WA talent a cut above in fashion stakes

With a mixture of excitement and trepidation, Perth’s fashion talent are counting down the days until their creativity is unveiled at the city’s premier fashion event.

Designers are putting the finishing touches to collections that will go on show at the 16th annual Telstra Perth Fashion Festival, which kicks off on Wednesday.

Festival director Mariella Harvey-Hanrahan said West Australian designers were the heart and soul of the local fashion industry.

“Their creativity and innovative designs continues to put WA on the global fashion map,” Harvey-Hanrahan said.

“I love working with all our local designers year after year through TPFF and our other 365 events, including the WA Fashion Awards.

“I can say with confidence that our fashion influence is growing and TPFF is a fantastic platform for them to show their collections and to reach broader and greater

audiences.”

Labels such as Zhivago were “just one fantastic example of WA talent going global”.

Fashion designers meet ahead of Perth Fashion Festival which is to be held at the Perth Concert Hall this year. Picture: Lincoln Baker/The West Australian.

“It is an absolute credit to our local talent that so many designers are being recognised on this level,” Harvey-Hanrahan said.

Flannel designer Kristy Lawrence, who is among the most-experienced designers at TPFF with stores around Australia and in the United States, said she was excited to launch her collection in Perth for the first time.

“Normally I show at Australian Fashion Week and that’s when we launch the collection, but we’ll be doing that at Perth Fashion Festival so I’m really excited,” she said.

Lawrence said Perth’s fashion industry was ahead of the game.

“Leading designers, and even some of the up-and-coming designers, are doing beautiful things,” she said.

Morrison designer Kylie Radford said the local industry was vibrant and inspiring; with well-established labels and an ever-growing number of new brands.

“We’ve been based in Perth since we started the brand 12 years ago and now have eight stores and stock over 100 retailers nationally, including Myer, so we don’t feel the distance to cities like Sydney and Melbourne has slowed our growth,” Radford said.

“If anything, it helps us to stay focused on what we are doing.”

Hot on the heels of her trip to the United States during New York Fashion Week, Steph Audino said she was thrilled to be part of TPFF for the third year.

“I absolutely love TPFF and am extremely excited about showing again,” she said.

Designer Emily Muco is keen to reveal her collection from her eponymous label at the WA Designer Installation event.

“The collection has been in the works for months, so it will be very exciting to see it all finally come together,” Muco said.

“I’m so appreciative of the support TPFF has provided me.”

Bruug designer Natasha Butler is excited to be a “visible part of such an iconic event”.

“To have Bruug be alongside some of the biggest names in … Australian fashion is exciting,” Butler said.

“At a time when the fashion economy seems to be copping a bit of a battering, I’m seeing a huge underground rallying in the Perth fashion industry.

“There is something so special about how the designers and creatives in this town work with each other, have respect for each other and have the same objective: to grow and expand our industry.

“This unity will absolutely carry us forward and through these difficult times, especially combined with the local loyalty that customers are showing for Perth labels.”