Iconic designer Collette Dinnigan has been announced as the recipient of the prestigious fifth annual Australian Fashion Laureate.
The award, a joint initiative between the NSW government and IMG Fashion Asia Pacific, will be presented today by The Weekend Australian Magazine as part of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia 2012.
Dinnigan, who began her eponymous label in 1990 with the launch of dryclean only lingerie, now operates three distinct brands – Collette Dinnigan mainline, Collette by Collette Dinnigan lingerie and Collette by Collette Dinnigan diffusion.
In Australia, Dinnigan's labels are stocked by department store David Jones, which has rolled the label out into 34 stores nationally and launched seven flagship concept stores. Dinnigan's brands are also now stocked by online retailer Net-A-Porter and by over 100 retailers globally.
Dinnigan also operates two stand-alone boutiques in Sydney and Melbourne at Queen Street Woollahra, and Chapel Street South Yarra.
In 1995, Dinnigan also became the first Australian designer to be invited by the Chambre Syndicale du Pret a Porter des Couturiers et des Createurs de Mode to show on the prestigious Paris schedule.
She has now been showing her collections on the exclusive Paris Fashion Week circuit for over 10 years and is only Australian designer to be a member of the Chambre Syndicale.