Designer hangs up pin cushion
The former model booker turned womenswear and lingerie designer last week admitted she intends closing all four of her Sydney-based Bare by Rebecca Davies stores and getting out of the industry altogether.
However, Davies - who has kept something of a low profile since her last appearance at Australian Fashion Week in March 2006 - said the decision was motivated by a number of issues, none of which concerned the financial viability of her business.
"[I] have been in the industry for longer than most and toughed it out through good times and bad and lived to tell the tale."
Instead Davis - whose label boasts more than 100 domestic and 20 international stockists including David Jones, Neiman Marcus and Selfridges - cited ongoing family and health issues as the main cause for her departure.
Davis, whose red carpet creations have been worn by Victoria Beckham, Paris Hilton and Julianne Moore, said the past few years had been hard healthwise, with her mother winning her battle with cancer and her own two-year well-publicised broken leg. However what was of most concern was her US-based sister's ongoing struggle with Leukemia.
"[After 13 years] the excitement was wearing a little thin [and] with so many more important health issues in my life the final decisions came easy - particularly when I knew I would have to visit my sister [who has just received a stem cell transplant] at a moment's notice."
Davis said she had been approached by several parties interested in purchasing the 13-year-old business however these were dependent on her being at the helm as the "name and face" of the brand.
Davis declined to reveal the value of her business, but admitted she was "fortunate" enough to be in a position where she did not have to work.
Admitting she intends using her spare time travelling and "not working to deadlines", Davis said she could not rule out a return to the industry at a later stage.
Having confirmed her summer collection as her last and with selling agents already delivering the news to stockists, Davis said she expects the Bare by Rebecca Davies business to be fully wound up by March.