Wild Horses

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http://www.wildhorseslabel.com.au/

Natalie Donovan

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Look out for Western Australian tempestuous label WILD HORSES. Designed for untamed women who want to abscond from the herd and dare to be lax but different. Simple, yet striking, the clothing and jewelry assemblage is renowned for achieving naturally inspired fun and accessible designs while still maintaining dark, stormy undertones.

Natalie’s creations are superbly unique as she steers her creative skills into drive ready to road test to onlookers. A woman who takes pride in quality checks, her exceptional craftsmanship ensures each piece of clothing is crafted to sheer perfection. A multi-tasker mum, she has created a marque from scratch, utilizing her prior industry talents and ingenious pattern maker in the making of the business. Natalie allowed her passion to run freely for women who want to escape the herd.

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What is your label about?

Wild Horses is about being carefree, wild, spirited and effortless! For women who want to escape the herd.

What made you create this label? Tell us your story?

It all began in 2011 when I would create hand made jewelry out of precious stones. From there I would go to markets specializing in local fashion and from then on it grew and got popular and so I took the next step which was clothing.

How did you get to where you are now with your label?

Perseverance, consistency and strong will! Be 100% you! Keep going and don’t look back. And make sure you remember ‘if the elevator to success is out of order, you’ll have to use the stairs, one step at a time.

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What’s a usual day in the office?

Office is attached to our home as we have two young children. Usual day is wake up 6am, organise kids for school. The day - answer urgent emails, gym, write a to do list of the day and sometimes week/month, try to complete that list! Meeting, appointments throughout the day about up and coming shows, shoots, collections. And if it’s that time of year where we need to organise the next range, we would be in the studio most days pattern making, designing, toiling and sampling.

Did you study fashion? If not what did you study?

I studied Fashion and Textiles at the Institute of Technology in 2010 completing Diploma.

What is your favorite part about being a fashion designer?

Flexibility of working from home. You have total control on what you design, and how you can style it. It’s very joyful!

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How did you select the materials you used?

Fabrics are usually chosen during pattern making time. I like to be clear in what I’m wanting to use for the collection so I don’t confuse my self and more importantly so I don’t waste time and money. Most of the time I have a theme for the range and I stick with that theme to keep the fabrics cohesive and strong throughout the collection.

How many people are in your team?

There is me, myself and I! And my pattern maker, samplist, factory, book keeper and accountant.

How and what gives your inspiration for each collection? Do you go on fashion trips to gain inspiration?

I have been on fashion trips over seas. But most of the time the inspiration comes from within. I feel and imagine a lot and from there it creates these little pops of ideas and then it grows.

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Who is your target market?

Women between 18 – 39 years.

How do you go about sourcing your products? Lots of googling! Research into fashion Asking people Calling and inquiring a lot of businesses in what they do.

Where is the final product made?

The final product is made locally – Fremantle WA. A small handful is made in Indonesia which is mainly the leather side.

What’s your current achievement with the brand that you are most proud of?

Proud that WH is 100% pure and organic. The whole brand has been curated and created by myself. And to have started the label up from nothing is truly inspiring and I feel lots of women can be inspired by each other as we are all strong and passionate beings.

How many years did it take for your idea to hit reality and start becoming a reality?

A good year.

Before creating your brand did you work for another label?

I didn’t as I just thought – hey lets do this! And threw myself into the deep in, head down, bum up!

Which fashion designers do you aspire to?

Stella McCartney,Chanel,Kate moss and the Olsen twins

And lastly, any advice to people who want to get into the industry?

Do it! But, make sure you have the knowledge, strength and financial back up to start. Something tricky and hard as this industry will leave you red and raw. They say to make $100,000 you need $1,000,000.

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Special thanks to Natalie Donovan xx

Website : www.wildhorseslabel.com.au Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/W-i-l-d-H-o-r-s-e-s/150633064994175 Instagram: @wildhorseslabel