Fashion

The Future for Adelaide Fashion Designers

As Rosemount Australian Fashion Weeks wraps up in Sydney, here in Adelaide the focus turns to our own fashion designers and the future of Adelaide fashion.

Unfortunately, Adelaide is not exactly known as the fashion capital of the world and only one Adelaide label, ‘None the Richer’, was featured at RAFW 2011.

However that doesn’t mean that South Australian’s are as unfashionable as some would have you believe.

TAFE SA offers many courses in fashion and design and Helen Jansson, principle lecturer of the fashion program, says graduate outcomes are excellent.

Graduates of the program include Briony Vickery of RM Williams, Catherine Zierch and Kelly Lewis of George Gross and Harry Who, Julia Ritorto and Carmen Dugan of Finders Keepers and Adrian Costanzo who previously worked for Valentino in Milan.

“Unfortunately Adelaide doesn’t provide as much opportunity for entering into larger scale industries so many graduates go interstate to learn the ropes and end up coming back to Adelaide to start up their own businesses,” she says.

One graduate of the program is Jaimie Sortino, a young up and coming Adelaide fashion designer who won the SA Emerging Designer Award at the Chambord Fashion showcase last year.

Jaimie says that while Adelaide may not be known for its fashion industry, it’s still possible to forge a career as a fashion designer here.

“I think it’s actually easier to forge a career here in Adelaide,” he says.

“I find networking within fashion here, everybody seems to know each other and is always helping each other out (creatively) which is amazing.”

Four years ago Damien Woolnough, who previously worked for Vogue, In Style and Harper’s Bazaar, published a scornful article on Adelaide style in The Australian calling Adelaide “fashionless”.

“I take great joy in shopping and in being in touch with fashion, and that pleasure wasn’t part of my experience in Adelaide,” he said in the article.

“I didn’t have the opportunity to wear three quarters of my wardrobe. There was no point wearing it because you just stood out like a sore thumb.”

However, Jaimie says people from Adelaide have a great sense of individual style.

“I do believe Adelaide has quite a conservative view on fashion, but I think that makes it more exciting to push the boundaries of fashion and style or what is perceived to be fashion,” he says.

“Adelaide has a great small market of stores that aren’t available in other states and that helps us here have our own style and sense of fashion.”

Helen Jansson agrees, and says the small market provides a unique opportunity for a large number of boutique brands that can afford to supply small quantities to Adelaide retailers.

“Having lived and worked in Melbourne for 15 years before moving to Adelaide, I was amazed at the unique, unpretentious love Adelaidians have for fashion and (their) ability to find quirky, interesting pieces and style them accordingly, she says.

In 2007, Stella McCartney’s one off range for Target sold out within minutes on the eastern seaboard of Australia.

Here in South Australia, however, it took three months for the popular British designer’s clothes to sell out.

However, much has changed since 2007 with one of the biggest development being the establishment of the Adelaide Fashion Festival held every November.

Jaimie says that while Adelaide gets knocked for having its own fashion week, it’s not as behind the times as people think.

“The beauty of our fashion week is, it really focuses on up and coming designers,” he says.

Helen says that one of the problems with fashion in Adelaide is the widespread retail environment, which is fine for locals but confusing for tourists.

“Adelaide residents are great at hunting out the unique retailers and brands but this is hard for interstaters.”

She says much of this is being addressed with the redevelopment of Rundle Mall and the increase in national and international retailers being brought to Adelaide.

“The amount of fresh new labels and designers who are making a mark both locally and interstate is growing at a great rate so I believe the future is bright for the Adelaide fashion scene,” she says.

To find out more about studying fashion at TAFE SA visit their website

To get in contact with Jaimie Sortino about his designs visit www.facebook.com/jaimie.sortino

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