So you all know I'm always on the hunt for the quirkiest, edgiest possible things to admire and, if it makes it to my wardrobe, find 500 million ways to make it *pop*. And of course, when I do come across such pieces, it's a bit of an A-HA moment in my day.
When the lovely Aaron Kay, of FFA, introduced me to the work of Wonders Cease, I had my little A-HA moment, and promptly tried to jigsaw every piece in the AW10 lookbook with each other. As you do.
I had the chance to catch up with the talented Maryanne Edwards about her work and Wonder Cease.
Wonders cease was started by myself and fellow designer, Emma Fitzgerald, after several years of working for different companies. As designers we wanted to create something that was new and at first small, that was entirely our own. We decided to get started we should travel to Tokyo for a week of inspiration and designing together, our first range which was for summer 09’ was titled ‘tokyo tomboys’. We launched the label and first collection with an exhibition at global galleries, Paddington.
The design philosophy:
We aim to create pieces that are boutique-exclusive but also affordable and make the wearer feel stylish yet fun. We like to style some of our more feminine pieces back with something edgy to create balance with contrast. Being small and new means we can pretty much do whatever we like design-wise at the moment which is fairly liberating in a time when some labels are playing it safe or conservative to reduce risk of poor sales.
In 5 years time...
We’re not a label that aims to take over the world, we want to progress at a pace we can handle and which allows us to remain true to our first vision. If we were stocked in a handful of great boutiques in each state of Australia and had our own store, or a few, that would be ideal.
Bloggers and street stylists?
I think its a trend that has caught on massively and is a result of society’s need to be constantly up to date, which is certainly not a bad thing. It means high fashion as well as original street style are being viewed on a much broader scale and I think the best part is that it inspires people to experiment more with fashion and take a few more risks.
The Wonders Cease vibe:
The ‘wonders cease vibe' is feminine yet edgy, directional yet wearable. Most pieces are quite clean or minimal and have an interesting design detail or fabrication. We love contrasts, hence our last campaign which was all about opulent fabrics in dark, luxurious colours was photographed at the run-down tram sheds of Harold Park. If we do a detail that’s a bit soft or girly it has to be styled with something quite bold or minimal to balance it. We usually go for a quite neutral palette with the addition of 2 pop colours.
Thanks for the insight, Maryanne! I'm pretty sure you'll all agree that so many of those pieces would take a Saturday night, a cocktail party, a grocery run and Paris Fashion Week by an absolute mammoth storm. That blue!!
Check out more HERE.
Wonders Cease will be showcasing at Fashion Forward Festival Sydney on the 7th - 9th May 2010 in Sydney, for any of you who are around. To find out more about featured designers, festival info and how to get involved, log on to www.fashionforwardfestival.com.au - the best part is that Fashion Forward Festival is a free cultural event for the public!
*love*
xx
