2022 GRADUATES
FDS proudly presents the graduate collection of the class of 2022. The collections represent a diverse range of voices in our emerging fashion community and celebrate the skills and knowledge these talented graduates have developed over the duration of their degree. Each collection represents the designer and is a story told through their eyes, paying homage to the craft of fashion.
Lookbook captured by Stephanie Pedersen with Hair and Makeup by TAFE NSW
Brooke Astaire
Astaire Paradis’ first collection “Valley of the Dolls”, explores the use various experimental fabrication ideas on an assortment of wool-based textiles including hand screen printing, the use of vinyl metallic foils, hand embellishment to create “textural expressions” using precious cut crystal, glass, and assorted iridescent metals crafted using traditional haute couture methods. Drawing on the concept of amalgamation using texture and light. The collection takes inspiration from the feminine form, Golden Age Hollywood starlets, and the Subculture of Lolita Fashion.
Carmela Merenda
MELA is the first label of Australian fashion designer Carmela Merenda and embodies the free spirited, constantly evolving and changing human.
“Born and raised in Australia but brought up in a Chinese-Italian home profoundly impacted the way I saw the world, my sense of identity and belonging and provided me with a thirst for understanding the world around me.”
In order to curate the vision for Wild card, the designer conducted extensive visual research into Chinese and Italian history including artefacts from museum archives, natural landscapes, various art forms and artists, historic buildings and sites, traditional textiles and dress forms. This was then interpreted into a variety of contemporary textures, including screen prints, digital prints and crochet patterns.
The elevated casual, fusion resort wear - street wear style of the collection and predominately neutral colour palette is inspired by the designer’s love of the laidback, coastal Australian lifestyle that she grew up around. The pieces take casual but cool dressing to a new level, elevating wearable and comfortable staples in luxury silk, wool and cotton fabrics with fresh prints and crochet textures that can be worn day to night.
Catherine Caldis
The result of mindful work, based around respecting raw materials of the earth, Soltyslabel considers life to be a combination of rituals. The ritual of dressing has the potential to direct the presence of our human attention in a generative direction, creating more awareness, simplicity and depth within the human experience. Consciously using a variety of Ayurvedic plants and antioxidant Japanese flora in its signature print, Soltyslabel fuses wisdom from the east and west into a wearable garments for daily ritual practice. To see more, visit soltyslabel.com.au.
Christopher Daod
“I know I’m everything yet I feel like nothing” The ethos that surrounds the graduate collection ‘Ketamine at West Ryde Station’ by Christopher Daod focuses on the reinvention of knitwear in a contemporary manner. Taking influence from concepts such as mania and dysphoria, through the eyes of the digital world, the collection physically manifests through texture and the highs and lows of colour and tone within garments.
Donovan Darling
Donovan Darling is a luxury menswear brand creating a wardrobe of street-bravado for the contemporary Renaissance Boy. Designs are conceived through a subversion of masculine subcultures and traditional menswear dress codes. Premium textiles are combined with an exploration of artisanal fibre-art techniques to produce original and ornamental fabrics for garments designed to live, last, and be passed on. The core beliefs of slow fashion and divine masculinity drive Donovan Darling to create fashion that is passionate, provocative, and sophisticated, for men to invest and indulge in.
Eden Me-Tal
Eden May-Tal presents the Holyland’s Playground collection, which combines the designer’s experience of war and religion and also incorporates aspects of the underground club culture in Jerusalem. Experiencing Jerusalem’s underground club scene showed how people came together to escape the chaotic world that is war and religion in the middle-east. Holyland’s Playground shows the designer’s use of innovation through the form of resurrecting landfill fabrics and dead-stock materials, as well as integrating notes of the European and Middle-eastern heritage through the draped European embroidered tablecloths, mixed with the relaxed yet edgy middle-eastern silhouette to juxtapose a holy aura and a rebellious punch to this luxury ready-to-wear collection.
Emilie Robert-Tissot
BONSOIR was born with Emilie Robert-Tissot’s European heritage. Through her foresight, she developed “Une Journée d’été” by bringing awareness to society norms and challenging them. She explores the dispute established between the feminine and masculine wardrobe, creating garments for any gender. BONSOIR combines Tailoring and Ready-To-Wear in simplicity through European elegance.
Emily Graorovski
Emće is determined by individuality and exclusivity while showcasing modern femininity, elegance and sensuality with each alluring and unforgettable design. The brands essence of sophisticated fashion is depicted through the intricate and delicate details, combining traditional elements of haute couture with a more innovative, modern approach to design. The brand utilises a wide variety of materials from fine and delicate fabrics to highly textured pieces, which ensure that every garment is fabricated at a slow pace with precision, love and care.
Georgia Robinson
G.Robinson is where couture meets tailoring, telling combined stories of classic fabrications of tartan, pinstripes and suiting in a contemporary voice. Created for a genderless audience, the brand presents quirky and rebellious construction. Seeking to tear down traditional fashion cycles, we follow a pre order business model for both a ready to wear market and bespoke, one of a kind pieces, G.Robinson is a brand that combines the madness of art with refined classic silhouettes.
Giti Zaki
Senzela Jade brings together central Asian flare and exuberance with western sculptural sophistication in couture designs. Inspired by Danish-Afghan origins, the debut collection draws on the vibrant colour palettes, intricate hand mirror and bead embroidery, and the conservative outlook of traditional Afghan garbs, re-invented into daring, new silhouettes which serve as statement pieces. The collection aims to empower, to transcend societal and cultural boundaries for women, and to showcase the beauty, power and success of women through uniquely interwoven designs. Senzela Jade honours, and seeks to preserve, traditional Afghan customs and aesthetics by re-imagining them into modern, bold, vibrant constructs.
Hanna Mackey
Miyo Toku seeks to anchor the importance of fusing nature and fashion within the developing fashion world. The brand focuses on fusing traditional Japanese elements with contemporary Australian fashion, juxtaposing sharp, geometric contours with organic shapes and silhouettes to define a sense of balance. Focusing on ethics and sustainability has become a core value of the brand through exploring methods such as eco-dyeing and eco-printing to create unique fabrications.
The colour palettes represent the deep sentimental connection and appreciation of Miyo Toku’s life.
Ingrid Pelagio
PELAYA strives to celebrate femininity and inspire confidence in young women. The label personifies the blend of expressive resort wear and signature couture elements, by providing timeless and beautiful essentials for your holiday abroad. PELAYA captures the reconnection and intersection of designer Ingrid Pelagio’s Philippine heritage and contemporary Australian lifestyle. Sparking a powerful and empowering dialogue amongst each piece, through passionate colours, textures, and prints, the brand aims to provide a destination for women to embrace their eccentric self and beauty.
‘The PELAYA woman is radiant, powerful and spontaneous.’
Isabelle Morley
ISABELLE MORLEY aspires to assist all to feel welcome in their own beautiful skin through the artform of fashion. A blend of categorised societal norms of feminine and masculine silhouettes, the label personifies the signature element of exaggerated internal and external forms through the use of texture, architectural structure and abstracted motifs. Embodying the belief that couture should be worn whenever the mood takes you, ISABELLE MORLEY’s intricate tactile and visually dramatic designs empower the individual to stand out from the crowd, regardless of expectations.
Be bold and stand out in ISABELLE MORLEY.
Jeong Baldwin
Jeong Soo Baldwin is a brand about telling a story through fashion through highlighting the individual’s story and how they tell it though what they wear. The brand focuses on being inclusive of body size, gender and race, allowing a safe space for people to express their story without prejudice. It encourages others to be fully immersed in the world around them, gaining a renewed perspective of others, changing the way people view societal norms and illuminating the positivity in diversity.
Jocelyn Ng
Jocelyn is a womenswear brand that specialises in demi couture evening wear and is a curated mix of elegant essentials and statement pieces. The Jocelyn aesthetic is defined by a balance of a certain softness and boldness, and otherworldly elegance. Jocelyn’s design philosophy is upheld in her spiritual beliefs and love for the arts. At Jocelyn, every garment is infused with love, passion, and integrity, and she aims to bring a spiritual consciousness into fashion.
Kiara Carpinato
Be.my.muse the label believes fashion is about making a statement. It breaks the rules and goes against traditional fashion norms. It is extra, over the top, exaggerated and rebellious, helping portray one's best and most confident self. Every design has the woman in mind, from highlighting and exposing aspects of the female figure and form, to using the body as a muse. The first collection takes inspiration from three muses from the past, Josephine Baker, Marilyn Monroe and Cher, their daring attitude, championed feminism and challenged societal standards of how women should dress and act.
Matthew Smith
TAVA: Encoded is a brand that caters to adapting the clients aesthetic as a second skin, merging the digital space within video games and the ever-evolving fashion world. The brand is a streetwear label that focuses on realising and expressing individuality without being influenced by trends; to develop a customised wardrobe to suit the client.
Exploring the world of Astrology and an Apocalyptic future, TAVA: Encoded is not just a fashion label but also a story, portrayed through the start-up collection launch of DECODED.
Monique Menezes
Fashion Humanitarianism…
That is the core of our devotion at MnQ Elizabeth. We create lifelong bespoke pieces that are infused with deep and intimate personal connection through the universal visual language of couture hand detailing. We create cherished pieces that fuse a connection between the individual and their clothing, whilst collaborating with humanitarian causes. This first collection partnering with The Leukaemia Foundation - The World’s Greatest Shave - to honour Monique’s late grandmother Margaret, whom passed away to AML 28/11/2021.
Natalya Zappia
Natalya Zappia explores a luxury couture aesthetic, with elements of sophisticated technical construction. Considering quality, attention to detail and texture with a timeless intent, are at the heart of the brand’s design philosophy. We believe that great design has the ability to empower women, to feel confident and beautiful within their own skin. Designed to embrace the effortless feminine beauty of all women, Natalya Zappia prides itself on high-end design, cut and construction, creating ever-lasting heirloom pieces that stand the test of time. Precision in detail ensures each and every garment is as equally breath taking as the next, with the ability to captivate the attention of those around them.
Natasha Rutherford
Tazia is built on an expressive community of like-minded individuals, those who are confident in their voice and diverse in their appearance. As a brand Tazia prides itself on diversity and inclusivity with a wide size range and signature ‘Size-less Fashion Philosophy’. Tazia explores the idea of adjustability and comfort in all garments, creating unique pieces that embrace a naturally changing body. The brand has a loud, playful personality that is expressed through signature in-house print designs, vibrant colours and the use of volume and texture.
Nicole Darmanin
This collection entitled ‘Nuance’ works to challenge modern conventions within fashion, embodying romanticism and purity, whilst distorting contemporary portrayal of feminine dress. Exploring the perception of the female form in a modern society, this collection entails a poetic search into unravelling the boundaries of appropriate dress and reforming the outlook of women within society. Honours Entity relies on the deconstruction of lingerie to challenge the pure essence of femininity.
Orlando Flores-Parry
“Fashion is an inherently personal means of communicating oneself through the projection of presentation”
The Flores label places the intrinsic concerns we evade at the forefront of the label and uses the power of fashion to provoke crucial conversation. Utilising sculptural and technical forms derived from classicism, architecture and minimalism the label unifies masculinity and femininity within bold silhouettes. With the belief that fashion is adaptable the label provides the wearer with multi-functional and versatile garments, and invigorates the wearers ability to formulate their own fierce individual and independent impression.
Rachel Rodrigues
Rachel Amber aims to explore ideas of being sensitivity and consciousness, as well as an ability to be confident to express who you are. It is all about self-awareness; surrounding yourself with nature and becoming free within yourself.
Our design signature is soft tailoring with avant-garde details infused with artisan couture that is globally sourced. Custom hand painted print designs with artisan techniques that enhance textiles and create original feminine designs.
Rachel Amber is often inspired by culture, architecture and art. We strive for high quality timeless design that has been made with thought and care, combining the fashion and art worlds.
Samantha Campbell
Sammie Sue strives to create sensuality and sophistication through her designs. She aims to find one’s true self through her garments, creating pieces that have a story to tell. Using couture elements to create minimalistic designs with a touch of spontaneity, this brand embraces the feminine figure, working against social trends and creating an abyss where all women’s figures are viewed as feminine and desirable.
Sienna Smyth
Sienna Smyth, a luxury women’s Ready- to- wear label encapsulating an essence and spirit of the female form with an effortless style and an engaging aesthetic. Sienna Smyth represents an understated and refined vision of how masculinity and femininity collide creating a balance of strong lines and fluid shapes expressing an artistic flair within the luxury of fashion ultimately producing high quality designs which are elegant and sophisticated. It is through the delicacy of intrinsic design detailing which defines piece. Sienna Smyth depicts a story where a woman reminisces on her travels and family heritage through Europe, underlying nuances of aesthetics, colour and architecture which develop and inspire the delicacy of timeless beauty.
Stef Asquith
Stef Asquith designed this collection to take your mind to a surreal location. Each garment sculpts the silhouette of a woman’s body making the wearer feel romantic yet strong and empowered, with structured and soft elements to balance each other out. This collection is designed for women who are not afraid to be noticed when they enter a room and recognise their power as an individual.
Tara McLoughlin
Punch-Drunk Opera is a womenswear concept-brand by Tara McLoughlin distinguished by the authentic approach we take to all facets of art and design. Through reinterpretation of classic silhouettes and delicate androgyny, Punch-Drunk Opera encourages introspection into identity and confidence in the authentic self. The brand guarantees uncompromising quality and a long-lasting approach to design. Fashion is the most personal and intimate medium, filled with social and cultural ques for people to interpret. Our brains are hardwired for context and the clothing we design is larger than any individual, it’s a contribution to a community and time-period.
Tiahn Harris
Olivia Drake is a non-conformist uniform. Unveiling the layers to our most authentic selves, we aim to introduce a new perspective through unconventional design. Genderless fashion is key to our mission: to create a world where fashion isn’t so binary in its design. The creator was inspired by her childhood - growing up a tomboy who despised all things feminine. This experience led to her perception that masculine and feminine are not two distinct entities. “Grey Area” presents eight bodies stripped back to black and white to contest the visual references of our reality and embody the relevance of complexity and duality. To go forward we must go back to our purest form and remember where we came from.
Yasmin Jade Fraser
The YJF Graduate Collection is the physical recreation of a childhood molded by cross cultural influence. This lived experience is blended together with the values of sustainability and androgyny to represent minorities and majorities alike. Timeless, structured silhouettes finessed with unexpected detailing create the perfect hardcover to the story that is the individual wearing YJF.
Zoë Rose-Hill
The label Milktoast is an expression of joy, excitement and fun that will transport the wearer to a whimsical world of make-believe and pleasure. Milktoast’s signature aesthetic is achieved through its use of saturated colour, surreal prints and clashing textures, which bring moments of magic to the wearer and those around them. Milktoast holds core values of sustainability and slow fashion. These are embodied in the unique, ready-to-wear designs centred on merino wool knits and repurposed fabrics. Milktoast creates beautiful and cheerful designs to be enjoyed by everyone.
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