Four designers. Three collections. Together. One Space

April 13th, 2007

In Events & Exhibitions, Fashion & Lifestyle, General

Since graduating, designers Rachael Cassar, Donna Sgro, Lea Calodolce and Carina Sidwell have been busy producing their latest collections from the creative space of what used to the old icecream factory in Turrella.

Rachael Cassar designs are high end experimental pieces, designed and constructed around the concept of sustainability. Her range of semi couture creations were well received last year as she was the recipient of the LancÃ´me Colour Design Awards 2006 Media Choice Award as well winning a Highly Commended place in the Australian Business Limited Awards (ABL). Rachael explains that she “designs around an individual, independent, strong, assertive and confident woman, with a mix of lust, power and femininity.” Expect to see the glamorous results of unique second-hand garments meticulously deconstructed and reconstructed with hours worth of intricate beading and embellishment.

Donna Sgro, also a finalist in the 2006 LancÃ´me Colour Designs Awards and more recently the winner of Design Institute Australia’s 2006 Graduate of the year Award for Textile Design and joint winner of the Australian Business Limited Awards (ABL), will be launching her first independent womenswear collection this April. With her lasercut acrylic accessories already stocked in Sydney’s top3 by design, Donna Sgro says that her current collection of tailored womenswear, just like her accessories, are “inspired by a passion for the fine arts, Cinematography and popular culture. They’re edgy, elegant and wearable”…” meaning that this collaboration of graphic colour and playful contrasting will not go unnoticed.
www.donnasgro.com

Scratch designs is the combined result of Lea Calodolce and Carina Sidwell. Both Lea and Carina were finalists in the LancÃ´me Colour Designs Awards before they began working on their growing range. Carina was nominated for the DIA’s 2006 Graduate of the year Award for Textile Design while Lea was Winner of the Botton & Gardiner Most Innovative & Creative Final Project for Fashion & Textile Design. Where neon colours, laser lights and pulsing beats are familiar elements of the dance music scene, so too are these features the inspiration and common theme behind the quirky and one-off Scratch pieces. Focusing on “vibrations, pitch, tone and intensity common between electronic dance music and the colours of the spectrum” says Lea. Their range of necklaces and earrings are made of individual pieces put together to tell their very own stories.
www.scratchdesigns.com.au