Ray of Light

 

It's common knowledge that international fashion buyers are driven to Australia by the prospect of purchasing something their competitors don't have. Assia Benmedjdoub meets three women who make our local designers all the more exclusive.

"O radiant dark! O darkly fostered ray!
Thou hast a joy too deep for shallow day."
O George Eliot, thou thoughts are not shared!
Just ask Albert Morris, Browns buying consultants' head.

Although to be fair, it wasn't just Morris who was desperately seeking a shred of colour at the recent instalment of Rosemount Australian Fashion Week (RAFW). By day four of the spring/summer 2008 collections, many buyers were left scratching their heads as a solemn darkness descended on the runways. Where had all the colour gone?

Anna Harves, Alecia Jensen and Brianna Pike couldn't have asked for a better plug. The Sydney-based textile designers created some of the more colourful prints featured at RAFW, including selected pieces for Mad Cortes, Ruby Smallbone, Flamingo Sands, Ginger & Smart and OneTeaspoon. Since launching their boutique design agency 'sixhands' just over two years ago, the trio have provided a range of bespoke and stock prints for leading Australian designers.

"It's so satisfying to see our artwork finally in three dimensional form," Jensen says, noting they've worked with a broad range of clients from Lisa Ho, George Gross and Carla Zampatti to Sportsgirl and underwear giant Bonds. "A really original print becomes a strong signature for designers." 

The three women met while studying Fashion and Textile Design at the University of Technology in Sydney. After working for a number of local fashion companies, they decided the textile trade needed a much-needed injection of colour.
"[We found that] fashion labels were struggling to maintain the exclusivity of their brands because of the speed and proliferation of cheap knock offs," Jensen says. "Unique printed textiles are what set products apart and authenticate them like a watermark."

Although they provide design services across interiors, soft furnishings, wallpapers and "anything else creative hands can come up with", fashion remains a strong component of their business. For direct textile print purchases, which range from $450 to $650 plus GST in price, the company also provides additional services such as colourways, co-ordinates and customisations like logos, engineered prints, placements and embroidery design.

Great lengths are taken to avoid intellectual property theft but like most creative industries, this continues to be an uphill battle.

"We've had one of our clients commission a print with us that their offshore manufacturer produced double the quantity," Jensen says. "Half of this was sold on to another Australian label which had it in-store in Myer before our client did. It's really sad when something like this happens because there are endless fresh and beautiful prints out there to be used."
The trio, who conduct their own in-house trend forecasting, consult a broad range of sources when devising their prints such as texts on design, architecture, art, politics, technology, the environment, social movements and science. Images, colour combinations and textures are then transferred into experimental drawings, paintings and photographs.

"These elements all end up on the computer to create a user-friendly product," Jensen explains. "Occasionally, we will then assist our clients in translating the design to suit a variety of different end applications. Most of the time, our clients fall in love with something from our collection and so from there we leave it to their design and production teams to bring it into garment form."

With the madness of RAFW now firmly behind them, the three designers are looking forward to participating in the Design:Made:Trade event in July. The new trade and wholesale exhibition, which showcases Australian manufacturers, product designers and product designers, is no easy nut to crack. In fact, sixhands was one of ten design studios handpicked by organisers from across Australia.

"The event is intended to be an international focus on the cross-pollination of design and a spotlight on Australian style," Jensen says. "We've received an extremely positive response from the industry and this recognition is something we're rapt with."

By Assia Benmedjdoub