Where the sun shines

Now in its second year, Mercedes-Benz Brisbane Fashion Festival (MBFF) is rapidly gaining notoriety as the best platform to show off Queensland design talent to a national audience. Tracey McEldowney profiles some of the standouts from its latest installment.

Menswear
SIZE
With such collection names as 'Fake glam' and 'le Shit', streetwear label Size is clearly a label with a conscience. Founded by Andrzej Pytel three years ago, Size was born after Pytel began screen printing what he calls his "architectural convulsions". Having had his limited range of tees picked up by two stores soon after, Pytel set about transforming his idea into a full fashion range. Manufactured entirely in Australia, the brand's summer range features 80 pieces including tees, jeans, jumpsuits jackets and vests. Targeted at the same audience favoured by competitors Ksubi and Material Boy, retail price points range from $80 to $800.

COXI
Coxi designer Nigel Cox finally feels free to breathe. Having "taken a punt" on establishing his own label while unemployed in 2004, his label can finally boast commercial success having established an inhouse factory, picked up stockists across the state and launches its first womenswear collection during MBFF. Based around the concept of cutting edge design, the label sources wovens from around the world with many of its pieces featuring contrasting textures such as denim and silk together with embroidered fabrics. Eighty per cent Australian-made - its T-shirts and some stretchwear are made in China - the label's new season men's range includes 27 pieces across nine styles with prices ranging from $50 to $300.

CHECK
The now defunct Mercedes-Benz Start-Up competition was responsible for putting a lot of emerging designers on the road to commercial success. Fortunately Check founder John Prikryl numbers himself among the chosen few. Prikryl, who launched his first collection while still studying at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in 2005, prefers to release a set of mini ranges instead of just one range per season. This means that at any given time he has around 20 shirts, a handful of jackets, a couple of jeans or pant styles and some knitwear pieces available. Selling in sizes small through to XXL, Check prefers to work with natural fabrications with all its fabrics coming from Europe. The label retails for between $65 and $500.

Swimwear
RIOT
Riot founder Gillian Marriage is well used to accepting plaudits. Having picked up her first lot of swimwear awards in 1983 under her GM Gold label, Marriage launched Riot in 2000 and added a further swag of National Retail Awards (NRA) to her burgeoning mantelpiece. The label, which has not had a garment returned in over four years, is constructed primarily from Italian lycra with most pieces in the collection featuring beading, applique or cut outs. As designs are fairly labour intensive, Marriage makes a limited edition of most designs with many one off pieces. Stocked in boutiques across New South Wales and Queensland and available in children's or women's sizes, price points range between $50 and $200. 

JAMU
Like most great labels, Jamu was borne from frustration. Tired of not being able to find swimwear in the colour and style of her choice, Lydia Leong launched her label in 2005 specifically targeting 20 to 30 year-old-women. However the label has since evolved to include older women as well as those with larger busts, fuller figures or who have undergone mastectomies. Catering for sizes six to 20 with some styles offering up to a G cup, the brand produces seven different swimwear labels out of its Fortitude Valley compound with more than 50 different styles on offer each season. Functioning on a "made to order" retailing concept, the brand retails for between $99 and $280.

BROTHERS NEILSEN
Taking inspiration from '80s suits and '50s pin up girls, Gold Coast-based label Brothers Neilsen designer Karen Neilsen has remained true to her intention to add glamour to Australian pool sides. Key looks for her summer collection include plunging necklines, high leg lines, Swarovski crystals, metallic belts and zip fronts. A former swimsuit model Neilsen, who married the label co-founder Paul Neilsen in 1979, used the MBFF platform to launch the brand's new label - the Karen Neilsen Collection - in an attempt to expand the brand beyond its traditional surfwear core. 

Eveningwear
GINA KIM
From the moment of launching Gina Kim stood out from the crowd. Originally intending to be a musician until a last minute change of heart, Kim burst onto the scene shortly after graduating from fashion when she was awarded the gong for best student design in both the 2000 and 2001 Australian Fashion Design Awards. She later followed this up by winning the Supreme award in 2002 and 2003. Having launched her two labels - Gina Kim (daywear) and Gina Kim Couture in 2004, she produces around 45 styles per season, specifically targeting women aged 25 to 40. Available in sizes eight t0 14, the two labels retail for between $150 and $850 apiece.

PAUL HUNT
Paul Hunt is something of a veteran by MBFF standards. Having featured prominently at the inaugural event, he followed up his second appearance by confirming the sale of three of his eveningwear gowns the morning after debuting them on the catwalk. His increasing profile in the Queensland market has formed Hunt to move to larger premises, opening a new studio in Brisbane's New Farm. Another who has a host of Australian Fashion Design Awards clogging his glass cabinet, Hunt launched his first ready-to-wear collection at MBFF 2007 with a range of special silk day and cocktail dresses. Key colours included purple, green and yellow.

MICHAEL KLEASE
Couturier Michael Klease is a favourite member of Queensland's unique elite fashion fraternity. Renown for his glamorous formal, evening and racewear collections, Klease first entered the scene more than 15 years ago. Boasting his own studio in the city's bustling Fortitude Valley, Klease's says his latest collection was inspired by a "journey through time". With most pieces in white, other key colours included silver and bronze with flashes of magenta and purple. Fabrications included silks, satins and chiffons.

Innovation
MOTHER MARIA
Mother Maria founder Katie Gannon likes to acknowledge the importance history has in making her the woman she is. Having named the label after her late Polish grandmother Maria, she offers a further nod to the past through incorporating recycled vintage fashion pieces in each item of her clothing to offer them more character. Producing between 15 and 20 pieces per season, the Indonesian-manufactured range is available in sizes six to 14 with retail price points of between $44 and $440. Boasting its own online store, the collection also supplies around 20 stockists across New South Wales, Victoria and, of course, Queensland.

AKKO
A graduate of the Canberra Institute of Technology, Akko designer Alexandra Quijach banked on success early by launching her own label in 2003 - a year before she completed her course. It was not until 2006 when the broader public were introduced to Akko, when the label was showcased in the Melbourne Myer Cup Fashion Parade. However it has since made up for lost time having secured a position at the 2007 Young Blood Designer Markets at Sydney's Powerhouse Museum. Quijach's summer offering was designed to "truly celebrate the female form" with coorinated dresses, skirts, separates and tailored pieces in ivory, gold, navy blue and blood red.

GRBAC
Having completed an apprenticeship with Queensland's famed womenswear label Easton Pearson, Grbac founder Juli Grbac launched her own label in 2002. Specialising in silks and natural fibres, Grbac likes to give all her garments a luxurious feel by lining everything in silk, sourcing all her lace from France and using Swarovski crystals for all embellishments. The label, manufactured in her Brisbane production room manned by herself, her mother and two out workers, produces about 20 styles per season in sizes ranging from six to 14. Stocked in a host of Brisbane stores, as well as its own retail store, Grbac retails for between $160 for a silk cami to $500 for a dress.

By Tracey McEldowney