This year, over 25 exhibitors showcased their accessory collections at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week’s ‘Emerge’ section. Here, Erin O’Loughlin profiles a selection of those who put themselves on show.
Amber Leppard
Amber Leppard happily admits there are no limits when it comes to the materials she will incorporate into her boutique jewellery designs. “I’ll happily combine wood with carved red coral and 18-carat gold, seashells with gemstones and pure silver, guipure lace and ostrich feathers with mother-of pearl,” Leppard says. The Sydney-based designer has spent the past five years conceiving one-off creations for private clients. Now designing under her eponymous label and with four stockists under her belt, Leppard designs two to three collections a year with retail price points that start from $400. “The intention is to go beyond the expected,” she says. “Most designs can be made in asymmetric form to hang up-and-over the shoulder, across the décolletage, out to the left, over to the right.”
it was me
Just a few months back, Philippa Houghton and Rebecca Reardon were working with a third partner on the accessories label pip and juju. When the third partner sold her share in the business in early 2010, it was an opportunity for Houghton and Reardon to take their hard-earned business knowledge and rebrand themselves anew. it was me is the revitalised label and its core product is resin jewellery, with an emphasis on resin bangles. Each piece is handcrafted in Australia and in addition to solid resin designs, Houghton and Reardon also craft pieces that feature materials such as rope, tulle, ribbon and lace suspended inside solid resin. The label’s core collection consists of top-selling pieces such as the red, black and white bangles, and prices for it was me’s earrings and rings start at $40 and bangles from $70.
Marie B
The last few years have seen things come full circle for jewellery designer Marie Claude Bourat. Born in Nice, France, Bourat grew up in a family of jewellers. After first exploring a career in travel and tourism, Bourat returned to her roots and launched her own jewellery line in 2002. Her signature creations feature handpicked Australian flowers set delicately in resin, with Bourat producing bracelets, rings, necklaces and earrings in her ‘Real Australian Flower’ range. In addition to her flower creations, Marie B designs also feature freshwater pearls, semi-precious gemstones and sterling silver. Common motifs include dragonflies and hearts and retail price points for the current ‘Flourish’ collection range from $50 to $250. There are 42 pieces in the collection.
Sassi Jewels
Sassi Jewels began life as an online venture in 2005. Five years on and with an established customer base, founder Rebecca Anderson has made the move into traditional wholesaling. Designed to tap the market that lusts after celebrity-inspired bling, Sassi Jewels offers ranges including ‘Designer Inspired Jewellery’ and ‘Sex and the City Inspired’. The label also offers bridal, pearl and gold ranges. Cubic zirconia is featured heavily and price points are wide and varied, ranging from $19 to $350. While Anderson is aiming to further grow her wholesaling and media presence, she is also refreshing her online brand with a revamp of the Sassi Jewels website currently under way.
Karine Emanouel
When it comes to having a point of difference, Karine Emanouel has nailed it. This Australian shoe designer makes use of kangaroo, fish, emu and even cane toad skins in her heel, wedge, boot and flat shoe designs. It makes sense then that all of Emanouel’s materials are sourced locally, but this designer has also endeavoured to keep her manufacturing on shore. The result is her spring/summer 2010/11 collection, ‘Summerland House’, featuring 18 styles for women with price points ranging from $220 to $629. In the future, this former garment engineer has plans to release four women’s collections a year as well as introduce a men’s and children’s range.
Xiomara Australia
Eileen Chua cut her teeth in the fashion industry by operating her own import business, bringing Italian shoes to Australian shores. In 2003, Chua changed direction and channelled all she’d learned into launching her own shoe label. Xiomara Australia is now seven years old and Chua’s current aim is to broaden the label’s appeal beyond the bridal market. Materials featured in Xiomara designs include pure duchess dyeable silk, Swarovski crystals, Matsuno glass beads and ornate brooches and prices range from $300 to $1000. The brand already has two retail outlets and Chua is ready to take on new challenges. “From day one it has been a fabulous learning curve,” she says of her label.
O-Lydia
Ria Gianas’ label, O-Lydia, has an overt feminine feel, with Gianas admitting she hopes to emulate a classic Parisian elegance in her designs. In her latest collection, ‘Camille, Ma Cherie’, Gianas has drawn inspiration from famed French artist Claude Monet and his love for his wife Camille and their garden in Giverny, France. As with all of Gianas’ pieces, the new collection is handcrafted in Australia and incorporates crystals, pearls and fine sterling silver. With an established presence online and at bridal expos, Gianas is now looking to expand O-Lydia’s reach. Retail price points range from $70 to $800.
Von Avi
It is both the past and the future that inspires Von Avi designers Kaz and Greg von Heraud-Parker. This duo creates metal women’s accessories including belts and jewellery, though their original signature is their collection of metal bags. Both early 20th century aviation and visions of the future inspire the pair, with plans to soon expand into a men’s range as well. The label launched at Air New Zealand Fashion Week in 2009 and has already picked up over five stockists across New Zealand and Dubai. Materials used include aluminium, brass, solid metal rivets and luxury upholstery fabric inners. Price points stretch all the way from $NZ54 to $NZ1395. To keep things personal, each metal handbag is numbered and fitted with interior lights so belongings don’t get lost in its dark depths.
Tosca Delfino Swim
Like so many migrants and travellers before her, Tosca Delfino decided to settle in Bondi when she made the big move from Canada to Australia. Unlike many others, Delfino also created a swimwear line within months of landing in her new home country. Delfino’s debut collection for spring/summer 2010/11 comprises 15 pieces, including 1960s-inspired high waisted bikini bottoms and triangle bikini tops. The collection also features one-piece swimsuits, with the Bondi Bubble suit featuring glints of sparkle that fade into an ocean-like blue. Delfino hopes the pieces will be worn both on and off the beach. Price points for the label include $99.95 for the classic triangle bikini, $109.95 for the high waisted bottoms and $150 for one-piece swimsuits.
Lydia Jewels
Lydia-Jane Saunders has a fondness for antique chandeliers. Rather than admire them hanging from ornate ceilings, however, she prefers to dissect them with her own hands, incorporating their antique crystals into her accessory designs. Other materials Saunders commonly features include Swarovski crystals and semi-precious stones and while other Australian labels may have their pieces manufactured offshore, Saunders prides herself on handcrafting each and every piece in her Sydney studio. Lydia Jewels releases two main collections in a given year and retail price points span $24 to $357. With each passing collection, Saunders has earmarked her crystal flower earrings as a signature design. “In each collection I create a new take on this classic piece, adding chains, pearls, or changing the colours,” she says.
George Gina & Lucy
Six years after launching in Europe, this German bag label has finally hit Australian shores. Supply Demand Networks commenced distributing the label locally in October 2009 and is currently on the hunt for additional stockists. The signature George Gina & Lucy range is the ‘Nylon’ collection, though with retail price points ranging from $100 to $400 these are not flimsy synthetic totes. This season the label has also introduced designs made from canvas, calf-skin and distressed leather. George Gina & Lucy designs are recognisable by their trademark clasp and are currently sold across Europe, the US, UK, Japan, Asia and the Middle East. The product is manufactured in Hong Kong.
