Melbourne fashion designer Lucy Laurita is still hands on with the fabulous garments she creates for her eponymous label.
“I do a lot of the making, all my own patterns, and I make all my own samples … I love making,” says Lucy. “The designing comes with random inspiration but I don’t draw up pretty pictures. It might be a sketch on a scrap paper until I get to my workroom to cut up some fabric and see how the idea comes to life.”
Lucy Laurita, the brand, was launched in 2005 under the name “Leièla, a combination of three Italian words ‘Lei è la’ meaning ‘There She Is’,” Lucy explains, saying that she has always wanted to be a designer.
“From as young as I can remember I always imagined myself creating fashion,” Lucy says. “As a child I would restyle my dolls’ outfits and I took a textiles class as soon as I could, although I was not very good as a sewing student.
“I was often impatient with the school’s domestic machines not working as I wanted or maybe it was me not threading them correctly,” Lucy jokes.
Eventually Lucy decided to create a small collection in 2005. Her friend modelled her looks, Lucy took the photos and designed a catalogue, she had it printed and started approaching independent boutiques.
“It was very basic, but my product was great,” says Lucy. “I was lucky that in 2005 it was easier to approach boutique buyers, connecting was a thing.
“There were more independent upmarket boutiques and they were supporting and selling Australian Made fashion very well. Things changed in 2008 with the Global Financial Crisis, this impacted consumer buying patterns and independent boutiques started to close down,” she explains.
DESIGNER AND ADVOCATE
Lucy specialises in women’s event wear, occasion wear and gowns that she describes as a “celebration of beauty and quality” which is the core of a business that has developed into a “wholehearted commitment to strengthening the Australian fashion industry”.
“Simple, classic couture underpins my designs, and my collections – The Black Rose, Romance, Life is a Dancer and Botanica – each embody our carefully refined style of minimal seams and natural, flowing lines,” Lucy explains.
Over the years Lucy’s work has been worn by artists and celebrities, seen on the Sydney Opera House stage, on the Logies Red Carpet and at Parliament House for the iconic Midwinter Ball. Lucy has also designed costumes for a number of Australian stage shows including Funny Girl and Titanic the Musical.
Lucy has also been inspired by the link between creativity and the importance of wellbeing. She has published the Little Book of Little Perfections as a creative response to the question ‘what can we do to connect through kindness, and to give voice to the simple beauty in life’s small moments?’.
“Positive messaging about beauty and individuality are central to my fashion work, as are messages around mental health awareness, support, and self-care,” says Lucy who became a Multicultural Ambassador for the Mental Health Foundation Australia in 2019.
The All Shapes of Perfection inclusive fashion runway shows are Lucy’s way of bringing “communities and industry together to showcase beauty and diversity”.
INSPIRED BY THE CLASSICS
According to Lucy her brand is about re-wearable occasion wear, and her design aesthetic focuses on creating “comfortable, classic lines” creating garments that are “effortlessly feminine”.
“Gabrielle Chanel has always been my greatest inspiration, more so as a strong woman who created her own story and who achieved great success through adversity. I also love the classic lines of Giorgio Armani, so chic and elegant.
“I love the youthfulness and colour of Anna Molinari designs and the feminine, fluid lines of Alberta Ferretti. I am inspired by many designers, being of Italian heritage myself I am drawn to Italian designers as their stories inspire me,” Lucy says.
As with the majority of long established brands, being ‘sustainable’ goes without saying. Lucy has always used “ethical production practices, eliminating waste and using dead stock fabrics, and by creating re-wearable designs.”
As for the future, Lucy continues to work with independent Australian fashion boutiques, and she is also working on a new collection featuring accessible eco-friendly fabrics.
“Currently there is not a selection of eco-friendly accessible fabrics suitable for event wear. I have tried to introduce linen and bamboo fabrics, however consumers did not take to them, possibly because they crease too easily,” says Lucy. “One of my suppliers has a lining fabric made of banana fibres, but the colours are unfortunately limited.”
Discover more about Lucy Laurita at lucylaurita.com.au, and follow Lucy at @lucylaurita_designerblog.
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