Australian Fashion Industry, Bloggers, Interview

EatFashion.NotCake.

March 5

Beautiful fair skinned girl with silk bandanna and red lipstick.

EatFashion.NotCake.

Elle Giles is the Perth fashion blogger, and the owner of this beautifully named blog.

As I once lived in Perth, I know only too well how beautiful a city it is, added to which it is simply a hot bed of fashion as far as Australian designers are concerned. So it goes without saying then that any fashion blogger who is amongst it there is a fortunate one indeed. One of them is Elle Giles.

I love your website and blog. What inspired you to create it?

I’ve always loved reading & writing as well as fashion, I studied creative writing at Uni before I dropped out to pursuemy career in styling. We were meant to write every day and blogging seemed like a great way to improve my writing skills with a subject that I had a real passion for.

Perth has some impressive designers. Who are your favourites?

Some of my favourite designers are Perth talents. Kym Ellery (ELLERY), Alvin Fernandes (Ae’lkemi) and Jaime Lee Major (Jaime Lee) are only three in a long list of WA designers I absolutely love. Perth is such a unique place with creatives from such a huge mix of backgrounds and I think it really becomes apparent when you see the collections that come out of Western Australia.

What designers do you mostly work with?

I work with so many different designers from all over the country and don’t like to limit myself to just my “favourites” asthere’s always new talent to be discovered but I do love working with Perth label, House of SKYE whose lookbook and campaign shoots I often style. Also Empire Rose who are always keen to collaborate on editorial projects with their stunning garments.

Who are the people from whom you take inspiration and whom do you most admire with the Australian fashion industry?

One of the people I most admire personally would have to be my old boss, stylist & producer, David Brittain. I couldn’t be where I am today without his guidance and (even though he jumped ship to London at the end of last year) is definitely one of the most hardworking people I know. He definitely taught me much more than just a healthy respect for Nike Air Max trainers.

What advice would you give to aspiring fashion bloggers?

Don’t try to be someone else…we’ve already read what they have to say and an original opinion is often much more appreciated these days than regurgitation of whatever “Ms. five million Instagram followers” thinks.

: Elle Giles Styling.

: EatFashion.NotCake.

Do you like the current collections on offer to Australian women?

When it comes to choice can you ever really have “enough”? With the rise of online shopping and phone apps like Instagram the range of designers and collections we have readily available access to has improved out of sight. In saying this, online shopping isn’t the be-all and end-all and Australia could definitely benefit with a fresh injection of good old bricks and mortar stores.

What influence do you think social media has had on our current fashion industry and do you think it is a positive ornegative influence?

I feel like social media has both pros and cons when comes to the fashion industry. But overall I think it’s great, it gives young talent a platform to get their products seen by the global market and it gives every day people like you andme a place to showcase our own style and be inspired by those next door and on the other side of the world.

Why do you think this country has so few mens designers?

Australian men (and I’m about to make a gross generalization here) are behind the eight ball when it comes to style. We seem to be overrun with cavemen so insecure about their sexuality that they reject fashion altogether and hide behind board shorts and thongs. If we can change this then the designers will emerge.

What do you think of the phenomenon of fast fashion? for eg. Zara or H & M.

I’m on the fence, I think it definitely has a place in the market (mainly because I can’t afford to stock my entire wardrobe with Chanel and Alexander Wang) but I don’t like the way the industry – from the designers to the factory floor workers suffer because of it. It’s definitely a double-edged sword.

Do you feel the industry needs to have a set of slightly older fashion bloggers to create and wider and broader space for representation of labels?

Anyone who says there are no/not enough mature bloggers out there clearly isn’t looking very hard. Catherine Summers with her blog, ‘Not Dressed as a Lamb’ and my personal favourite “Advanced Style’ from Ari Seth Cohen are just two of the many great sites I recommend and read on a regular basis.

Do you think our obsession with youth and only directing fashion to the very young has created a restricted playground for designers at large?

I think fashion in will always largely be aimed at the youth as they want the fresh, the new, the exciting. However many of us have grown up through the massive explosion of street style and fashion blogging into the social consciousness and I feel like this generation will demand nothing less than the freshest and the best even as we grow older. Hopefully opening up the market further for designers wanting to cater to a more mature market.

Do you believe that fashion has become homogenised?

The spread of fast-fashion labels and street style blogs around the world has definitely had a hand in homogenising fashion. But I think the desire of young people to express themselves through their style and to be stand out in there uniqueness will always play an important role in outweighing the negatives.

Do you believe that fashion designers now design collections, around what they know is going to sell?

We need to remember that fashion is a business and people base their livelihoods around it. As much as it’s great to see these surreal creations they dream up and send down the runway often they aren’t feasible for day-to-day wear (or even special occasion wear!). I think this is where diffusion lines have really started to take off; designers are still free to show off their creative flair on the runway but also cater to “the masses” with more wearable (and often more affordable) collections.

How do you feel about the levels of support for the fashion industry in this country?

I definitely think there could be more support for emerging designers in Australia and I’m not necessarily talking about government hand-outs but things like education and environmental awareness.

What is your view of the “it” bag?

In my view your handbag is the most important thing in your day-to-day life and a great bag is imperative to any successful woman. But in saying this I also think that the “it” bag is different for everybody. All our needs are different and although the Hermés Birkin bag may be perfect for one person a Nylon Longchamp tote may be all another needs.

What is the most you would pay for a handbag?

I’ve never spent over $1000 on a handbag… that’s not to say that I wouldn’t, I just haven’t yet. There is no purchase more satisfying to me than buying a new bag – you use them everyday, they can take your outfit from drab to fab (excuse the rhyming – I can’t help it) in seconds and are your constant companions, more loyal than any canine.

What designers do you love in Australia? Overseas?

Favourite Aussie designers include – Ellery, Aje, Dion Lee, Romance Was Born, Zimmermann, Dyspnea…I could go on for days. (Also a mention is definitely warranted for everyone’s favourite Aussie High Street label – Bec & Bridge)

Favourite International designers include – Alexander Wang, For Love & Lemons, Acne Studios, Kenzo, Stone Cold Fox…I could go on for weeks…

How important do you believe is Runway exposure when a fashion designer is starting out or launching a new collection?

Runway shows are so valuable for emerging designers. They give the media, the buyers and the public a chance to really experience their garments in a way that seeing them in a lookbook or campaign shoot can’t create.

Model in a studio setting in a black jacket with black fabric ears for theatrical shot.

Studio work.

What do you feel the fashion industry fails to offer the fashion designers, creatives, and bloggers in this country?

I often feel that in this day and age, and especially in Western Australia (more so than the eastern states) everyone is looking for something for free. Where on the one hand it’s great to have emerging talents and creatives helping each other out on projects, etc. When it comes to more established brands and businesses that want a high degree of quality in their work (whether it be advertising, campaigns, lookbooks, etc.) they seem to be less and less willing to pay for this quality. It’s a vicious cycle putting pressure on everybody in the industry in turn and definitely not just in my opinion but for many of the creatives (models, photographers, designers, makeup artists, stylists, etc.) I work with on a daily basis.

If you could change anything within the fashion industry in Australia, what would it be? State as many things as you need.

This is a hard one. I guess something that although not strictly fashion but closely relating to the industry that I would love to see change is the rapid decline in print media. As much as I love my iPhone, iPad and Macbook there’s nothing like sitting down with a good fashion magazine and that is fast becoming a thing of the past, which greatly affects the entire industry in a negative way.

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Until next time. Jade x