The Corset: 
The most controversial piece of clothing ever designed. 
An essential part of fashionable dress for millennia. 
Both alluring and forbidden, alternately regarded as a
nightmare and a dream by women in historical records,
writings and in the modern media. 

Laura Meyer, a born Milwaukeean, has pursued many
dreams over the years.  Always an artist with an eye on
fashion, she was designing clothing before adolescence.
Her early experiments in fashion fed her passion for
design.  Throughout high school she continued designing
for herself and volunteered on the costume crew for
various plays and musical productions she also acted and
sang in.  She ventured into historical costuming after
auditioning for the Bristol Renaissance Faire. 

She took her knowledge of corsets and applied it to other
areas of her life, making gothic and Victorian inspired
clubwear, finding a demand among her friends and
acquaintances. Her reputation grew, and she was
approached with requests for custom Halloween costumes,
period pieces and wedding dresses.  Some designs
commissioned over several years include “Pinhead” from
Hellraiser in 2001, Jean Harlowe in 2002, “Lexx” in 2003,
and couples costumes from “The Princess Bride” and
“Sleepy Hollow” in 2003 and 2004.
Making period corsets and costumes for herself
and others, her repertoire expanded over the years. 

In 1998 she decided to claim a business persona, and to find an image that spoke to the look and feel of her aesthetic.  She chose as her logo the silhouetted image of a woman in one of her designs- a long, full skirt a corset and a flowing shrug- with arms lifted in front of a rising moon.  Together with her sister Rebecca, she chose for her company the name Twilight Attire. Twilight Attire has been active locally and nationally in the years since its inception, and has had original designs shipped as far as Australia.

The company has sold locally Mainstream Music, The Wailing Banshee Boutique, and most recently at Fasten Co-op in Milwaukee’s up and coming Bay View neighborhood.  Twilight Attire designs have been shown at
GenCon, GothCon, at The Velvet Garden and for local fashion shows at
The Sanctuary, Club Anything, Changin’ Times and MOCT. 

In 2006, while attending college full time, Laura organized a benefit show
for the Hope House of Milwaukee featuring her own designs along with
three other local designers.  The show included performances by local
satirical band “The Gothsicles”.  The event hit capacity before the end
of the night and made over $1200 for the Hope House. 

The next two years were dedicated more fully to college and a semester
abroad in 2007, which she took advantage of to visit various art and
costume museums in England, Italy, Greece and France.  While in school
she had her work shown at the Lakefront Festival of the Arts Collegiate
Show, and won various awards and scholarships for her artwork and
photography.

Laura graduated with a double major in Art and English, and with Honors,
from Alverno College at the end of 2008.  She is currently working on
her fall collection and on new, couture-style corsets. 
Further details on her upcoming plans may be available here, soon…