Matchmaking in more ways than one

MELBOURNE: Melbourne Fashion Incubator (MFI) is well known for bringing fashion professionals together in the name of creativity.

So its most recent matchmaking feat - a collaboration between Melbourne designer Jenny Bannister and MFI-supported designer Colin Sheppard, creator of edgy print-led label Do It Baby - seems particularly apt.
Comprising frocks and eventwear the label - which has yet to be named - would launch at Motorola Spring Fashion Week (MSW) in September, confirmed MFI head Cindee Smith.

"Jenny came to MFI and she took one look at Colin's work and said she'd love to work with him. Colin almost fainted he was so excited."

Bannister - who will design the garments while Sheppard designs the textiles - described the look as "Edie Sedgwick meets Andy Warhol, very futuristic but also very contemporary".
Prices were a "work in progress", she added.

"I will say that it is not going to be an ego trip. We're making the label in such a way, through the help of MFI, that it will be accessible in terms of price points."

Sheppard described the collaboration as "a dream project".

"I've followed Jenny's work for years, so this is very exciting for me. The majority of the prints are quite bold and colourful; I'm very influenced by that whole era of Edie Sedgwick and Andy Warhol so when Jenny mentioned those names the whole thing seemed meant to be."

Meanwhile MFI has been forging several key relationships of its own, recruiting a suite of new fledgling labels including Zephyr & Graham, Eduardo Calucag and Antony Schropel.

Greg Tyshing - formerly best known as head of model agency Giant Management - has also joined as vice president, recruiting budding model Iola Jones as the face of MFI. Marjorie Johnson (best known as head of marketing and communications company Wordmaker) has joined as MFI chair, with a remit to include securing blue chip sponsorship to build on finance giant Deloitte's recent signing as sponsor.

MFI's next priority was to secure sponsorship from a major car or phone company, with a view to enhancing MFI's marketing clout, Cindee Smith said.

"Our long term aim is to be the best fashion incubator in the world; with that in mind we'd like to promote ourselves more overseas, especially following the success of our Milan trip in February, which really validated the status of Melbourne fashion internationally."

By Belinda Smart