A Heart for Charity , A PASSION FOR DESIGN by Jen Forsyth
Most aspiring fashion designers go into the business not only with a passion for what they do , but also with an ambition to make a career out of doing what they love . They long for everyone to wear the creations they lovingly made . Who doesn ’ t dream of that moment a celebrity walks the red carpet , a reporter stops and asks “ who are you wearing ?” and that person says your name for the entire world to hear ?
Lana Neumeyer is not your typical designer . She has the heart and the passion for her creations as much as the next Armani or Christian Siriano , but she doesn ’ t make one dime from any of the beautiful clothes she designs . Her passion not only lies in her clothes , but also in helping others , and her role in the fashion world is to be a designer with a heart .
Neumeyer ’ s life journey was always inspired by creativity . Growing up in Brazil Center , Brazil , close to Brazilia , she grew up in a culture where everyone made their own clothes , and they still do to this day .
“ We make everything at home . We sew everything at home ,” she said . “ Everybody has a sewing machine . My mom is 87 , and if you call her right now , I bet her sewing machine is open and she ’ s there fixing something or remodeling something .”
The tradition of making and mending clothes for everyone in the home was strong , but Neumeyer made sure she stood out .
“ I was the only one who didn ’ t want to buy a magazine and copy this exact design here and go to the store and buy this exact same fabric , buttons , zippers , everything . I never did ,” she reminisced . “ I always wanted to do something different . I wanted to create something .”
As a professional , Neumeyer is actually an architect , as are many of her family members . Other relatives are engineers and lawyers , and in Brazil , they own thousands of acres of farmland . When she lived in Brazil , Neumeyer was a residential and commercial architect , and she also did interior design .
“ We have a lot of buildings , very high towers . We have apartments … I don ’ t know how many thousands of square feet ! And I worked a lot in interior design for these buildings or commercial buildings .”
Tragedy brought Neumeyer to the Pittsburgh , Pa ., area in January 1990 : She moved with her husband and two sons because her husband needed a kidney and liver transplant . Sadly after two liver transplants , he did not survive . Newmeyer returned to Brazil for the funeral , but her sons , ages 13 and 15 at the time , wanted to stay in Pittsburgh , so while they visit their family often , they have made Pittsburgh their home . “ What I do is not for everybody . It ’ s for people who are confident , who don ’ t care if they make some statement , who walk into the party and want people to look .”
Color year round is very important to Neumeyer ’ s designs . She feels color brings happiness and is an important part of what she creates . As for her latest line , much like past ones , she doesn ’ t follow trends , brands , or fads . She follows her heart .
Neumeyer spends her time searching fabric stores for material that feels special to her . She will pick up one yard here , three yards there , whatever she likes , and she makes it work . She doesn ’ t go into a line with a definite plan . It comes that easy to her .
Neumeyer then packs all of her material and takes it with her on a plane to Brazil , where she stays with her family and works nonstop until the clothing line is complete . For her most recent line , Neumeyer estimates that it took her three weeks to make 50 pieces . She worked together with her mother , her longtime florist , and her seamstress of 43 years , Miss Aparecida Vaz . Neumeyer is not designing her lines for the runways in Paris , New York , or
88 INSPIRING LIVES WINTER 2017