Who is Meisha Wright?

Adelaide style queen Meisha Wright has been passionate about fashion and beauty since the age of thirteen, when she cut out images from hundreds of magazines in order to create her own style folders and mood boards. “I used to alter all my own clothes to look how I wanted them to be!” she says.

Following her creative instinct, Meisha enrolled in a make-up course and was appointed Laura Mercier’s state manager and trainer. Soon she was part of the brand’s international makeup team, working in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. Frequently frustrated by the number of women she met with poorly shaped eyebrows, Meisha found herself reshaping brows during make-up sessions. Word of her artistry spread like wildfire. A Sydney client organised a day’s worth of appointments with a group of her friends and pleaded with Meisha to fly up and pluck from dawn to dusk.

Her services soon led to the launch of her own company in 2003, enabling her to work as a full-time make-up artist and eyebrow specialist in Adelaide and interstate. During this time, she also fronted Adelaide’s Estee Lauder Brow Bar in 2005. Now working exclusively from her elegant Kent Town studio, Meisha plucks up to 40 eyebrows a day and is booked out months in advance.

Amidst her crazy schedule she also found time to become mum to Cimor (now nine years old) with partner Simeon, and frequently collaborate with long-time fashionista Lucy MacGill. Together, the duo have been dubbed “Adelaide’s answer to Trinny and Susannah” for their joint efforts in guiding women to style enlightenment with clever fashion advice and subtle grooming tips.

Meisha and Lucy launched It’s The New Black in 2008. “I buy the labels I love and style them the way I like them to be styled,” Meisha says. “We won’t sell you short, tight, young and shiny. Our garments will work on almost every body shape because they aren’t too form-fitting; they’re loose, floaty, layering options, or they have added stretch, and they can be belted and used in multiple ways.”

Meisha now fully manages It’s The New Black, with Lucy concentrating on buying for her own fashion label, Angel Wings. “I buy her collection religiously every season – it’s one of the main labels we stock,” says Meisha.
It’s the New Black reflects Meisha’s personal tastes – effortless, casual beauty, boho (“whether relaxed or slightly glamorous”) and tough-meets-pretty. “I love Balmain’s structure and Roberto Cavalli’s incredible floating feminine designs, and I think Australian labels Camilla, Mimosa and Lucette also reflect that feel,” says Meisha.

With one fashion-and-beauty workshop already under her belt, Meisha will soon be staging exclusive style sessions in her Kent Town showroom. “I love to help women gain confidence through fashion,” she explains. “When you walk into a room feeling like crap, you put your head down, don’t make eye contact and miss opportunities – whether in your personal life or professional life. Confidence is everything.”

Meisha hopes that women and girls have fun exploring It’s The New Black and shopping up a storm. “This website is my interpretation of what’s happening in fashion and how to adapt it to everyday life in a way that looks beautiful on many shapes and sizes – plus how to mix your garments for a casual or dressier occasion,” she says. “I love for women to feel just as beautiful on the outside as they are on the inside.”

Meisha’s style tips:

• Interpret mainstream trends in your own way. There are no rules to fashion – it should all come together from a feeling or mood.
• Don’t wear something just because everybody else is! It’s got to feel right for you – you want to be comfortable.
• You’re not going to get a feel for fashion unless you’re looking at fashion. Read magazines, look at websites, pay attention to what’s happening out there and then interpret it in your own way.
• Your wardrobe doesn’t have to be short and tight, and don’t overexpose more than you need to! Free-flowing fabrics, silhouettes and subtlety are more beautiful.
• You don’t always need heels to be stylish! Try flat shoes with long dresses or leggings.
• Always be age appropriate.