From the pre-medical track to the launch of a childrenswear line, the Kazakhstan-born designer has hit the sweet spot in New York.

PHOTOGRAPHY Jacq Harriet
STYLED BY Trinidad Alamos

"It never really occurred to me to do fashion," says Meruert Tolegen from her home out East just ahead of the July 4th weekend. The Kazakhstan-born and California-bred designer—who is eight months pregnant with her third child at the time of this interview—spent her formative years learning how to sew, crochet, and make things by hand with her grandmother and then embarked on a circuitous pre-med track at the University of California, Davis.
"I went back and forth on something like six different majors," says Tolegen. "I was always pre-med, but I was doing math, physics, biology, and at some point I dabbled in engineering." That winding academic path eventually led to a brief research stint at a lab in New York City, cut short by the birth of her first child. The experience prompted her to create a childrenswear line called Le Petite Anais, setting an unexpected career in motion.

LOLA: Dress MERUERT TOLEGEN.

Now five years into the launch of her namesake label, the New Yorker speaks about her work with the confidence and clarity of someone who always knew fashion was her calling. "It's very detailed; it's very craft-oriented. There is a little bit of antiquity in it," says Tolegen, who is acutely aware of her brand's customer. "I think it's a very intellectual person who wants something unique and different and fun and that may be a little more daring."
Doing things that are slightly unusual is part of the label's identity and Tolegen's personal DNA. In her free time, she reads, paints, and falls down research rabbit holes—whether exploring how to find fossils or tracing different eras of history and the families that defined them. That curiosity extends into her collections, where unexpected pairings often become a source of inspiration. "We always go back to this idea of clashing fabrics," she says. "I really like different materials to touch each other." Think velvet paired with metal, or cotton lace coated in polyurethane to create a rubber-like finish. It works because Tolegen trusts her intuition.
The same instinct guided her decision to live and work in New York, where she found "her people"—a diverse collection of creatives who are driven and energetic, and who motivate her to keep going. "Growing up, I always found myself the odd one out," she says. "I questioned why I couldn't find the right people or why I was so weird. So finding [diversity, drive, and energy] here made me realize that I'm not that weird—I was just in the wrong place." And now? "I wouldn't find myself anywhere else."

MODELS: Naina Agorot MARILYN NEW YORK and Lola Bebe THE INDUSTRY MODEL MANAGEMENT
HAIR: Ginger Leigh Ryan using ROZ HAIR
MAKEUP: Sophie Hartnett using MAC COSMETICS
MANICURE: Mamie Onishi SEE MANAGEMENT using CHANEL BEAUTY
PRODUCED BY: Emily Adar
PHOTO ASSISTANTS: Juan Cuartas Rueda and Evan Odiorn

Meruert Tolegan Is the Calling Fashion Needed

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Meruert Tolegan Is the Calling Fashion Needed