Australian Fashion- Upcoming Designers

[PradaP]

Tina Kalivas

Inspiration can be found in the most unusual places. Take, for example, Tina Kalivas’s latest obsession with the tiny alien life forms that live on the ocean floor. Her collection, Bioluminescence, is devoted to such loopy
ideas, although the results are anything but.
To say that Kalivas has an impressive portfolio is an understatement. Having moved from Adelaide to London, aged 19, she first began working for the costume house, Angels & Burmans. Then, after much persistence, she landed the plum role assisting one of London’s most provocative designers, Alexander McQueen. “He has this amazing way of bringing the theatrical world together with high fashion,” she says. “You can’t help but be inspired when you’re around someone like that.” In between McQueen’s shows, Kalivas fulfilled special commissions for the likes of Isabella Blow, and also worked on blockbuster films such as Gangs of New York and Die Another Day.

Now, having settled back in Australia, the designer is contemplating life’s changes. Hence the preoccupation with sci-fi. For her latest collection, Kalivas has taken a predominantly black palette and accentuated it with “spurts of bright acid colours”, three-dimensional
shapes and artful appliqués. Her genius, however, lies in the way her witty concepts combine with impeccable tailoring. “I have evolved a lot over the years,” she says. “But now I feel as though I have my own message. I promised myself I wouldn’t create a line until I found my own voice." Now, here it is, loud and clear.

From Vogue Australia June 2003

 

[PradaP]

Claude Maus

Big on theatrics and wit, Rob Maniscalco is a truly irreverent designer with a dark sense of cool. For one thing, it’s not unusual to find dwarfs, dogs and fearsome-looking characters in a Claude Maus catwalk show. The clothes, on the other hand, speak for themselves. Sure, they may feature subtle references to troubled fairytales, goblins and spooks, but then Maniscalco manages to balance all that to produce a kind of tongue-in-cheek chic.

With a background in fine arts, the 29-year-old Melbourne-based designer began his career creating animated montages based on B-grade horror films. It’s a theme that, to this day, underlies all of Maniscalco’s collections and is seldom far from the surface. Take his most recent narrative: a twisted, gothic take on a children’s book that saw him win the Omega New Designer Award at this year’s L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival. Titled Another R.I.P. Off, the range features sports-inspired shapes and punkish elements clashing with fluorescent colours in ladylike silhouettes. Key pieces include whimsical tops, argyle vests and ivy-print shirts teamed with well-mannered skirts.

The designer even went so far as to create his own somewhat macabre version of a Little Golden Book, complete with animated pictures of storybook characters taking a turn for the worse. Scratch beneath the surface, however, and you’ll discover that the collection’s subplot plays on the idea of fashion and consumerism, branding and logos. “I think a lot of people from my generation feel strongly about those issues,” Maniscalco says. “I try to explore those ideas through my work and I’m not into fashion trends – if anything, I take off in the opposite direction.” Then he adds, “I just do what I do in order to create a language of my own. To me, that’s more important than anything.”

From Vogue Australian June 2003

 

[PradaP]

Gabriel Scarvelli

Cue the chorus girls. For when it comes to Gabriel Scarvelli’s fanciful line-up, it deserves nothing less than a big-band entrance. Using traditional handworked techniques, the Sydney-based designer demonstrates an incredible talent for draping, corsetry and beading. One minidress in particular, a highly ornamented hourglass with fanciful sequined edging, evokes a latter-day Marilyn Monroe. Which is fitting given that Monroe was the silver-screen diva of her day, and these dresses are all utterly theatrical. Lavishly and expertly encrusted with crystals, jet
beads, rose quartz and sequins, one dress can take up to 300 hours to construct. Then there are his lace-up corsets that miraculously stretch and mould to the body, and his delectable lingerie collection in a range of pastel-coloured organzas and flocked prints scattered with sparkles. All in all, it is an extraordinary expression of the designer’s passion and skill. Indeed, Scarvelli is utterly dedicated to his craft. He dyes his own fabrics, has spent years searching for the perfect flesh-coloured sequin, makes all his own samples and meticulously catalogues the details of
each design with its owner. As a result, his dresses have already landed in a number of major stockists around the world along with a spot in the closing season of Sex and the City, plus he can also boast such stellar fans as Kylie Minogue. A self-confessed perfectionist who prides himself on doing things the old-fashioned way, Scarvelli says, “Why make 1,000 dresses when you can go all out and create a few spectacular ones”. And it’s true, for the Scarvelli woman, glamour is not just for after-dark, it’s a 24-hour thing. Two words: how magnificent.


From Vogue Australia June 2003

 

[LolitaLuxe]

thank you for posting this prada i think they are wonderful pics i want it all i love seeing fresh designers ive never seen or heard of
your new avatar is WOW

 

[Spacemiu]

Its all really lovely

 

[Lena]

Thanks for the update PradaP. I'm always keen on Australian designers

The only one I knew about is Tina Kalivas (who has Greek origins) but I can see her being very 'inspired' by Sophia Kokosalaki's style...

I like Scarvelli's work (some other FS member was posting on her recently) , but Claude Maus seem to have some trouble with construction, their skirt is obviously not very well made - have a look at those seams.
Still, their yellow/grey combination pays off

 

[trean]

I love all of it ,but Gabriel Scarvelli is really my favorite !I love those dresses!Looks like a perfect Kylie outfit to me . . .

 

[HBoogie]

I especially like the Tina Kalivas stuff (heheh, good to know I'm not the only one who thinks glowing deep-sea fishies are cool)...although something bothers me about the last dress by her. I love the top, but I don't like the length or the hem or something...maybe I'd like to see the fitted bodice combined with a flared bottom?

But, my nitpicking aside, it's still very nice!

 

[xopher215]

it.

Thanks, PradaP.