Designer Kirrily Johnston enters voluntary administration, following Lisa Ho

LESS than a month after Lisa Ho announced her demise another prominent Australian designer has gone under.

Kirrily Johnston

LESS than a month after Lisa Ho announced her demise another prominent Australian designer has gone under.

Kirrily Johnston, who has been a fixture of the Australian fashion scene for 12 years, announced yesterday she had placed her eponymous label into voluntary administration.

The Sydney-based designer said the global financial crisis, high rents and a number of manufacturing issues were behind the label’s woes.

"I could have traded on and maybe pulled myself out of this awful situation but I did not want to take the risk and keep raking up debts that I may not be able to repay," Johnston said.

"I wanted to do the honourable thing, as it’s not just my business and life but other people’s lives as well that this situation will reflect."

Kirrily Johnston's on the catwalk

It’s understood Johnson’s debts are nowhere nearly as high as that of Ho, whose company went into administration in May with $11 million worth of debt and on June 18 announced it would close.

The designer has already received messages of support from the industry, with Marie Claire editor Jackie Frank saying it was Johnston’s unique designs set her apart.

"What I’ve liked about Kirrily over the years is she’s got her own style and she’s not an imitator," Frank said yesterday. "Retail at the moment is so difficult and this is not a reflection of her abilities because there are so many things that go into having a successful business."

Johnston, whose wares are stocked in David Jones, currently has two boutiques in Sydney and one in Melbourne. She launched a diffusion line, Kj, in 2010.

How Lisa Ho unravelled

Earlier this year she gave birth to her first child, a girl named Tuesday.

The designer said a recent faulty order of high top sneakers cost her hundreds of thousands of dollars when the manufacturer and fabric supplier refused to take responsibility for the defective items.

"I know everyone will be asking how could this happen when I seemed to be doing so well," she said. "Unfortunately for me it was a culmination of GFC issues and manufacturing bad luck which tipped the business over the edge."

Johnston is the latest in a string of Australian labels who have been hit by tough retail conditions, with Little Joe by Gail Elliott and Bettina Liano also calling in the administrators in recent years.