ARTS CULTURE& WESTERN REVIVAL

Fashion designer creates timeless pieces with sustainable roots for women.

BY LAUREN H. DOWDLE

PHOTOS BY BLAIR RAMSEY, KATY THOMAS & BLAKE RAYMOND

WWhen people visit Julie Maeseele’s Cahaba Heights studio, they won’t feel like they’ve stumbled into a department store—and that’s exactly how this fashion designer wants it.

Within an industry that often focuses more on quantity than quality, Julie strives to shift the spotlight back to the heart of each garment. She encourages people to reconnect with the clothing they have and invest in quality pieces that will last for longer.

Instead of being viewed as a disposable afterthought, clothes should live alongside the consumer, Julie says. That dedication to quality is evident in each of the garments she creates, something residents can see on her website and if they visit her studio.

Though Julie continues to positively impact the Vestavia Hills community and beyond, she got her start more than 4,000 miles away. As a child growing up in Belgium, Julie says she dreamed about one day becoming a fashion designer. However, when it came time to choose what she would study, she felt intimidated by the industry and backed out of pursuing fashion.

She ended up earning a master’s degree in the fine arts focusing on textile design and went on to work with Muslim women for a nonprofit organization. She was exposed to a variety of cultural textile heritage, she says, which helped her realize the power fashion has to communicate interests, beliefs and morals.

“I made installations, experimented with different techniques and my main goal was always to ‘touch’ people with my work,” Julie says. “I wanted to tell a story, evoke sentimental emotions, really speak to them. And to a certain degree, that is still what I want to achieve with my garments today.”

When her husband’s job brought them to the United States nearly a decade ago, Julie saw the move as an opportunity to pursue her love for fashion. She began learning more about the area she now called home, which is how she discovered Birmingham Fashion Week (BFW).

With the goal of being a featured designer in the event, Julie actually won the emerging designer competition in the 2016 BFW, which was organized by Heidi Elnora, but that was only the beginning of what was to come.

Julie continued gaining experience to hone her skills by interning with Manuel Cuevas in Nashville, Tennessee. Known as the Rhinestone Rembrandt, Manuel designed pieces for celebrities like James Dean, Johnny Cash and Lady Gaga. Being exposed to his dedication to craftsmanship is what encouraged Julie to make her own way in the fashion industry, she says.

With that inspiration and years of training under her belt, Julie transformed her passion for creating quality garments into a business based out of her Cahaba Heights home. Her open, modern studio is as chic as the clothes hanging alongside