Photo courtesy: Christian Mushenko
At the 27th NRA Australian Fashion Design Awards national telecast on Channel 9 the Award for Fashion Excellence was presented to the famous Australian fashion designer Collette Dinnigan. In this very special interview, stylist Di Cant chats with the Australian design legend.
Q: What did the 10-year-old Collette dream of doing when she grew up?
A: I wanted to be a vet. I did, and still do, love animals.
Q: Collette, how did this wonderful journey begin? Did you have any formal fashion or lingerie design education?
A: As a teenager, I attended Wellington Polytechnic and later attended Tauranga Girls College. After I graduated, I moved to Australia and worked for the costume department at the ABC. In 1990 I created the Collette Dinnigan label.
Q: What inspires you most each new season for which ever collection you are working on - fashion or lingerie? Do you see the fabrics and work from there or is it the other way round?
A: Colour, print, emotion, travel, weather.
Q: What has been the greatest moment in your career?
A: My first show in Paris in 1995 and then my 10 year anniversary with a lunch at The Crillion.
Q: You have a distinctive, glamorous signature to each collection. Do you ever have the wild desire to do another area of fashion design, for example fun lifestyle or childrens wear?
A: I already have a lingerie collection, childrens wear, shoes...I would love to do home and/or beauty. In August 2006, I created Collette Dinnigan Enfant which is for little girls, size 0-7. I wanted to create beautiful pieces for this market that are affordable, wearable, versatile and child friendly.
Q: Who are some of the famous women who have worn your gowns?
A: Nicole Kidman, Kate Bosworth, Pink, Rose Byrne, Kate Hudson, Halle Berry, Naomi Watts, Miranda Kerr and Miranda Otto.
Q: The brand Collette Dinnigan is known and sold worldwide - what was your breakthrough into such a huge market?
A: International presence took time and hard work. My distribution started in the USA, Barneys, and then the rest of the world.
Q: Have you kept gowns from every collection since the beginning for the archives? If so, are these ever on show in a gallery?
A: Yes, I have kept some pieces from every collection but not every piece from every collection. Showing them in a gallery is actually something that we are thinking about at the moment.
Q: We notice that you show your garments with such a special style - hair, make-up, shoes, hosiery - is this your vision right from the conception to the actual parade?
A: I think you can have a vision from the beginning but there are always final touches at the eleventh hour. I always try to maintain my attention to detail and make each show or shoot unique and fabulous, and sometimes being creative and making decisions about concepts takes time and fine tuning so the concept that you had months before is not always the same result on the day.
Collette Dinnigan is available at David Jones Brisbane and Sydney and other selected stores.
