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About the Trainer
Julie Maeseele
Julie Maeseele (Mah-seelah), mom of three, was born and raised in Belgium. After graduating from the St. Lukas Art Academy in Gent as a textile designer, she worked with Muslim women for a non-profit organization, where Maeseele was exposed to a wide variety of cultural textile heritage. Through this interaction, Julie realized the power fashion has to communicate heritage, culture, history; the power fashion has to express to one another our interests, morals, beliefs. Her past work as an independent designer and as a non-profit designer include modern rugs, shoes, and textile installations. Motherhood helped Julie to realize what was important to her in life: fashion. After her first child, Gloria, was born, Julie dedicated her time to getting trained as a seamstress. Through her training, she discovered her true passion for craftsmanship.
When Julie’s family moved to America, she used the time of fresh start to follow her design dream. She discovered Birmingham Fashion Week, made a goal to be one of their featured designers, and then won the BFW 2016 Emerging Designer Competition. She then followed this momentum and scored an internship with world-renowned couturier Manuel Cuevas in Nashville. She and her young family made a way to allow her to work with him for 6 months, 2 days at a time, developing her craft and honing her seamstress skills. Her unique story has created opportunities for her to grow in fashion design and also share her skills with others.