EMERGING DESIGNER

Michele Bege

IN THIS FEATURE: Meet Michele Fashion Focus

have always felt that anyone that wears my jewelry also wears the energy that I put into the piece. Most people comment on the beauty they feel when they see or wear my jewelry. That is the energy that I feel when I create. It is beauty that is tangible.

Having grown up in multi-cultural South Florida, and being born in the amazing tourist city, Orlando, Florida, Michele has always had a unique perspective on fashion. Her father was a well traveled writer and their family travels also enabled Michele to visit a variety of fascinating destinations. Michele felt that her style has always been a little out of the ordinary and before she was aware of what the word ‘avant-garde’ meant, it was her style! In the past she designed clothing for herself but now confesses, “I was never good at construction, but I liked to make things no one else had.”

In Michele’s words:

"My style was influenced by the fact that I took ballet all through school. I often went to class after school and loved to have skirts or pants that lent themselves to the leotard underneath. I wore a lot of black and still do. My style was eclectic, avant-garde, and minimalist."

"In school, I was more of an artist than a designer. I took art every year in school and started college as an art major. I did not make jewelry until after I graduated from college. I think the first piece I made was a bracelet. It was a Swarovski crystal bracelet, very simple and understated. It was for my mother."