by Joane Amay
GLOBAL BEAUTY
New York–raised, Haitian-born beauty and street-style darling Michelle Elie-Meiré has a passion for travel courses through her veins. The jet-setting stunner, who counts fellow It girl Shala Monroque as one of her besties, is married to German artist and art director Mike Meiré, whose clients include the German edition of Interview, Dasha Zhukova’s Garage magazine, and Finnish design-company Artek. In her late teens, she dreamed of studying fashion design at F.I.T., but ended up at New York University majoring in international studies, with one thing on her mind: traveling. During her college years, she veered into modeling and lived in Paris for five years, frequently venturing back to New York City— and to Miami.
SETTLING DOWN
“Modeling was so much fun. I traveled and learned different languages,” says Elie-Meiré who now resides in Cologne, Germany. “I stopped because I met my husband and became pregnant with our first child, Zec,” explains the gorgeous mom of three. But motherhood couldn’t cure her wanderlust. Merging her passions for traveling and collecting treasured items, she launched her handcrafted, limited-edition jewelry and bag line named PRIM by Michelle Elie in 2010. “I am a huge antique and flea market follower. While living in New York and Paris, I would go to the markets religiously every weekend. I sometimes drive to Brussels or Amsterdam for a great [flea] market day.”
CALL OF THE WILD
Her line’s latest collection draws inspiration from the French anthropologist and ethnologist Claude Lévi- Strauss’ anthropological travel memoir, Tristes Tropiques, precolonial mythologies and her Caribbean roots. For Elie-Meiré, PRIM is more than an accessories line—it is a creative platform for showcasing an evolution of art, music and food.
STYLE PHILOSOPHY
The avant-garde fashionista describes her style as free and experimental. She favors directional designers such as Comme des Garçons, Balenciaga, Viktor & Rolf, Haider Ackermann, Prada and Rodarte. “For me, it has always been about fearless dressing. Fashion has to feel fun!”
HER HOME AWAY FROM HOME
Although Ponza, the small, undeveloped island off the coast of Capri, once held a special place in her heart, for the past 10 years, she has summered with her family on the magical Balearic Island of Mallorca. “It is three hours from [our home in Cologne] door-to-door. It has museums, galleries and great fashion shopping—it’s well-equipped with all that I need!”
