Fashion Muse - Kym Ellery

Growing up, Kym Ellery was surrounded by art made by her mother who worked in textiles, print making and ceramics. All that creativity around her, inspired Ellery to pursue a career in fashion and design. After completing her certificate of Fashion Design in Perth, Ellery travelled to London to study at the prestigious fashion school, Central St. Martins, where she studied Fashion Illustration and Sketchbook Building. 

Before starting her own label ELLERY, Kym worked at Russh Magazine for 4 years as part of their creative team, helping developing the magazine into one of the most cutting edge fashion editorials in Australia.

In 2007, Kym decided to use her experience and skills to create her own nakesake label. With fans such as Madonna and the creative team at US Vogue and Harpers Bazaar, Ellery's label quickly went from strength to strength. Stocking in most of Australia's top on-line stores and in Myer, ELLERY is quickly becoming popular amongst fashion lovers not just in Australia, but around the world. 

In March 2010, Ellery collaborated with Sportsgirl to create a capsule collection for the brand. She attended a meet and greet as part of her collaboration to tell shoppers about her background and what inspired her collection.

Kym is often seen on the red carpet and off duty in ELLERY, making her the perfect poster girl for the label's feminine and edgy look. Ellery has caught the eye of street style snapper Garance Doré on more than one occasion, wearing her own designs.

Check out some of Kym's best looks:

Love the Chanel bag and thigh-high boots

This textured vest, boots and top knot hair-do
makes this look edgy

Love the detail on the top and
the unexpected brown boots

A bright yellow Balenciaga adds
colour to an all black look
Matched perfectly with big sunnies 

An interesting fur stole and killer heels make great accessories

Kym's beautiful rings and Celine snakeskin bag captured by Garance Doré

Kym in one of her ELLERY armour dresses

Kym captured by Garance Doré at the
Madame Grès exhibition at the Musée Bourdelle

Love the white furry vest
with the sheer black top

The different textures of this layered look
shows Kym's creative style

Powerful shoulders gives this
outfit a great silhouette

Kym in a stunning, beaded ELLERY top and skirt

Leather lapels on this flowing blazer give it an edgy look

Kym captured by Garance Doré in a
self-designed skirt and amazing heels

Kym with fellow fashion muse Christine Centenera

Kym with Ruby Rose
Love the spiky headpiece

Rocking a simple look with
high-wasted jeans and a knotted t-shirt

Captured by Garance Doré in a beautifully
textured top and classic sunnies

Information courtesy of http://elleryland.com and http://wikifashion.com

Images courtesy of http:zimbio.com, http://stylemeromy.com, http://orble.com, http://branchandroot.blogspot.com, http://misociety.com.au, www.agent25.com.au, www.news.com.au, http://modeliciousbites.blogspot.com, http://au.news.yahoo.com, http://lmff.com.au

Supporting Australian Fashion - Dhini For Sportsgirl

A stunning jacket from Dhini's main line collection

The latest designer to collaborate with Australian high street brand Sportsgirl is Melbourne designer Dhini Pararajasingham. Launching her label at London Fashion Week in 2005, and opening the show at L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival this year, Dhini's label continues to grow.

Her 8 piece capsule collection titled 'Arc Angel' will be available online on 28 April 2011, before dropping in stores on 2 May 2011.  It is interesting that Sportsgirl have decided to make the collection available online before making it available in stores. They had the same retail tactic for their recent collaboration with London designer Richard Nicoll. As collaborations generally have limited stock and are only featured in the larger stores, this means a wider audience have access to the collections. With the increase in online retailing, it will interesting if other brands follow Sportsgirl's lead.

Drawing inspiration from French heroine Joan of Arc, Dhini's pieces will feature strong structured panelling and detailed draping and tailoring. The collection will be based around a charcoal, black and blush pallet. Prices will range from $100 to $190.

Sportsgirl have been collaborating with designers for the past 9 years. They have been very supportive of  up-and-coming Australian designers, working with designers such as Ansdorf, Ellery and Konstantina Mittas in the past.

This collection continues the trend of designer/retailer collaborations. In a time when retail sales are low and new designers are struggling, collaborating with established fashion companies can help introduce labels to a new audience.  In coming weeks, I'll look at the advantages and disadvantages of collaborations and diffusion lines.

Information sourced from http://www.ragtrader.com.au/news/dhini-to-design-for-sportsgirl
Image from http://www.australianinfront.com.au/news/article/lmff-designer-spotlight-2-dhini

Supporting Australian Fashion - Sportsgirl and LMFF

As part of L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival (LMFF), Sportsgirl sponsored the LMFF National Graduate Showcase. The showcase featured collections from 12 of Australia's most talented fashion graduates.  LMFF is a great way for Australian businesses to get behind up-and-coming designers.

I was surprised to see, sometime after LMFF, that there was a display of pieces from some of the 12 designers at the Chadstone Sportsgirl store.

It's great to see the support continuing after LMFF.  In a competitive industry, it's easy for designers to get their 5 minutes of fame, but then not be heard of again.  The issue is: how long does this support last for?

In order to build a successful career, graduates will not only need the right guidance in fashion, but also in business. It's one thing to present a collection, but beyond this new designers will need to work out how to market their label, source materials, organise manufacturing, price the products and manage orders. Designers effectively become sole-traders, operating their own little business. However, the majority do not have the right training or support to help their business get off the ground, so many talented designers find they cannot make a sustainable career in fashion and have to pursue other employment options which will help them pay the bills. The fashion industry, not only in Australia, but globally, have lost many promising designers in this way.

In the upcoming week I hope to cover more of these talented designers (see post on Sarah Mok, the designer for Emphemeral Reverie who featured in the LMFF National Graduate Showcase) who will form the future of Australian fashion.

I also will cover the major issues facing Australia's up-and-coming designers, and post interviews with a range of them to hear about their perspective on life in the fashion industry.

Here are some pictures I took of the display at Sportsgirl:

The attention to detail on each design is amazing. Each designer has their own unique style which is evident in the difference in material, silhouette and aesthetic of each piece. It's definitely worth checking out if you are at Chadstone, otherwise you can view the collections and learn more about the showcase and graduates online.