MEFeater is a playground for the cool and fashionable creatives of the world. The magazine focuses on music, entertainment, fashion, and everything else in between. We have a fantastic editorial team that publishes stories on topics ranging from relationships and the latest fashion trends to music drops. I started the magazine with my friends and mother back in my first year of college when I was 17. And I haven’t looked back since! At first, it was a blog. We were inspired by Tumblr and all the success of young New Yorkers growing their following and social media fame by just being themselves on the social media platform. My friends and I thought we could do the same. However, I had bigger plans for the blog, and I wanted it to be a magazine and a company. I wanted something viable and celebrated all the things we loved but mainly celebrated our culture or lives, seen through our lenses and not the lenses of others – defining the acronym fubu. For us by us!
Please tell our Sheen readers how you got started in the fashion industry
It’s a funny story. My friends and I debated what we should call this blog that would feature us. There were many names thrown at us. However, we needed to have a name that captured the three pillars of the company: Fashion, Music, and Entertainment. At the time, we had three main heads, one had a passion for music, one had a passion for entertainment, and I had a passion for fashion. We wanted a name that equally represented all three because they would be the three verticals we focused on. Initially, I pitched “FEM eater,” leading with the “F” in fashion and focusing on the three things we consume. I came up with this name because it made a statement. “Eater” for me represented consumption, life, and the things we needed to survive. My team at the time loved the eater concept but hated “FEM” because they didn’t want the magazine to be exclusively just marketed to women and felt people might confuse the statement with us “eating vaginas”. LOL, remember we were immature and only seventeen! We decided to switch the “M” and “F” and came up with “MEF eater”! In pronouncing the MEF, we decided to pronounce this as “METH” because it was the most addictive drug, and we believed so is Music, Entertainment, and Fashion.
Hmmm, great question! My team is fantastic! We are the most caring, intelligent, hardworking, and creative Black and brown women you will ever meet! We care so much about what we are doing and work every day to supply news, experiences, covers, and exciting content for readers, supporters, Eaters, and MEF Babes. I love everyone on the team, and every year we get better and better! I’m an Aries with a Pisces moon, my incredible mother is my partner, and my team truly is my family.
I always loved fashion and was obsessed with fashion week as a young girl. I never thought I would have a show, but I wanted one. At 18, I started working in the industry and attending fashion shows, and I loved it. Each year was terrific. However, things began to change for me three years ago. Fashion week wasn’t as fun for me anymore; it started to feel a bit classist, elitist, and even racist at times. Typically, attendees request an invite to shows. You can either sell yourself by sending a deck about your stats or simply request an invite in this request. It’s not uncommon to be denied because most designers’ PR teams prioritize the press, stylists, and photographers that should attend. However, over time this process became highly exhausting. We’re getting invited to shows one season, writing about the designers (and even making them go viral). The following season, we’re denied entry for those very same shows. What bothered me the most was when Black-owned runways and designers denied us. It was weird because our platform is literally built to support Black art in general. To constantly be denied a seat at the table (literally) left me feeling a bit discouraged, and I wondered if other creatives and professionals felt the same way. I’m not the type of person to wallow in despair, so I decided to come up with a solution. Next fashion week; I decided to create my own show and do it the way I wanted – a fashion show to be seen. I missed the music elements of shows like “Rip the Runway” and was inspired by the many talented designers who deserve a platform. My team and I sought out brands we believed in, and the rest is history!
Absolutely! The first designer who signed on was Trishonna from Genrevein. It is a fantastic streetwear brand that focuses on its audience’s inside. Next was Laurel Dewitt, our veteran designer. Her pieces are known for their unique and luxurious use of metal. Then Ru by Rupal, a brand founded by our youngest designer Rupal Banerjee. Rupal’s designs were influenced by Indian futurism and snakes, representing her culture’s rebirth. Lastly, we brought on Broken Land Co., who had a fantastic reception at the show and by far was the most professional duo I’ve ever worked with! All four designers and collections were terrific, and I’m incredibly proud of the ladies who participated.
How did you think your fashion show went at the Gotham Building?
I loved the event! It was amazing! I’m incredibly proud of my team and so happy with the reception we got from the fashion community. That it was something needed and wanted by our audience, I wasn’t sure if it would be a big hit, but it was bigger than I could imagine. I feel so blessed and loved by my community. I took away that fashion shows are expensive and hectic, but wow, they are exciting. When we do the next one, I will be stricter with the budget. I’m also contemplating getting a bigger venue to allow more people to attend. I want everyone who wants to be there to be able to attend.
What’s your advice to the world regarding fashion?
My biggest advice regarding fashion is to dress for your body and wear things you love no matter what anyone says!
Please tell our readers what is the art of fashion from your perspective
The art of fashion in my perspective is color, shapes, and textures. It creates shapes on the body that accentuate your curves, lines, and complexion. It’s freedom of expression, speech, and love without words. It’s the declaration of your uniform and tells your life journey. It’s the art of self-love and showcasing yourself to the world the way you see yourself.
What’s next for you Ladies?
Next is our Spring/Summer show in September, more content creation, MEF merch, and the expansion of MEFeater as a whole.
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