MELBOURNE: A long-term youth fashion buyer and designer for Myer and Forever New has taken the leap from big retail to launch her own womenswear label.
Jacqueline Hunt has created Tristania Drive, pitched at fashion forward women aged 30 to 45, with a focus on timeless style and quality of fit. The range is named after the beachside street she lived on as a child in Noosa Heads, Queensland, and the launch collection is inspired by the adjacent ocean.
“My family have owned three houses on the street, and I also was proposed to on the street,” she said. “Tristania Drive aims to sit alongside brands such as Camilla and Marc and Ginger and Smart in boutiques around Australia.”
The brand will launch in August for spring/summer 2010, with 11 boutiques nationally. These include five stores in Perth, three in Melbourne, two in Sydney and one in Brisbane. It will also be stocked in a Japanese store called Gallanda Galante in Tokyo.
Manufactured in China, key items in the 32-piece range include cap-sleeved body conscious dresses, fitted skirts, tailored shorts, flowing shirts with prints, camisole tops, embroidered caftans and flowing maxi-dresses. Details such as tapered waistlines, angled seams, crochet elements and zip fronts feature throughout. Key fabrics include silk, cotton voiles and viscose blends.
“I work with the shape of the body, with lot of slimming details,” Hunt said.
Prices for dresses start from $189, shorts and skirts from $219, with maximum prices around $429. Four ranges per year will be released, with winter 2011 design already underway.
Hunt collaborated with Sydney artist Longina Phillips to create prints for the range. Cues were taken from coral reefs, colours of the water and sand dunes.
Securing an agent for the brand in each state and expanding the stockist reach are key goals, she said. An e-commerce boutique will be launched to correspond with the first season’s release. Long term, Hunt aims to open a stand-alone store for the brand.
Before launching the label, Hunt designed and bought youth apparel for Myer for seven years. She also spent a year at young fashion retailer Forever New. Prior to these roles, Hunt ran a hand-painted t-shirt collection called Jax.
Melinda Oliver