If you’re not too sure about abandoning your winter mood just yet, don’t worry. This collection is very grown up and completely monochromatic – not a flower in sight. This should make for an easy transition into the most exciting season in fashion.

To help you with this brave new step, here are a few words from the man himself. You are very welcome!

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your label
Well, my name is Ben, I am 21 years old, Libra, lived in Brisbane my whole life. I enjoy candlelit dinners, romantic walks along the beach and exotic sunsets. No I’m only kidding. My label was created last year with the intention of bringing my drawings to life. My label has been described in many different ways but I think at the end of the day my label is simply a reflection of my perspective on women’s clothing.

What was the defining moment that propelled you into a fashion career?
Probably Mercedes Benz fashion week, since then things have really taken off for the label and I’m really excited about what the future holds.

What did you do before that?
I studied fashion for a while but prior to creating the label I was in a band. As most young bands, things didn’t really work out and then I kind of just fell into designing. I haven’t looked back.

Tell us about your creative process, when and where do you get the best ideas?
My creative process is quite simple. When I’m not trying to be creative the process begins. I find my best ideas come when I’m trying and thinking too much about being creative.

How would you describe your client base, who are they and what do they look for in a design?
I believe that the type of woman who wears Benjamin Ringuet is someone who is elegant and looking to wear something that makes her feel effortlessly sexy yet likes to leave a little bit to the imagination.

How do you market your label? Have you had success with online marketing?
I have some wonderful people working for my label so I am fortunate that they are able to help nurture that side of the business. I have had a lot of success so far with online marketing and had a lot of support from local press and bloggers.

Is Brisbane supportive of your work? How does it compare to the rest of Australia and overseas?
Brisbane has been quite supportive of my work. I have managed to accumulate a lot of support from the community over the last few months, which has been very important for me as a new designer starting my career in the fashion industry. Compared to other cities, Brisbane is still very young in terms of its fashion culture but things are definitely starting to happen here. Thanks to the internet and blogging Brisbane is starting to make more of a presence on the fashion scene.

Favourite piece that you own? Who is it by and why is it your favourite?
My favourite piece of clothing is my Smashing Pumpkins singlet. It would have to be my favourite because not only do I love the band but it’s very rare.

Finish this sentence – If money was no object I would make…
I would make my job and retire early.

Benjamin Ringuet information:

• blog: http://benjaminringuet.blogspot.com/
• Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Benjamin-Ringuet/129605333714

DSquared2

If I never have another pair after these I would still be so happy!

I haven’t been able to find them online but they have them in stock at Shades in the Queens Plaza, 266 Queen Street Mall, Brisbane.

Image © DSquared

Mimco

Mimco Pompadour, available online from the Mimco store

Image © Mimco

Karen Walker

The Prisoner, available online

Image © Karen Walker

I’ve been thinking about this for sometime, after noticing that colour on my face changes my mood. I’m not talking about a heavy, full face of make up but a little bit subtle colour in the right place that perks you up when you catch a glance of yourself in the mirror.

One person who does this fresh and natural look really well is Bobbi Brown. I may have been living under a rock because I only just heard of her Pretty Powerful campaign, but it’s exactly what I’ve been thinking about myself. A little bit of effort goes a long way.

She takes real women and with a little bit of colour (and great technique) takes them from pretty to pretty powerful. I have included some images below, to get the full story visit her site via this link: http://www.bobbibrowncosmetics.com/prettypowerful/

Since it’s the absolute middle of winter here in Brisbane I have been feeling a little dull lately with regard to my dress and make up. My mission for next week is to look fresh every day, starting from tomorrow. I think I’ll start with a face mask today so that my skin looks lovely and soft. It’s just so easy to forget about these little things and get complacent when you get busy.

For now, I hope you’re a little bit inspired too with thanks to Miss Bobbi.

Images sourced from www.hey-dollface.com

Gina has been on the Australia fashion circuit for many years, dressing stars like Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Danni Minogue, Shelly Craft, April Rose Pengilly, Sami Lukis and Sofie Formica.

Fascinated by her latest collection I spoke with Gina about her label, her inspiration and the many exciting things she is working on.

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do
Fashion designer.

2. When did you go out on your own / when did you launch your label?
Gina Kim couture label was launched in Australia 2004 and daywear range – Gina Kim launched 2007 after studied fashion and worked in several fashion houses.

3. What made you choose this direction and what inspired you to make fashion design a career
I always loved fashion and drawing inspired from my mum who was painter.

4. What did you do before that?
I was study the piano at Conservatorium of music.

5. Tell us about your design process, how do you like to work?
We’re running 3 collections per year. When we prepare for new season, we’re working by a theme and one season’s main style to create whole looks.

6. How would you describe your style?
Fresh, chic and wearable with a difference.

7. What or who inspires you? Whose style or work do you admire and why?
My inspiration comes from every thing that I see, feel and hear.
I also admire Maria Callas who was most talented opera singer and just love her style.

8. If you were to collaborate with another designer (or artist), who would it be and why?
I love a Scottish painter – Jack Vettriano’s work. In his art work, there’s always coloring and sense of humor.

9. How would you describe the Brisbane creative scene / is Brisbane supportive of your work?
I think Brisbane have great talents supported by nature and atmosphere.

10. What would you like to see Brisbane do better / what would you like more of?
(no answer)

11. Favourite piece that you own? Who is it by and why is it your favourite?
I try to wear my own label most of time. Far from my label, I love a Dolce & Gabbana’s black suit that I bought in Milan about 10 years ago. It fits perfect and great style.

12. Do you have a saying or a motto that you go by?
“enjoy what you’re doing even the part isn’t fun”

13. Finish this sentence – Creativity is important because…
It brings out new and exciting ideas and activities that are unique to one person.

14. What are you working on next?
My label sold thought out Australia, USA, Middle East and Southern Europe. We recently opened showroom in USA and Spain.

My next project is having a fashion showcase in Belgium, May this year and build up brand awareness in Northern Europe.

Gina Kim information:

• website: http://www.ginakim.com.au/

Recently I interviewed Brisbane artist Emma Sheldrake, whose work I absolutely adore. Read the interview on Desktop Magazine’s blog here.

To read the interview visit my blog on Desktop Magazine here.

Images courtesy of Maurie and Eve

www.maurieandeve.com

But did you know that we have a plethora of talent right here? You didn’t? Well allow me to start you off with the best of the best – footwear label Tom Gunn.

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do

Tom Gunn is our namesake, Gabrielle Thompson is the ‘tom’ and Shannon Gunn is the ‘gunn’. We are a high end ladies footwear label. We design our shoes in Australia and they are made in Italy using beautiful leathers from the top Italian tanneries.

2. When did you go out on your own / when did you launch your label?

We really weren’t happy with what was available in Australian footwear.  Australia had fantastic young clothing designers but nothing in terms of original footwear designers at the time we decided to start.  So we left our footwear jobs in Australia and moved to Italy to start the business.

That was in 2007; we persisted and didn’t come back until we had a manufacturing base and our first range. We have a great factory in Italy who handcraft each pair of shoes and are great to work with.

3. What made you choose this direction and what inspired you to make fashion design a career?

We have both always been passionate about fashion from as far as we can remember! This led both of us to study Fashion Design at Moreton Institute of TAFE (now MSIT), although at the time did not know each other.

We met at our first footwear jobs in the same company – both starting within a week of each other, were we worked for over five years before going out with our own label.  During these five years working together we both studied at Ars Arpel School in Milan (at separate times), which is one of the most famous footwear schools in the world.  Living in Milan is an amazing experience and we love to go back whenever we get the chance.

4. What did you do before that?

Before starting our label we worked for a large Australian company designing footwear for five years and ‘learning the ropes’ of the footwear industry. This was an amazing experience and cemented our passion for footwear!

5. Tell us about your design process, how do you like to work?

Colour is always the base for our collections, interwoven with a story about a place or a time; it always seems a great starting point for us and really kicks off our creative process every season.We usually put together an inspiration board with pictures we’ve been collecting and lots of colour swatches and then we play with this until it feels right. We then design together and bounce ideas off each other until we are both 100% happy with what we have created.After we have designed the collection we start making the paper patterns for each shoe. This is the final step in the design process as this is where the lines and proportions are perfected.

6. How would you describe your style?

We love simple designs with unique detailing and beautiful textured leathers. Our design signature is bright splashes of contrasting colours and always the most exquisite leathers we can find. We aim to make each shoe special so that the wearer may feel beautiful!

7. What or who inspires you? Whose style or work do you admire and why?

We are inspired by different things each season. It could be a book one of us has read or an old photo. In terms of other designers, we really love what Consuela Castiglioni does for Marni each season and Dries Van Noten – both use colour and pattern so well and their collections are always inspiring.

8. If you were to collaborate with another designer (or artist), who would it be and why?

We both absolutely love an Australian artist called Dale Frank. He’s famous for his swirling abstract paintings in beautiful colours. I can just imagine the fun we’d have playing with colours!

9. How would you describe the Brisbane creative scene / is Brisbane supportive of your work?

Brisbane has a fantastic groundswell of designers, artists, photographers, stylists etc who are excelling in their fields nationally and internationally and it’s very inspiring.Brisbane is an exciting place to be with the way it’s growing and the opportunities that are opening up. We have found Brisbane to be very supportive of us!

10. What would you like to see Brisbane do better / what would you like more of?

We would like to see more fashion events in Brisbane and well as more support of local boutiques and designers. Brisbane has some fantastic boutiques and we need more to make our city a fashion destination!

11. Favourite piece that you own? Who is it by and why is it your favourite?

We both treasure our designer shoe collections. They have been collected over years of travelling the world! For Gabrielle it’s probably a pair of Dries Van Noten shoes from Florence and for Shannon a pair of Manolo Blahnik’s from New York. They aren’t worn anymore now that we only wear Tom Gunn shoes but they will always be treasured!

12. Do you have a saying or a motto that you go by?

“Aim for the stars and maybe you’ll reach the sky.” – Reinhold Niebuhr

We love stars!!

13. Finish this sentence – Creativity is important because…

Creativity is important because nothing new can be conceived without it!

4. What are you working on next?

We are designing our new Winter 2011 collection which we are working on showing in Paris!

And here is the Winter 2010 collection, enjoy!

Tom Gunn information:

• website: http://www.tomgunn.com