Four Australian fashion icons, including Alex Perry and Leona Edmiston, have joined forces to create exclusive designs for a colourful cause.
The initiative, for children's charity Reach for the Rainbow, sees local designers Alex Perry, Manning Cartell, Leona Edmiston and Jayson Brunsdon collaborate with Castle Towers shopping centre to create one-off exclusive designer umbrellas to be auctioned off at a VIP event on Thursday 29 March 2012.
The event, hosted by the designers themselves, will offer Castle Towers Indulge VIP Members an opportunity to bid on the exclusive umbrellas, which represent each of the designers' latest autumn/winter 2012 hero collection pieces.
All proceeds will be funnelled into the Reach for the Rainbow charity, to help fund early intervention services for children in the Hills District and establish new services, available for all disabilities and delays experienced by babies and preschoolers in the Hills District.
Following the success of the initial accessory design, designer Alex Perry revealed he will be adding to his core product offerings in the coming months.
“My business is always expanding, especially since the collaboration with Specsavers,” Perry said.
“This year is very exciting for the brand and stay tuned for news – I can’t say much right now, except it's probably not umbrellas. But I am looking at other options.”
Manning Cartell founders Cheryl, Vanessa and Gabrielle Manning also confirmed they would be looking at expanding the business in the near future.
“We have an amazing team of people around us and we look forward to watching them grow and reach their goals along with the vision we have for Manning Cartell. We are looking to further expand our retail business in Australia, and also gain greater exposure in the US and European markets. Rachel Zoe just gave our autumn/winter collection an amazing review so there are definitely very exciting times ahead!”