THERE are fashion designers and there are fashion moguls. Canberra designer Alice Sutton is destined to be both.
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The 2011 Canberra Institute of Technology graduate is approaching her fashion business with the brains of an accountant and the creativity of an artist – an eco-friendly, award winning artist at that.
“I’ve been designing since I was young but CIT helped me hone my skills and approach and view fashion from a business as well as aesthetic point of view,” Ms Sutton said.
“My looks are targeted at the older market and those ladies who have an interest in playing with different shapes yet still in a demure way.
“The Canberra market and customer is very different to those in Melbourne and Sydney, because I am a Canberran designer who lives here and studied here I think it’s important for me to be producing commercial looks which people want to wear and boutiques want to stock,” she said.
While she prepares to show at Fashfest – the capital’s very own version of the Fashion Weeks usually staged in Sydney and Melbourne – Ms Sutton recently took some time to fine tune a selection of her looks, which are tailored for women aged between 35-55, to be critiqued by industry movers, shakers and stylists.
The young designer packed her garment bags and travelled to Sydney over the Centenary long weekend to take part in the Fashion Exposed showcase, Debut. Her label, Edition, was one of the eight apparel and accessory brands selected to take part in the event, which focused on the market readiness and commercial viability of emerging designers work.
Ms Sutton’s women’s wear collection, which is made using sustainable fabrics and from zero-waste design processes and patterns, was deemed the best when judged on production techniques, commercial readiness and marketing strategies.
Edition by Alice Sutton, with its “conceptual yet very Canberra” look, was pitted against a selection of other designers from around Australia and won a $12,000 look book shoot.
The three-day Fashion Exposed event, now in its 14th year, is a unique fashion trade festival. Each label, including those involved in the Debut showcase, were displayed to thousands of potential buyers, stockists and industry professionals over the three days at the Sydney Exhibition Centre.
