Designer Camilla Franks reveals secret to her success and how cancer battle changed her
Sydney’s so-called ‘kaftan queen’ is dancing on air after beating cancer, COVID and criticism
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Fashion designer Camilla Franks is floating down her grand staircase like a ‘40s film star, her silk kimono billowing about her ankles.
We’re in her eastern suburbs home – me in the foyer – her descending the stairs – and it feels like we’ve stepped back in time.
When she reaches the bottom step she offers a warm ‘hello’, flashes a killer half smile and within seconds I learn two things about her: She’s the kind of woman who could likely convince you to do absolutely anything, and she moves in a way that is so elegant it defies words.
“I’m Camilla,” she says by way of introduction and ushers me into her sitting area, affectionately known as the wallpaper room.
Once there she settles into a creamy couch, swiftly adjusting several oversized cushions (all from her own range) and while she does I breathe in every tiny detail.
She’s wearing the exotic, ethereal, printed pieces for which she is known and she’s doing so with a level of insouciance rarely seen outside of Slim Aarons photographs of the rich and famous poolside in Palm Beach.
There’s silk harem-style pants, a delicate detailed camisole, that dramatic kimono. Every piece boasts gorgeous patterns, crystals that twinkle in the light and every colour imaginable.
Each item is glorious. A little like Camilla herself.
We’re here, ostensibly, to talk about her latest venture, a newly opened Camilla boutique at Westfield Bondi Junction. The new store, opened just weeks ago, is her 24th. A stunning achievement in the world of fashion. But I have a question. Why open a high-end fashion boutique when COVID is wreaking a trail of destruction, particularly within the retail industry?
“It’s probably the craziest of things, but my team and I just felt it was right,” she says firmly.
“It’s a bold move and like anything in life, it’s a risk. But what can I say … I love taking risks.”
Taking risks has been Camilla’s modus operandi pretty much since birth. For example, during her years at the prestigious Ascham School in Edgecliff, attended by Gretel Packer AM, philanthropist Lady Primrose Potter and artist Arkie Whiteley among others, Camilla could most often be found in the head-mistress’s office.
If not there, the rebellious, passionate teen was in the art rooms or on the theatre floor. She has difficulty even recalling the rooms where maths or science were taught – a fact that makes her chuckle today.
“I was quite naughty at school,” she says.
“In hindsight it wasn’t the right school for me, but it did teach me the value of discipline and a strong work ethic.”
Post school Camilla drifted a little. For a time she was convinced she would be an actor. At another point she entered the heady world of advertising.
She travelled to exotic locations and indulged in wild adventures when the opportunity arose. In the UK she dabbled in various creative endeavours, eventually turning to music videos, even producing one for English reggae and pop band UB40.
However, her beloved eastern suburbs were singing their siren song and the beach-loving Camilla could not ignore it.
She headed home.
Once here she was struck with the idea that perhaps it was fashion that was her true calling and, in true Camilla style, launched a brand from her Bondi Beach house without a skerrick of knowledge about the business.
“I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but I just threw myself into it,” she says.
“I had a ‘fake it till you make it’ attitude. I was everything from designer, store manager, marketer, head of logistics, my own head of finance and everything in between. When someone would call I would pretend to transfer the call and then I would answer in a different voice … put on different accents, transfer calls to non-existent departments. It was complete smoke and mirrors.”
She pauses, adjusts a cushion tassel for a moment and then looks me in the eye – her expression intense.
“I was so fearless back then,” she says, her tone suddenly serious.
“I don’t think I’d have the cahunas to do that now.”
I’m not so sure. She may be older and have experienced her fair share of difficulty, but she strikes me as the very epitome of a warrior woman and I tell her so.
It’s then she tells me about her breast cancer struggle. Yes, it has been well documented, the news of her diagnosis two years ago covered by media everywhere, but I wonder, with the blessing of time, if she views the entire episode differently now.
Turns out she does.
“There was so much beauty in my cancer journey,” she says.
“While I hated getting cancer and I never want to dance with that devil again, I learned so much.
I became a student of myself – I went to places I never thought I would and I feel, in a way, as though I have recalibrated. I have rebirthed.
“I was dying frankly … and it was one of the most terrifying times in my life. But it was one of the most joyous too. There was just so much love and joy throughout that journey.”
Even for Camilla, bold, beautiful Camilla, this is a statement.
I wonder how she does it. How does she remain so incredibly positive, so warm and giving, with all that she has been through?
“I think you always have a choice,” she says thoughtfully.
“As human beings we tend to see the negative, but we don’t have to. Through my cancer I really had to be very focused on choosing the more positive, healthier thoughts. And that’s what I did.”
Her ‘must think positive’ project, if you could call it such, is clearly working.
While she has undergone a double mastectomy and had six months of what she refers to as the ‘bazooka of all chemo’ she is literally glowing. Her skin is golden and her eyes clear and expressive. And she gives off an indescribable vibe, a kind of magic or electricity even. Whatever it is, it makes even being in her orbit feel like a blessing. Camilla puts it down to joy.
“I am happy,” she says simply.
“I’m in good spirits. Two years have passed and I’m cancer free. It’s a journey, but right now I am doing well and just sucking the marrow out of this great big delicious life I have been given.”
Camilla’s wildly positive attitude comes as no surprise to respected fashion editor and journalist Damien Woolnough, who first met the designer when she launched her initial range all those years ago.
“She just gets on with it,” says Damien.
“She always has … through criticism, pregnancy, cancer and the challenges of COVID. You just can’t keep Camilla down, thank the Goddess. I adore her.”
These days Camilla commands respect within the rarefied fashion world. Further, she is worshipped by her customers.
Damien has a theory as to why this is.
“She is one of the few Australian designers with an immediately recognisable signature who genuinely listens to her customers,” he explains.
“She has never worried about being cool. What she wanted was to keep her customers happy and to help them to create a way of life and she has done exactly that.”
Camilla seconds this sentiment when she tells me she wants to create fashion that makes her customers look and feel beautiful and powerful too. It’s part of the brand’s ethos, she tells me, that all women have the right to look and feel beautiful no matter their age, shape or size.
“We believe everyone has the right to feel free and to feel joy and that this is what fashion should do,” she says.
What fashion should not do, she adds, is intimidate.
“I find a lot of brands aren’t inclusive,” she adds.
“But everyone is welcome to the Camilla party.”
We’re interrupted at this point by Camilla’s toddler Luna who has woken from a nap and wants to cuddle with her mama.
The sweetly sleepy Luna climbs onto Camilla’s lap and the designer holds her baby tight, taking a deep, loving breath while she does so.
“Here’s the thing,” she says.
“I have experienced a lot and it has changed me. But before this all happened I don’t think I really respected life or, at the very least it wasn’t as meaningful or deep. But going through cancer and having Luna … it has all been worth it. So worth it. This child of mine has brought me a joy that I never knew existed.”
And then of course there’s the brand, which has been an undeniable success, and has brought Camilla and her clientele indescribable happiness.
And at some point in the very near future, Camilla hopes she can gather all of her customers, her tribe as she calls them, and let them know exactly what they mean to her.
“They are amazing,” she says.
“Just incredible. And once COVID is over I would love to get everyone together for one big festival.”
A festival of Camilla would be quite the thing. Here’s to it happening soon – and to us all scoring an invite.