Muccia to spice up value fashion market

Womenswear designer Melanie Cutfield isn't planning to twiddle her thumbs through the current economic slump. The Sydney-based designer has diversified her portfolio with the launch of Muccia, a diffusion brand aimed at a wider range of consumers.

"We saw an opportunity with the current economic climate to broaden our reach with our product line," she said. "It is based on the essence of a designer label but has a price point that a wider market will find appealing. We feel that both of the labels working together will give our business strength and scope."

The debut spring/summer 2008/09 collection, which launches across 55 national retailers from July 25, is comprised of 45 pieces across three colour ways. Priced from $130 to $350, it includes maxi dresses, quirky knitwear, detailed jersey tops and shirt dresses in cotton, linen and silk/cotton fabrications. Lurex yarns and viscose/spandex jersey also feature strongly throughout the range.

"Muccia is very much about colour," Cutfield said. "The inspiration behind this line was about taking simple shapes in blocks of colour to make an easy-to-wear yet sophisticated range of clothing. It is relaxed weekend wear with less structure than the designer label."

The collection's knitwear range is manufactured in China while the woven component is produced locally. Confirmed stockists include five Picnic branded stores in Western Australia, Strelitzia in Sydney's Balmain, Pink Ink in the ACT and Lygon in Melbourne.

Cutfield said she had strong ambitions for the diffusion brand in Australasia, with broader collections anticipated in coming years. In the meantime, the designer is in the process of moving premises to a newly refurbished showroom and design studio in Sydney. A new website, equipped with an online boutique that sells directly to public, is also expected to launch by next month.

"We are currently putting together the winter 2009 Muccia collection and we will be introducing some chunky knits and signature prints as well as some cosy dresses," Cutfield said. "We would hope that in the next couple of years the range will evolve to a size that there is more depth of buyers. We are planning to keep it more of a domestic brand so that we can tailor it specifically to the Australasian market."

By Assia Benmedjdoub