There’s something about the colour red that I find confronting. I’ll happily eat all red coloured food (as it’s almost always going to be raspberry flavoured) but when it comes to wearing red clothes – that’s another thing altogether. It’s a strong, bold colour that guarantees you’ll stand out in a crowd, not to mention that whole va-va-voom lady in red connotation.

When I first started designing the AW12 collection, I drew inspiration from precious stones – the sharp lines and vibrant colours of emeralds, sapphires and rubies. I wanted the collection to look like a jewellery box of beautiful strong colour, but I also wanted the styles to be easily wearable for both day and night. For such bold colours, in particular the ruby red, the best way to achieve this was to keep the details minimal and the silhouette sleek, nothing too exposed, dated or over-the-top.

So for all those who have avoided the colour red – it’s time to embrace it! All you need is some confidence and a few accessories – or none at all, as you can see from the photos above. Pair the cherry merino Long Wrap Dress with some ankle boots and a tan leather waist belt for day or your highest heels in a block colour like fuchsia and a statement necklace for evening. Both the ruby Collar Dress and cherry merino Twist Waist Dress need only heels and a clutch and you’re good to go. You’re guaranteed to look chic and modern, and who doesn’t want that?

Vanessa xx

We’re officially in the cooler months, but occasionally a warm day will sneak into the week which throws off my outfit plans as I don’t deal very well with the hot-one-day, raining-the-next thing that Sydney is currently doing. No need to wait for the right temperature to wear the new AW12 Winter Collection – it’s trans-seasonal in design so many pieces are ready to wear now.

I confess to having worn the Mini Dress most days due to its incredible versatility – a no-brainer, especially in this ambiguous weather. I submit my Mini Dress week as evidence:

• Girlfriend gossip over breakfast at Bills (black Mini Dress, bright melon ballet flats, topknot hair)
• Packing boxes and making deliveries (black mini Dress, yellow skinny patent leather belt, chunky tan sandals)
• Fittings at the studio (emerald Mini Dress, black & white strappy flat sandals, black leather tote)
• Lunch at Chiswick (emerald Mini Dress, high snakeskin heels, statement jeweled necklace)
• Business development meeting (black Mini Dress, camel cashmere Cape Blazer, black t-bar heels)

I’m excited to announce that our online store is finally officially OPEN – thank you to everyone for your patience! And as always, we offer free next day shipping to customers within Australia and full returns. Happy shopping! xx