Not until you visit an artist's studio do you begin to fully appreciate their process. So as fashion designer Jess Meyer prepares to launch her spring 2006 women's clothing collection, Myre, getsugar pays her a visit and gets an exclusive preview.

Meyer, who attended Boston's School of Fashion Design, will kick off her limited-edition line with a party at her South Boston studio next Wednesday. A previously presented collection of 2005 cocktail and evening dresses and accessories now is on view on her website, www.myredesigns.com.

The new collection will feature "eight pieces: two jackets, two skirts, two pants and two tops, and everything will be interchangeable," says Meyer.

Meyer's design process is revealed along the walls of her spacious studio. Like a timeline, it begins with patterns, then sizing charts (each piece will be available in sizes 4, 6, 8 and 10), next the fabrics (muslins, silks, linens and cottons), and finally, the samples -- all of which will be on view at the launch party. She sources her fabrics in New York as well as from a collection of vintage pieces collected over time.

As for her inspiration, Meyers says: "I am not really inspired by other artists... It's more about architecture and natural forms, different eras of graphics... Henry Wolf, who was a designer from the 1960s. I gravitate towards orange and warm colors... Yellow and grey also are prominent in this collection and the prints are very Verner Panton-esque," she says, citing another influential graphic designer from the '60s and '70s. In addition, Meyer says her design aesthetic emanates from her background as a sculptor. She studied fine arts and art history at Occidental College in California, and went on to work as a production designer in Los Angeles before relocating to Boston several years ago.

Meyer is not your typical trend-driven designer. "I'm not making things for fashion or trends," she says. "I view clothing as sculpture. I like the element of surprise and seeing the movement of the piece. And I'm excited to see what people pair it with. Some [pieces] look great with jeans," she says. Her business goal is to focus on wholesale sales with select boutiques. After receiving orders, she'll swing into production with several local sewing contractors that she's confident will live up to her high standards. "I have no desire to outsource my manufacturing to Southeast Asia," she says. "It's a smaller aesthetic. I don't want people to run into to someone else in the same clothes. It's unique and more personal." For now, Meyer will introduce her collection in Boston and hopes to launch her fall 2006 line in "New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago -- in that order," she says.

To get an exclusive look, stop by Myre's official launch party next Wednesday, October 12, from 6pm to 9pm. Click here for details.

- Anna Gustavson