Maya joins the jewellery craze

SYDNEY: Nina Maya Skrzynski is going upstyle.

Best known for her relaxed take on women's ready-to-wear, the 25-year-old designer has refined her business model to feature a heavier accent on eveningwear while also introducing a new accessories line.

Skrzynski, whose label Nina Maya was picked up by department store David Jones her first season, first introduced eveningwear into her autumn/winter 2008 collections with a capsule range of sequined and silk dresses.

Despite the fact the range was retailed at a much higher price point than the remainder of the collection, the dresses hit a nerve with buyers, prompting the move to incorporate more eveningwear into her spring/summer 2008/09.

"We were also lucky enough to dress [model] Megan Gale in one of our sequin dresses for the [Australian musical award ceremony] the ARIAs. Following on from all the press coverage we received we had had orders from all over the country from people desperate to get 'that' dress," Skrzynski said.

Motivated by her desire to offer a completed picture to buyers and to a lesser degree consumers, the accessories line seemed a natural progression, she said. "As a designer I wanted to be able to present a total look. For me this was particularly important to be able to present a complete outfit on the catwalk that needs no further additions."

The signature piece of the accessories line is a versatile handbag that can be worn in three ways. Constructed from black patent and ivory canvas with gold metal hardware and silver leather and ivory canvas with silver metal hardware, the line also includes belts in two styles: one a black patent version and the other an elastic belt with a black buckle. Like her ready-to-wear and eveningwear collections, the accessories line is manufactured in Sydney by a local factory. The bags boast a wholesale price point of $250 while the belts will sell for $110.

Skrzynski said once the new lines had been bedded down her next plan of attack was to launch a new online boutique with a retail store also on the cards for later in the year.

By Tracey Porter