SOYA is offering fashionistas aged 30 and under the chance to take it to the next level with $10,000 in cash and flights and a professional mentorship with iconic Australian fashion gurus, Nicky and Simone Zimmermann.
Iconic Australian fashion label Zimmermann started 15 years ago as a fledgling business, with Nicky Zimmermann making dresses in her parents’ garage and selling them to fashion entrepreneurs at Sydney’s Paddington Markets. Nicky’s sister Simone saw potential in the label and in 1991 she joined the growing Zimmermann business as Managing Director. In 1996, the sisters set a new benchmark in swimwear design when they launched their show-stopping collection of Zimmermann bikinis and one-pieces at the inaugural Australian Fashion Week. This move launched Zimmermann onto the global fashion stage and the label has been eagerly snapped up in Australia and internationally ever since. Zimmermann has achieved a compelling following and strong international stockist list including the likes of Barney’s, Saks, Bloomingdales, Intermix and Net-a-Porter. In Australia, Zimmerman maintains 12 standalone boutiques, its own online boutique and is stocked exclusively through David Jones and other high-end fashion destinations.
Here is the shortlist of nominees:
Arnsdorf (designer Jade Sar ita Arnot )
29, Prahran, VIC
Arnott’s work has been heavily inspired by personal stories and intimate moments. With recent collections having referenced the relationship between the garment and its wearer, Jade’s interest lies in designing garments with the experience of the wearer in mind. Inspired by the idea of garments that people can keep forever, Jade designs with great attention to cutting techniques, construction and garment details, which work to flatter the body – further cementing the idea that the pieces take on new meaning as they age. This aesthetic has been present from the inception of the label whereby Arnsdorf has been built upon a respect for classic and modern archetypal garments. The Trench Coat, Leather Jacket, Cocktail Dress, Jeans, Tailored Pants etc. are reworked and layer together to serve as costumes for daily life. Stocked in Australia’s best boutiques including The Corner Shop, Bloodorange, Blonde Venus, Arnsdorf is now stocked in the U.S and with interest from key stores internationally including Liberty in London, the label plans to expand it’s international stockists in the next season exhibiting at London Fashion Week in September.
arnsdorf.com.au
Kuwaii (designer Kr isty Bar ber ) 29,
Brunswick, VIC
Stylised, minimal and subtly poetic, Kuwaii incorporates geometric forms in repeated patterns and solid blocks of colour; cool hues contrasted with chemically pure reds and blues. Mathematically composed, a Kuwaii garment has presence, something that can be seen at its base appearance and appreciated at face value. Designer Kristy Barber studied fashion at Melbourne’s Box Hill TAFE, graduating in 2006. After stints interning with Lover and Arnsdorf, the Melbourne based Kuwaii began in March 2007 when Barber was awarded Student Designer of the Year at the L’oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival. Since then, Kuwaii has gone from strength to strength, with highlights including a debut at Independent Runway at the L’oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2009, appearing at “Debut” at this year’s Fashion Exposed, as well as being awarded as a finalist in the 2009 Fashion Palette Excellence awards at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week. All Kuwaii pieces are made locally, with a focus on the very best in workmanship, technique, fit and fabrics. Kuwaii can be found at 12 stockists throughout Australia, including Melbourne stalwarts the Fat stores and Alice Euphemia as well as Bespoke Boutique in the UK.
kuwaii.com.au
Gary Bigeni, 29, Oakhurst, NSW
Since graduating from East Sydney Tech in 2002 Gary Bigeni has been designing and producing a contemporary and fresh approach to womenswear through his eponymous label. His vision is to create new shapes and interesting silhouettes. His pieces urge the wearer to feel the inimitability of his design – twisted neck and hemlines create dimensional shape and feelings within each individual piece. Gary relies on classic tailoring lines that are beautifully simplistic but challenging and unique at the same time. His signature look is identified by his ability to create visual feasts that are not compromised by trends. Gary’s penchant for Jersey make his designs artforms that have their own clever structural secrets. Soft but tricky hems, interesting panelling and intricate design techniques are present in every element of his collections.
garybigeni.com
Alexi Freman, 30, Collingwood, VIC
Alexi Freeman is a Melbourne-based fashion designer whose collections for women are manufactured locally incorporating elements of hand drawn & printed textiles worked into drape juxtaposed with tailoring. Having studied fine art at the University of Tasmania where he majored in printmaking and sculpture, Freeman’s unorthodox approach provides his label with a strong point of difference that is earning him the attention of fashion industry and fashion public alike. Enlisting combinations of hand dyeing, bias cut drape work, artisanal perforations, intricately cut knitwear, hand cast silver detailing, laser cutting and especially calling on his printmaking background utilising combinations of fine art and commercial textile printing techniques to hand draw and print high grade cloths, Freeman’s reincarnation as a fashion designer is very much informed by his fine art training. In 2007, Freeman’s AW07 collection MONOCHROME was selected for the DEBUT stand at Fashion Exposed, where it was short listed for the Apparel Award and an Arts Victoria Travelling Grant was awarded to accept an invitation to attend the Bay of Fires workshop lead by Haute Couturier Maurizio Galante. In 2008, Freeman was awarded a scholarship from
Arts Victoria to attend Stage 1 and a Design Victoria scholarship to attend Stage 2 of the Springboard Mentorship Program, an initiative of the Australian Design Unit.
alexeifreeman.com
Limedrop (designers Clea Garick and Nat han Price), 27, Fitzroy , VIC
Hailing from the hot, dusty reaches of Darwin where the two met and fell in love Clea and Nathan soon moved to Brisbane to study at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) where Nathan pursued business and Clea fashion. With Clea cutting her teeth at Easton Pearson in production, and Nathan as the business direction, the two launched Limedrop in Clea’s graduating year in fashion design at QUT. Now based in Melbourne, their Fitzroy warehouse studio has been their creative home for the past three years. With features in such publications as Oyster, Frankie, Russh and Harper’s Bazaar Indonesia the label has set a strong base in the Australian market while international buyers are embracing their fresh designs with open arms. Limedrop can be found in over 25 Australian Boutique Stockists, and 7 International Stockists in New Zealand, Indonesia and Singapore. Following a successful show at the recent L’Oreal Mebourne Fashion Week Independent Runway, design duo Nathan Price and Clea Garrick’s sixth collection received great praise from all within the industry and public alike. In addition to this Limedrop conducted an innovative live photoshoot with 300 onlookers during the pop-up retail project, Penthouse Mouse. Limedrop recently contributed to a Mao Mao Publication Book ‘1000 tips from 100 designers’ around the world & ‘Print & Pattern’ in Barcelona.
limedrop.com.au
Maise (designer Claire Greave s)
27, Do uble Bay , NSW
Maise designer Claire Greaves began her career at the internationally renowned Top Shop. This influential period enabled her to strike out on her own when she returned to Australia – and so began Maise in 2006, the name ‘Maise’ stemming from a childhood nickname. Maise evokes an effortless and unpretentious style. With one foot in tailoring and the other in street, taking extremes and pushing them together – masculine and feminine, tailored and street, dark and sweet. The first collection was built around a core of signature denim pieces. The following seasons will see the progression of an expanding fashion line on top of the ever-popular denim range. Maise has been featured in publications including US Nylon, Sportswear Int. Cookie, Glamcult Paris, Australian Vogue, Marie Claire, Madison, In Style, The Melbourne Magazine. Recently Maise has made the leap into the international market securing 7 stores in the U.S.A
maiselabel.com
Tom Gunn (designer Shannon Gunn)
26, Gracev ille, QLD
Described as ‘sophisticated with an edge,’ Tom Gunn shoes are Australian-designed and Italian-made, defined by the pairing of contrasting textures and colours across designs and with a strong focus on the silhouette of the shoe. Made in Italy using beautiful leathers sourced from some of the top Italian tanneries and suppliers used by many international fashion houses, the Tom Gunn range features a combination of powerful, attention seeking heels and bold flats. The Tom Gunn story began mid-2007 when passionate shoe designers Gabrielle Thompson and Shannon Gunn resigned from their Australian based footwear design positions and relocated to Italy to create their first shoe collection. Stemming from a shared passion for individual design and an inability to find shoes they truly loved in the Australian market, Gabrielle and Shannon set out to do what they loved most and created their first collection. Training at the prestigious Ars Arpel School in Milan, the girls passion was fuelled further as they learned about the importance of craftsmanship and design, ensuring each shoe is nothing but exquisite. The tom gunn website www.tomgunn.com was launched in September 2008 with their very own e-tail store and the shoes are stocked in high end boutiques throughout Australia, including Jean Brown, Soletta, Stella and Myrrh, C de C, Ibis, Obsessions and Booty. The shoes have featured in Grazia, Shop till You Drop and Madison, as well as online on the Frankie and Vogue websites. Recently Tom Gunn ranked number 2 on Grazia’s Half Year Hot list. Tom Gunn participated in Rosemount Australia Fashion Week in May 2009 in the Designer Suites and will also present a catwalk show in August at the Brisbane Mercedes Benz Fashion Festival.
tomgunn.com
myPet sQuare , sQ, mYmYheYheY
(designer Vicki Le), 24, Bellevue Hill, NSW
“Since beginning our label, myPetsQuare, which first was seen in stores just over a year ago, we have also launched our higher end label, sQ and simultaneously launching our surf/skate label mYmYheYheY, which began as an exclusive line for General Pants but is now hitting the surf/skate market in full force. Collectively the labels are now in over 80 stores throughout Australia, NZ and are about to be in USA. This has been a brilliant achievement considering the first injection of real orders was February 2008. Prior to that we did a lot of research, factory hunting and press work to get the name known before people could find the product anywhere. We have never advertised but continue to receive web notoriety with our twittering, facebooking and myspacing communcation directly with our buyers. Each label has a different concept, idea and market. This has enabled us to reach different audiences as well as achieve terrific sales quotas. We are the fashion house that will increase the worldwide awareness of Australia being a fashion trend hot spot.”
mypetsquare.com
Romance Was Born
(designer Anna Plunket ) 28, Surry Hills, NSW
A love of kitsch Australiana, crafty construction and fine tailoring help Romance Was Born to turn the dreaded cultural cringe on its head. These New Romantics are design duo Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales, their passion permeates their designs and is vital to the garments construction, combining seamlessly with their technical pattern-making wizardry. Resulting in clothes that are more than just the sum of their parts, they create a clothing experience. Romance Was Born collections are irreverent and fun loving, fabric and colour combinations are what inspire their playful outfits where sparkle, texture and bold prints jostle together in a harmonious jamboree of style. Romance Was Born is much loved for their original larrikin spirit, poking a cheeky tongue at convention. Their lavish aesthetic often includes a pastiche of craft work like appliqué, tie-dying or crochet, these are the fabulous hand detailed features that set their label apart from the flippant trends of the fashion madding crowd.
romancewasborn.com
TV (designer Ingrid Verner), 30
Melbourne, VIC
Rejecting balance in favour of focus and broad appeal for cult-like enthusiasm, Melbourne label TV has wit and imagination to spare. Their aesthetic is bold, uncompromising and playful, betraying a shared love of visual art and cultural reinterpretation. Producing a series of intelligent and quirky collections, designer Ingrid Verner and Monika Tywanek have built one of the most unique and exciting labels in Australia, rewarding their core of fans with four seasons of essential pieces and standout shows. The constant theme across each TV collection is the interplay between Verner’s designs and Tvanek’s expertise in textile development. This relationship forms a creative discourse which regularly pushes boundaries. Textural knits accentuate evocative form. Shifting shapes are brought to life with innovative fabric treatments. The achieved effect is highly conceptual yet tongue-incheek and light. Long time friends (the pair met briefly in high school before re-uniting a few years later at Art College) Tvanek and Verner’s intuitive partnership has yielded much critical praise. The pair surprised many by claiming the Tiffany Designer Award in their debut season. Since then, they have gone on to win over crowds at festivals in Sydney and Melbourne and are now perennially listed among label to watch.
t-v.net.au