SYDNEY: Neurotica designer Victoria McGrane is coming home.
Fashion importer Flying Standard will release her spring/summer 2010 collection through independent boutiques from next February. The Sydney-born and trained McGrane is currently based in London, where she launched her womenswear brand Neurotica three years ago.
While the designer has agents in London, Paris and New York, this is her first commercial venture on home turf. Flying Standard agent Nicola Reindorf confirmed domestic sales for the collection will continue until the end of this month.
“We are showing relatively late in the season but the label has had a very positive reaction,” she said, adding McGrane had been approached by several Australian boutiques prior to the appointment of a local agent.
Her Australian launch collection is comprised of 26 hand-printed pieces made from cottons and supersoft silk jersey. Manufactured entirely in the UK and retailing from $120 to $300, the range features fairytale prints such as creeping vines, bees, daisy chains and honeycomb illustrations.
“The tones are bright but soft and include shades of dusty yellow, ecru and eucalyptus, with discordant highlights of coral berry and mandarin,” McGrane said.
Confirmed orders at the time of press included independent chain Nicola (Melbourne and Sydney), Bird Motel (online) and Collector (Sydney). The brand has a cult international stockist base with Pixie Market (New York), Oak (New York), Beyond the Valley (UK) and Noir Kennedy (France) among its loyal clients.
Last year, McGrane joined the likes of Richard Nicholl and Alice McCall in producing a limited edition collection for UK giant Topshop. She also famously won a £75,000 ($136,000) cash injection through BBC reality television show Dragon’s Den in 2008.
McGrane studied at the Sydney College of The Arts and TAFE NSW Fashion Design Studio, formerly East Sydney TAFE.
Assia Benmedjdoub