Western Australian designer Morgan Marks has had a colourful career. Tracey Porter charts the clothes maker's remarkable journey from making mothball bags and prison overalls to designing naughty lingerie.
Morgan Marks is surely Australia's original "recessionista". Having held many jobs in the course of her 23-year fashion career, the budget-conscious designer made an early foray into the clothing sector And this was before she'd even completed her first year of secondary school.
Now, nearly a quarter of a century later Marks retains her desire for mixing old with new, these days heading her own fashion house where she produces contemporary, vintage-inspired collections under the Morgan Marks Clothing and Oliver & Isabelle labels.
Boasting some 80 boutiques across Australia, New Zealand as well as "the odd one in Asia, Canada and Europe", Marks has steadily built up a reputation among her loyal customer base for producing quality collections with a beautiful fit.
But this is no fluke.
An early decision to study graphic design, or the more laboured "commercial art" as it was known then, led Marks to move to the city from her country home when she was just 15. Tuition was supplemented with casual work in clothing factories where she was given the opportunity to learn the business from the ground up.
She began making hospital sheets before graduating on to prison overalls and later fluorescent safety vests. All this for the princely sum of $65 per week.
But while the financial rewards may have been limited and the hours long, Marks says the experiences she gained proved invaluable.
"I changed jobs every two weeks, working my way up the fashion chain, learning to sew high fashion garments, I did a stint doing naughty lingerie. I learnt how to be a cutter in a sportswear factory, got a job where I learnt how to make patterns and ended up doing bridal and eveningwear. I actually got taught by all the right people in the industry, kind of like an apprenticeship."
Marks describes this time as the "best experience" she could've had.
"By the age of 18 I was troubleshooting the sewing machines in a large fashion house, I learned all aspects of putting a garment together."
Foot loose and fancy free the young designer, then still aged only 19, completed stints overseas where she absorbed the sights and sounds of such precincts as London's Camden markets and Amsterdam's Albert Cuyp, before returning home brimming with ideas for her own collections.
A stint operating a stall at Fremantle Markets gave way to a 12-year foray into retailing where Marks stocked directional labels from Australia's eastern states. But it wasn't until 1998 the designer felt she was in a strong enough position to launch her own label.
Utilising a lot of stretch fabrics, all of which are still sewn locally in Perth, the labels out of the Morgan Marks fashion house today contain lots of woven fabrics, silks and silk cottons while Japanese fabrics with acetate satins and viscose georgettes also feature prominently. Muted colour palettes of brown, taupe and silvery blue are favoured and price points are kept relatively low with tops retailing for around $70 and dresses selling for up to $300.
Marks admits she sells "a lot more size 14's and 16's than sixes, eights and tens". But while some of her sizing has fluctuated over the years and her production processes have changed she insists her core easy-to-wear aesthetic has not.
"After 20 years of pattern making I really focus on fit with my clothes, and how women want clothes to feel and fit. That's why I love the jersey, and other beautiful fabrics. Now that I do some manufacturing overseas I can do a lot of detail that is hard to get done in the factories in Perth now. My style has changed a lot, I don't necessarily follow 'fashion' I don't do the colour or look of the moment. I feel like I have finally found my true style."
With plans afoot to develop her own prints and to forge a stronger path in the US and European markets, it would seem there's still plenty to keep Marks interested.
She admits to "being a true Virgo" where each range must be scrutinised upon completion and areas for improvement noted but ultimately believes any success she has enjoyed has comes down to perseverance.
"It's not an easy business to be in, I've had many ups and downs, I think the biggest lesson is believing in yourself. And you have to enjoy it otherwise you'll end up resenting it as it takes so much out of you.
"A lot goes into making one dress."