For the full Article click below:http://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/articles/2010/10/30/better_late/
ADRIANA SASSOON 