Georgia Guy

www.georgiaguy.com.au

Georgia Palmer is the creator of Adelaide fashion label Georgia Guy. Having completed her advanced diploma of fashion design and technology at Tafe SA, graduating in 2011. Georgia  last year won Emerging Designer Award in 2013 and since then never looked back. Her unique brand is well known for her bold silhouettes and individual designs. Georgia takes pride in her quality of garments. Every piece is hand made in her Adelaide studio. From designing to patternmaking as well as cutting and sewing which makes every piece of her collection unique. Using materials sourced from around the world. Having a great attention to detail and highlighting on quality of craftsmanship. I met Georgia at the Norwood Parades for AFF2014. I was able to get a feel for her textures and quality of her garments which were so beautifully pieced together. Below I interviewed Georgia as she gives us an insight to her life as a designer.

What made you create this label? Tell us your story about your label Georgia Guy?

After finishing my study it felt like a very natural progression to make, I wanted to create clothes that were modern, classic and feminine without being girlie. Georgia Guy is my maiden name so it really is a reflection of me, my style and my life. Wear ability is a key factor for me and something I really take into account when designing as I want customers to not just love their clothes but feel comfortable in them.

Did you study fashion?

I studied an advanced diploma of fashion design and technology at Tafe SA, graduating in 2011.

What is your experience working in the industry before creating your brand?

I had very little fashion industry experience prior to starting my label, which made it a little more challenging and a big learning curve! The year in-between finishing my study and putting together my first full collection (Spring Summer last year) was spent creating small runs of different styles and selling through a small Adelaide based boutique. I also worked in store once week which was great seeing first hand how customers reacted to my garments.

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

After spending a year making bits and bobs I put together a full collection and entered it into the SA emerging designer competition last year and won. That really gave me the boost that this dream could become a reality and what I was doing was worthwhile.

How did you select and source the materials you use for your collections? What’s the progress for you?

I tend to start off with a few designs in mind- key features/silhouettes and feel that I want to achieve before seeing a few local fabric agents. Fabric choice is a big dictator for my collections so once that is chosen I can get stuck into designing/patternmaking and sampling. My designs really evolve during the patternmaking and sampling process and during that time I can see how things will work together and any gaps in the collection I need to fill.

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

I try not to focus on gaining inspiration as it has always happened very organically for me, seeing a photo in a magazine or finding some fabric will set me off and once I’ve started ideas generally flow pretty easily. I try to keep up to date with what is going on in the world as well as spending a lot of time checking out fashion/street style blogs. I am very excited about the fashion icons exhibition which is coming to the Art Gallery of SA as historical fashion has always been very inspiring to me.

Where is the final product made?

I work from a city studio which is a shared space with several other designers, photographers and an architect. From there I do all the designing, patternmaking, cutting and sewing. Every piece is hand made by myself which is incredibly time consuming but does give me complete control of every piece I put my name to.

Last year you won Emerging Designer Award at the Adelaide Fashion Festival’s Designer Showcase.

Tell us what was it like to win such a prestigious award what opportunities did it open for you?

That was such an amazing night, I can’t believe its been a year already! It was a huge surprise and honor to win as it was my first full collection and what a way to kick things off! Winning the award has opened many doors and helped me to promote my label in a way I could not have done before. As well as brand awareness it has given me as a designer and my label cred within the industry.

Your showcasing your collection at Adelaide fashion festival 2014 this year what direction have you taken with your collection this year?

My spring summer collection this year came from wanting to create a collection which has broad appeal and is wearable. I have also embraced the trend for sheer fabrics by sourcing a beautiful sheer stripe which I have accentuated by playing around with the direction of the stripes. The collection is light with crisp elements such as angled seams and clean silhouettes softened by the use of a beautifully soft cupro blend fabric. There is also a subtle sexiness to it through the use of open back tops which show off just enough skin and giving knee length lady like sheer skirts short lining. The result is casual elegant and easy to wear.

Who’s your inspiration/ fashion designers who you look up to?

Locally I love checking out Bianca Spenders work as it has the clean modern feel I really love. Internationally I really love vintage YSL, Roskanda Ilinic, Gucci (especially the 70’s throwback collections) and most recently at New York fashion week Delpozo- loved it!

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

Be prepared to work really hard! Also, as in life, treat people how you want to be treated as it’s a close knit industry (especially in Adelaide).

Special thanks to Georgia Palmer xx Check out more of her beautiful collection from her new spring summer 14/15 collection online!

Website: www.georgiaguy.com.au Instagram: GEORGIA_GUYAU