FASHFEST 2017 Designer Feature: Karen Lee

Meets - Kaet - September 25, 2017

It’s FASHFEST week! Are you ready for 3 nights of fashion and fun?

Canberra designer Karen Lee is gearing up for her 5th year at FASHFEST. As one of the original designers to show at FASHFEST, she says the backstage vibe is a highlight of FASHFEST. We talked to Karen about being a designer in Canberra.

How has being involved with FASHFEST changed the way you design?

This is my fifth year at FASHFEST. I’ve been with the event since the beginning. The evolution of the event has changed what I put on the FASHFEST catwalk. In the beginning the shows were more promotional, partly because they were in Winter. With the show moving to September, and aligning with the international fashion calendar, I can launch my spring collections at FASHFEST.

Model wearing white shirt with big black buttons.

Model wearing Assemblage Project
PhotoAngusCampbell

What has inspired your 2017 Fashfest collection and can you give us any hints on what we might see on the catwalk?

This year inspiration has come from a local land mark—a building built in the late 1950s which reflects its surroundings and modernism of the time. Guests will see sculptured silhouettes contrasted with soft draped silhouettes on the catwalk.

Canberra offers so much inspiration

What inspired your career in the fashion industry and what would your advice be for a designer looking to get into the industry?

I wanted a career change and wanted to do something creative. For me that was fashion.

My advise is to work for someone else in the industry first to make sure it’s what you want to do. Many don’t realise it, but fashion is a lot of hard work and it’s time consuming. I’d also advise young designers entering the industry to be honest with customers and always aspire to create something beautiful and unique.

Karen Lee – designer walk.
Image: Shann Brown

How does living in Canberra inspire your work and business?

I’m inspired by how living in Canberra is so easy. There’s no traffic, so I’m in my shop space in Assemblage Project, in Braddon, within 15 minutes. I’m also inspired by the weather, especially when it’s freezing cold outside but the sun is shining. It makes you happy. And I love how Canberra offers so much inspiration and love living where so much is changing for the better.

Do you have a Fashfest highlight or memory you would like to share?

Getting phone calls the week of FASHFEST from persons very much involved in the event saying ‘I need something to wear that matches … (no names!)’

Another highlight is the backstage vibe before a show. It’s exhilarating.

Model wears black dress with red neck lace and bracelet.

On the catwalk with Karen Lee
Image: FASHFEST

Karen Lee will be showing her Spring collection on the closing night of FASHFEST at the 9:00pm show.

If you want the full pre-show backstage experience, we recommend getting the VIP Experience Package for FASHFEST 2017 – front row seats and a pre-show backstage tour.

FASHFEST will be held from 28 to 30 September, with two shows each night at the National Convention Centre, Canberra. See the FASHFEST website for the full program and ticket information.

FASHFEST 2017 Designer feature: Zilpah tart

Meets - Kaet - September 19, 2017

From making clothes for her toy trolls to dressing models for the runway, we talked to Zilpah tart designer Yumi Morrisey about FASHFEST 2017 and adding her touch of Canberra to the catwalk.

What has inspired your 2017 FASHFEST collection?

My Spring-Summer 2017 collection, titled ‘Garden Paradise’, was designed using photographs from Floriade I’ve taken over the years. I’ve created three new fabric prints that are very bright and capture the colour and energy of Floriade. They’ll look amazing on the FASHFEST catwalk.

The collection is very feminine, taking on a garden nymph vibe, with some new styles of garments including culottes and a jumpsuit. I’m also designing two show pieces to start and finish the show at FASHFEST which will be show stoppers.

Two females looking at camera. A rack of clothes is in front of them.

Canberra designer Yumi Morrisey Photo: Avon Dissanayake

You have been involved with FASHFEST for a few years – has this changed the way you design?

When designing a collection that I’m going to show at FASHFEST, I have to think about how the garments will look on the runway. People watching the show need to be entertained, so it’s important to think about that aspect and the total look, including hair and makeup and accessories. It pushes me to think outside the square a little more. This is my fourth year at FASHFEST and I’ve learned every year.

Do you have a FASHFEST highlight?

My second year at Fashfest was a highlight. It was my first collection featuring Canberra prints, including the Parliament Kaleidoscope print which has been worn by politicians and customers overseas. The response from the catwalk show was fantastic. This really paved the way for my business direction as it is now.

All of my fabric prints are designed from Canberra photos.

How has living in Canberra inspired your designs?

All of my fabric prints are designed from Canberra photos. This is a big part of my business. Canberra is a beautiful place, and there’s so much that I can use to show this through my prints.

I think Canberrans are proud to be here, and they love the Nation’s Capital, so they love the idea of being able to wear that pride and beauty in the form of a garment. This includes prints featuring many of our cultural institutions such as the National Museum of Australia, the National Sound and Film Archives and Questacon, and prints celebrating our major tourism attractions like the Balloon Festival.

Twelve models on the catwalk. A large screen is behind the catwalk.

On the catwalk Photo: FASHFEST

What inspired your career in the fashion?

I decided when I was seven years of age that I wanted to be a fashion designer, and I never changed my mind. I used to make outfits for my troll dolls as a child.

Do you have any tips for a young designer looking at entering the industry?

It’s important to know your customer and find out what they want and need on many levels. It’s not just about how the clothes look, it’s about how they’re made and how they’re cared for. Busy women don’t have time for delicate washing instructions or ironing. My customers love originality but also versatility.

Obviously, as a designer, I have to have a strong point of difference. It has to be clear what I offer that others don’t. Something strong that makes customers choose my designs over someone else’s? It’s what makes you stand out as a designer.

Female model with her hands on her hips.

Canberra by design

Zilpah tart’s collection will be hitting the runway on the final night of FASHFEST. Follow Yumi’s FASHFEST adventure on Instagram @zilpahtart.

FASHFEST 2017 is on 28 to 30 September, with two shows each night at the National Convention Centre. Tickets start at $49 for silver tickets or the full VIP package includes a backstage tour – visit the FASHFEST website for program and ticket information.

Images provided by FASHFEST

Fashfest returns to Canberra this Springtime

Lifestyle - Fran - August 24, 2016

FASHFEST, Canberra’s very own red-carpet fashion event, is back for its fourth year this September. The Spring time, is a perfect match to showcase blooming designers’ and established fashion names’ latest collections, and to wow audiences with an event that treats all the senses.

The six shows (two each night), explore fashion through differing themes; from the simple beauty that is presented through colours and shapes, to the meaning that fashion represents for each spectator; its significance.

This year, there are more than 40 local, national and international fashion designers who will reveal their new collections on the catwalk, and the 140 models will be walking at the pace set by the 25 musicians handpicked for the event. Canberra filmmakers will also play their part, with six original films matched to each show.

Sovata – Fashfest 2015 (Photographed by Martin Ollman)

With just five weeks until opening night, we spoke to FASHFEST’s Director of Music, Ashley Feraude, about the event.

We asked him about how he became involved with FASHFEST, and said, that initially he did so as a musician, lending his distinct sounds to mark the pace for the live catwalk alongside violinist Michael Liu. Since then, he has taken on the role of Director of Music for FASHFEST and has been involved in handpicking talented Canberran acts to complement the themes for this year’s event.

‘I think it’s worth supporting artists while they grow’, and so this year he has invited back some of the DJs that performed in previous years’ shows, as well as reaching out to local DJs to help celebrate the fact that Canberra has a great niche of talent, including six female DJs performing at the event.

The process for handpicking artists and music is not as complex as we thought. ‘The themes for the shows are created first, so I already know roughly what the main concept will be and which artists will suit them. I use those themes as a way of aligning music to them, the artists submit songs and we make sure that there aren’t songs that the designer won’t feel right about and that the pace matches the catwalk’, Ashley said.

When asked about the role that music plays in FASHFEST, he pondered. ‘I was trying to imagine going to a fashion event with no music behind it. The right kind of music does two things, it gives the pace and the energy for the models – the human element, and it essentially set a mood and provides another sensory experience. Essentially it’s kind of like an accelerator – you look at a particular dress and it already has movement and flow to it when the model is walking down the catwalk and when you attach the right music to it, it just accelerates the audience experience, the fabric almost dances to it. Music makes life better’.

Karen Lee – Fashfest 2015 (Photographed by Martin Ollman)

Indeed, FASHFEST provides a full sensory experience for the audience; you see the fabric move, you see it dance to the beat of the music as it glides along the catwalk. ‘Fashion on catwalks is quite theatrical, and the music adds to that theatre’.

Ashley hopes that FASHFEST will allow people to feel liberated. ‘I think that a lot of us are into fashion, and what I’d like to happen is that an event like this gives people the courage to be individual and express themselves through fashion and feel good about it.

From a musical perspective, it is more about being open to music that you probably wouldn’t have heard of. I love the fact that people may feel challenged by the music, and still go and explore it. Maybe find the artists in soundcloud and listen to them, or support them. FASHFEST exposes people to music that they would not have heard on the radio.’

Ashley Feraude aka ‘Magnifik’ (Photo supplied by Mr Feraude)

Things to note

Tickets are on sale now through www.fashfest.com.au

Dates: 29 September to 1 October (2 distinct shows per night)

Where: National Convention Centre

On social hashtag: #FASHFEST

Confirmed musicians at the time of publishing include Ashlee McKenzie, Ave Nocturna, Degg, DJ Cheese, Nate Zin, Soul Sisters, James Anthony, Kirklandd, Magnifik, Mondecreen, Neonhoney, Simon Anau, Tak-un-da, Benjamin Reeve, Hamish Lardi, Josh Beck, Megan Bones, Mitcharelli, and Nico Lupo.

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