Interview: Augustine International
After three years working for one of New Zealand's largest
fashion houses, designer Kelly Coe established her own label,
Augustine International, in 2008.
The brand is synonymous with bright fabrics and overstated
embellishments. Augustine is now stocked in over forty boutiques
throughout New Zealand and Australia.
tvnz.co.nz asked Kelly to offer a tip or
two to aspiring fashion designers...
Who or what inspires your design aesthetic/look?
I get inspiration from a lot of places. Sometimes the most
inspiration comes when I am selecting the fabrics and the trims.
Some soft floaty silks almost design themselves in the way that
they need to be in a gentle gorgeous style.
I love the grecian, one shoulder look with trims and embellishments
and it's a style that works really well for us.
I always keep an eye on the current trends overseas but never
follow them too closely, I find that what works overseas doesn't
always suit New Zealand body shapes.
Travel is also a very inspirational adventure, the colours that you
find in some cultures are truly beautiful. Whether it be the little
paper umbrellas with gorgeous prints on them in China, or the
tribal dress of an African lady. Indian woman and their saris are
also ethnically stunning.
But all in all I am inspired everyday by seeing what woman wear,
what is happening on the street, at a race carnival, in a magazine
styled shoot. I find inspiration and then put my twist on it, and
always embellish it, I am such a magpie. You are never truly
dressed up without a little bling.
How long does the process take, from the design of a
garment to seeing it in shop windows?
This is quite a long process. I do my basic designs here
in New Zealand, then I go to China and choose the fabrics and the
trims. There I have a sketch artist draw up my designs and a
pattern maker who makes my patterns. They then make the sample and
send it to me for final approval.
I show the samples to my wholesalers from which they place their
orders. So all in all, from initial fabric selection to the dress
being instore, it can be anything from three to six months. The
next collections will take a little longer as I did a lot of
designing for the October high summer range back in February. I had
to plan ahead a lot as I was pregnant and couldn't fly to China for
a certain time.
NZFW celebrates new fashion talent. What are your tips for
aspiring Kiwi designers?
I think it is important to work for someone else in the
fashion/design industry before going out on your own. I worked for
High Society, one of NZ's largest wholesale/manufacturing companies
prior to starting my own label. You can then work from the bottom
up and learn so much about the industry that they won't learn at
university.
Which designers do you wear?
At the moment I am living in jeans and T-shirts as I
have a three-month-old baby who dribbles.
Then when I go out at night to an event or party I will always wear
my own designs - you are your own best advertisement.
But I just purchased a pair of Kathryn Wilson heels and I have a
fab new Deborah Sweeney cotton dress for summer.
I also think Cybele does a brilliant job of print silks and
patterns.
Internationally I love some of the Elizabeth and James dresses, and
Gypsy 05 maxi dresses are to die for.
If money was no object I would like to have one of everything that
Victoria Beckham wears, that lady has style by the Hermes bag
full!
What's your fashion advice for Kiwi women?
Dress up more! Make more of an effort everyday and try new
things that you wouldn't normally wear.
New Zealand woman can be very conservative in their dressing
and wear far far far too much black and basic pieces. There is no
reason why you can't wear a beautiful silk print tunic to the
office, just put it back with a great skinny jean and heels.
Add more colour to your wardrobe and don't worry about what other
woman will think of you for being dressier than everyone in the
room.
And the one most important thing is that when you become a mum,
that is no excuse to loose all sense of style! Find the time to get
a great hair cut, put on a pair of jeans that suck everything in,
put on a colourful top and some fab heels and rock it!
