Stakes high for opening night duo
The stakes just get higher for rising local designer One Fell Swoop, which will open this year's Perth Fashion Festival in its biggest show to date.
On the back of winning Most Innovative Designer for 2011 at the WA Fashion Awards, design duo Daniel Romanin and Nikolina Ergic will present a trans-seasonal collection in a VIP event at the Perth Town Hall, presented by The West Australian.
It will mark the beginning of the week-long festival on September 19.
The 29-year-old pair, who have shown at Melbourne and Australian fashion weeks, have won praise for their ethereal designs, heavy on draping and layers.
The Perth showcase will be their most ambitious project yet, with a total of 40 looks.
They are busy creating pieces for the collection, titled An Illusive Tribe, which will span summer and winter designs and will include show pieces created for the event.
Romanin said opening the festival was something he could not have imagined when he and Ergic started the label in 2005.
"There are always delusions of grandeur, but I never thought it would happen," he said.
"We have grown up now. We don't want this incredible wealth of things, we just want times we can show people something."
Ergic said there were plenty of opportunities to keep the pair in WA and they had plans to branch out while based at home.
"There's a lot of reward here from the support we get and that's what keeps you going," she said.
"It's one thing to be praised by your friends and family but being acknowledged by your peers and the industry is a whole other thing."
