Fashion Wayfinder

Carly Vidal Wallace is the Creative Community Curator at NOT JUST A LABEL. NOT JUST A LABEL (NJAL) is the leading online platform for emerging fashion designers. The website showcases the work of 35,000+ designers from around the globe. Carly talks about NJAL’s recent move from London to Los Angeles, and the amazing opportunities that the platform offers for independent designers. NJAL enables buyers, editors and stylists to search for and connect directly with the world’s most innovative and fresh fashion talent. In 2019 NJAL will be re-launching its e-commerce capability, enabling consumers to discover and shop for creative designer pieces through the website. This episode is a must-listen for all wild and independent designers !

Brothers Nick and Ben Chiu have been fashion pioneers in their home city of Brisbane, Australia. They opened their first Apartment boutique in 2006, bringing New York street and sneaker culture to Brisbane. This year, 2018, they opened in a new larger location and joined with womenswear boutique, Violent Green. Apartment is a mecca for streetwear connoisseurs, stocking brands like Comme des Garçons PLAY, Visvim, WTAPS…  Ben and Nick bring a lot of soul to their retail business. Visitors are welcomed with warmth and are inspired by their beautiful products and space. The brothers believe in creating community and experiences in Brisbane. Their work extends beyond fashion into music and records, and burger restaurants! All delivered with the same quest for quality and attention to detail.

Kay McMahon is passionate about mentoring students and entrepreneurs to succeed in the fashion industry. She says a designer’s first priority should be to create great product, but equally important is to effectively communicate and position your product in front of the right audience. Kay has a wealth of industry experience from public relations, to journalism, to wholesale and retail, all of which informs her teaching. She tells designers to define success on their own terms. Start small, always be researching and developing, and above all – understand and respect your target market.

Hailing from the UK, Meriel Chamberlin is a textile technologist and the founder of Full Circle Fibres. Meriel is making it possible for individuals and businesses to source 100% Australian cotton yarns and fabrics. Her cotton is “single origin” and Meriel coordinates every step the supply chain, from paddock to product. Meriel has a wealth of knowledge to share about fibres and fabric manufacturing. Her sustainability message to designers is to create brilliant products that fit well – that people will wear often and love! For more information, visit fashionwayfinder.com

Alice Jones was forced to question the ethics of the fashion system when she worked as a fashion buyer and was confronted with the unbelievably low cost of garments made in developing countries. She met like-minded fashion activist, Louise Visser, and together they established an ethical and sustainable fashion brand, Sinerji, in 2006. Sinerji attracts a loyal clientele who wants quality garments made from natural fibres, and customers who care about the provenance of their clothes. Alice and I spoke about her sustainable fashion success story, live on stage, at The Royal Queensland Show (AKA The Ekka). Thank you to Laura Churchill for inviting us to be part of this event celebrating Australia’s natural fibres! For more information, visit fashionwayfinder.com

Thuy Nguyen is the fashion development manager at Creative Enterprise Australia (CEA). Through the Fashion360 program, she mentors emerging and early-stage fashion entrepreneurs to develop their ranges and establish viable businesses. Thuy has worked in the fashion industry her entire life and has a wealth of technical and industry knowledge. Her design career began very early, using her mother’s industrial sewing machine at the age of 9 to sew Barbie doll clothes which she sold to other young girls. Pursuing her childhood dream, she later established her own bridal business. Hers is a lifelong passion for fashion and she fosters a sense of quality and appreciation for the craft of fashion in the designers she mentors. For more information, visit fashionwayfinder.com

Ania Zoltkowski has been working in-and-out of the fashion system for many years. From big and famous fashion houses, to living and working with underprivileged women in a fashion workshop in Lucknow, India. Her quest to find alignment between her ethical values and her love of fashion creativity has led her to pursue higher research in the field of sustainable fashion at the London College of Fashion, under the supervision of Kate Fletcher. In this episode she shares her research and ideas for the future of fashion… and a fresh and inspiring perspective on sustainability.

Rébecca Leger works with the costume and textile collection at Palais Galliera, a famous and historic fashion museum in Paris. She considers herself a custodian of the collection, offering beauty and knowledge to the public through the museum’s exhibitions, while taking care of the fragile and historic garments. Rébecca works to display the pieces in line with the curator’s narrative and also interpreting the unique spirit of each designer and the history of the garment. Rébecca has a background in theatre and costume. She entered into the world of vintage fashion under the mentorship of the late Mary Vaudoyer, a private collector and pioneering writer/researcher on couture and vintage clothing. Rebecca worked with Mary to create her seminal book, “Le Livre de la Haute Couture” (The Book of Haute Couture).

Fashion designer and entrepreneur, David Szeto, tells the amazing story of how he came to establish his fashion house in Paris. He grew up in Vancouver. At the age of 12 his older sister paid him to do her home economics projects and he developed a keen interest in sewing and fashion. His knowledge and skill as a designer continued to grow as he experienced more of the fashion industry, studying at FIT in New York, and later moving to London and then Paris. David’s story is one of incredible determination and creativity! David has a very loyal following of clients and fans around the world, who treasure his poetic and beautifully crafted clothes. He also has a lot of wisdom and humor to share with young designers today.

With a career in fashion spanning 5 decades, Florence Deschamps has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons, and Kenzo Takada. Florence is passionate about finding and mentoring creative talent. In her Paris showroom, she introduces emerging designers and their collections to the world’s top buyers. Florence works closely with her young and hip showroom director, Marina Lyritzi. Marina is a talented content creator and branding specialist. Through her work as a stylist and online influencer, Marina tells the story of designers and their products, with a youthful and joyful voice. In this episode: Part 1 - Florence Dressing up in her grandmother’s designer wardrobe in Connecticut. Florence studied at Sarah Lawrence College and La Sorbonne. She also studied dance with George Balanchine. Florence began her fashion career working as a model in the late 1960s. With photographer Sarah Moon she learnt the art of photography. Working in public relations at French fashion house, Dorothée Bis, was very formative. In the early 1980s Florence discovered Comme des Garçons and met Rei Kawakubo. She became the president of Comme des Garçons, and launched the brand internationally. Today Florence presents and sells her young designers’ collections to the great fashion stores around the world, including Rei Kawakubo’s Dover Street Market, and Blake in Chicago. Good proportion, a sense of harmony, and a sense of humour and playfulness are important in a designer’s work. Part 2 - Marina (27m40s) Marina met Florence at Paris Fashion Week when she was interning with an Italian bag designer. Marina had a fashion blog for several years, before shifting to Instagram. She collaborates with fashion brands and recently won first prize in Marie Claire Greece blogger awards, and has worked with H&M. It’s more effective for consumers to see fashion products on real people, rather than very tall and thin models. It’s important for designers to have a good connection with their showroom. Strong brand DNA and a clear target market are very important for commercial success. Bonus audio – What the dog thinks (36m10s)

Special announcement !   This episode marks the end of Season 1 of the Fashion Wayfinder podcast…  BUT I invite you to join the mailing list …and stay tuned for Season 2 !!! Download my free guide > 10 Practices of a Fashion Wayfinder, and you will automatically be added to the Fashion Wayfinder insider mailing list ;) EPISODE 10: Bringing knowledge from the international fashion stage to the classroom.   It is my absolute pleasure to share this special episode with great Australian designer, Lydia Pearson. Lydia has been a fashion designer and entrepreneur from a young age. She speaks about her lifelong passion for clothing and dressing up, and starting her first label with little knowledge of the fashion industry. In 1989 Lydia Pearson and Pamela Easton began their collaborative fashion brand, Easton Pearson, which has become an important part of Australian fashion culture. Their beautiful fashion collections were inspired by their love of vintage garments, art and craft. Lydia and Pam built strong connections with artisan producers in India and sold their fashion collections around the world. Fast forward to 2018, Lydia is now a fashion lecturer at the Queensland University of Technology. Her mission is to help nurture and support young local talent. She plans to establish a space and structure to foster artisanal designers and makers, and to help them develop sustainable businesses. I hope you enjoy the show :) ! PS - Join the Fashion Wayfinder mailing list here > fashionwayfinder.com/download  

Part 1 - Reflections on Gender Fluid Design A chat with fashion academics, Sally Edwards and Mark Neighbour. Menswear has very specific details and design codes. Is gender neutral clothing a marketing strategy? or is it challenging norms in society and fashion? Part 2 - Siji, a gender fluid & sustainable fashion brand Bali based, Myra Juliarti, is the designer and founder of the brand, Siji. Her mission is to create gender fluid and environmentally sustainable fashion. Siji eschews stereotyping of people through fashion and provides timeless and poetic pieces. Siji customers are often artists who like to buy local and independent brands. Myra herself is a vegan and an environmental engineering graduate. She describes herself as an introvert, and her designs are inspired by introversion. I was very happy for the opportunity to learn more about her approach to design over coffee in Ubud :).

Bianca Mavrick’s bold, colourful jewellery is both joyful and luxurious. Bianca studied industrial design and fine arts jewellery making, and she combines these two fields of knowledge in her unique and beautiful design signature. Bianca is based in Brisbane, Australia. Her story is a great example of how in today’s digitally connected world, it is possible to be based anywhere and grow an international brand and audience. American retailer, Anthropologie, discovered Bianca’s jewellery via Instagram !

Linda Nguyen and Thea Blocksidge work under the label name TLC (Thea X Linda Collaboration).  Thea and Linda have built their brand, not only with their own fashion designs, but also through art, craft, styling and curation -- and building creative community :) ! Linda and Thea stage pop-up shops and also have an online store. Their future vision is to build a global community and platform for independent designers, artists and makers to showcase their work.

Australian sisters, Siobhan and Nuala Denniss, are the owners of an ethical garment manufacturing business in Bali, Indonesia. I spoke to Siobhan at her factory in Denpasar. Siobhan talks about how they began their business, and their mission to serve small and emerging designers. Their clients are based in Australia, North America and Europe.   In this episode: Why Bali is a good location for garment manufacturing, particularly for Australian designers. Issues that designers face in production, such as quality control and minimum order quantities. Siobhan and Nuala’s production workshops - designed to provide practical education about the process of manufacturing. Details on their website: www.siobhanandnuala.com Why specification sheets and technical packs are important. The process of toiling, sampling and producing a fashion garment. Different clients and types of garments they manufacture - from childrenswear to formalwear. How fabric impacts the production cost. Siobhan’s motivation to look after her workers and their families, with ethical working conditions and providing a living wage. Sustainable strategies employed in their factory to reduce energy use and waste.

Jakarta based, Norma Moi, began her career in fashion as a make-up artist. Today her fashion brand, Norma Hauri, is internationally celebrated for its couture-inspired shapes and details, mixed with romantic historical references and sleek urban attitude.  I caught up with Norma over lunch in a bustling restaurant in the midst of Jakarta Fashion Week. She talks about the origin of her label, her creative process and the importance of having a good team.

In honour of Fashion Revolution Week, I invited my colleague, Dr Alice Payne, to share some of her research and reflections on fashion and sustainability. Alice is a fashion academic at the Queensland University of Technology. Her research interests include the fashion design process, the mass-market fashion industry, and the problem of design for sustainability within the fashion context. Alice is a maker, a teacher and an author, and she talks about how the slow & local fashion approaches are weaving together with the mass-market & high-tech advances in fashion. After 10 years working and researching in the area of sustainable fashion, Alice says she is hopeful about the future.

Australian designer, Gail Sorronda, launched her cult label in 2005 with her graduate collection, “Angel at my Table”. Through her brand, Gail channels her spiritual life and emotions into material form. Gail’s work is characterised by her use of black and white, and sculptural, dramatic shapes. Her creative work extends beyond garments into interior design, fashion performance and collaborations -- with artists, dance companies and big brands, such as Target and Disney. In this interview Gail gives some great advice to all of us creators and designers – to focus & create from our own knowledge and curiosity, and avoid feeling overwhelmed in this noisy world of fashion. 

Mark Neighbour is a patternmaker, designer and fashion lecturer. Mark and I discuss clothing and construction, and how the technical aspects of making, and wearing clothes on the body, informs his own design work and his teaching. Learn about his early influences, growing up in country Australia, which led him to his lifelong love affair with clothing and its construction. Listen to Mark’s design advice for fashion students and makers.

What happened when I went to pursue my dream to live and work in Paris? Why you have to listen to your heart in order to create great fashion. To celebrate the very first show I have developed a free guide to help you do this: 10 Practices to gain confidence and direction in your creative work. The first practice is to ignore fashion. Download your free guide at: fashionwayfinder.com/download