North Sydney, N.S.W. : Random House Australia, 2008 281 p. : col. ill. ; 21 cm.non-fictionThe world of fashion is both highly artistic and highly challenging, with top designers balancing delicately between the cutting edge of creativity and the necessity of running a viable business. In this enthralling collection of interviews, David Meagher talks to top designers the world over, the people whose vision shapes the contemporary and future fashion. The designers—among them Marc Jacobs, Karen Walker, Martin Grant, Christopher Bailey of Burberry, and John Goot—talk about where they've come from, where they're headed, and their philosophy of design. Gorgeously illustrated throughout with full-color photographs from the catwalks of London, Paris, Milan, and New York, this is a fascinating insight into the minds shaping fashion today.fashion - history, fashion - interviews, fashion designers

This overcoat was designed and tailored by Dominex, a company that sold clothing in high end department stores such as Myer and David Jones in the 1940s through to the 2000s. As pictured in the accompanying advertising, Dominex looked to produce clothes for women to “casually, confidently wear … the exquisite styling and superb tailoring of… Dominex Coats”. This sentiment was carried by the company for more than 60 years. Amanda Morgan, a director of the Dominex fashion label in an interview from 2003 said “Not everybody wants sass, or sex, or high fashion for that matter. Au contraire. Our customers will be stylish, sophisticated and womanly, but we don’t do shoestring straps or asymmetrical lines." Dominex was a label specialising in exceptional quality "traditional" dressing for corporate wear. Their clothes looked to provide women with a return to the tried and true values of elegant, unpretentious, classic dressing. "Our look is European-influenced," Morgan explained further. "Inspired by Armani, Valentino, Chanel and Escada. Suits have been specially dyed in France to ensure the perfect shade of ice blue, lemon, grey, or slate. Fabrics are natural, silk and linen. Shapes are stylish, with an almost 1930s feel; classic pants, silk shirts, structured overcoats with elegant-length” Returning to this overcoat, it has a label on the inside which reads “Pure Wool Material by Godfrey Hirst of Geelong”. Nowadays Godfrey Hirst produce flooring products and are the largest manufacturer and exporter of residential and commercial carpets in Australasia. They have expanded into hard flooring and left their fashion days behind. This overcoat serves as a useful example of a different time for the company; before they made the change to concentrating exclusively on flooring, when they produced fabrics to be tailored for the height of Australian fashion. This overcoat was purchased and worn by Joan Waller, aunty of the donor, Kim Rosenow. Kim said her aunty was from Ballarat but frequently shopped in Melbourne to keep up with the latest trends. Her aunty Joan fitted the target demographic of Dominex well, as she needed to look sophisticated and elegant at social events and work. Kim donated the overcoat to the National Wool Museum in 2021. Green singled breasted overcoat with a narrow overlap and one column of buttons for fastening. The overcoat features notched lapels of a medium width and two large buttons of a green & dark green marble. The overcoat has two semi-visible jetted pockets at the hips. Internally, the overcoat features a black silk lining for comfort. It also features a stitched patch on the left side of the opening which reads “Pure Wool Material by Godfrey Hirst of Geelong”. At the collar, another patch reads “Dominex REGD”. At the cuffs, the overcoat finishes in a type of gauntlet cuff which stretches back over 200mm. The decorative finish utilises no buttons and has thick piping to accentuate this design feature. The overcoat finishes with a simple invisible hem at the bottom.Wording, gold. Patch stitched at collar: “DomineX / REGD.” Wording, black. Patch stitched at left off opening: “PURE WOOL MATERIAL BY / Godfrey Hirst / OF GEELONG”dominex, fashion, women's corporate wear, godfrey hirst, overcoat, wool clothing

The Fashion & Design collection of the Kew Historical Society includes examples of women’s, men’s, children’s and infants’ clothing from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Items in the collection were largely produced for, or purchased by women in Melbourne, and includes examples of outerwear, protective wear, nightwear, underwear and costume accessories.This example of evening wear from 1980 is one of two pieces in the collection owned and worn by Kaye Cole.This dress was bought for and worn by Cr Kaye Cole, Mayor of Kew 1979/80, to a Mayoral Dinner on Friday 25 July 1980. An accompanying seating plan lists the attendees including the Governor of Victoria, the Victorian Premier, State and Federal parliamentary representatives and distinguished guests from neighbouring municipalities. The evening dress was donated to the Society by Kaye Cole on the occasion of an interview on 6 August 2018 relating to the period on which she served on Kew Council as a representative of North Ward (1973-6) and Prospect Ward (1978-85) and her achievements as mayor.Brown acetate evening gown, and floor-length evening coat retailed by Bianca, Sydney, and manufactured under licence to Henry Chavan, Lyon & Paris. The sheer fabric of the coat is decorated by the use of pile weave, forming a floral pattern of velvet outlined in gold thread.mayors of kew (vic), cr. kaye cole, international fashion - france - henry chavin, women's clothing, evening wear, fashion retailers - bianca - sydney, evening dresses, evening ensembles

New York: Reporter Publications, 1953-1983. Hardcover. A broken run of this remarkable publishing venture, providing insight into the fashion of the day, fabric swatches, history of textile design, interviews with designers, etc.18 unique magazines containing multiple years. An invaluable reference tool for researching American lifestyle, tastes, fashion, style and fabrics as they evolved from the end of World War II to the dawn of feminism. With real vintage fabric swatches in each issue. Each issue is profusely illustrated with color photography and fashion illustration, as well as with beautifully designed covers by important artists. Such design magazines were utilised by Australian designers to help inspiration for the upcoming season's fashion. Such magazines were not cheap, compared to an international business trip however, they are seen as affordable to the point of being invaluable. 18 unique magazines from American Fabrics. First issue is from 1948 with latest from 1968. Colourful external covers with internal pages containing a mixture of black & white pages, colour pages and fabric swatches. Images of front and back cover are visible within media as well as contents of all 18 copies, particular articles of interest are obtainable by contacting the National Wool Museumtextile design, 1940s-1960s