With her designs stocked in 171 stores in 36 countries globally, McCall is grounded and strong, and at the top of her game.

“I feel pretty good,” she tells me at the quirky, calm and loving home she has lived in for five years. “I’m enjoying work and have a really nice, strong team.”

Considered one of the country’s leading designers, she has always had an edge, with her signature feminine, bohemian designs, their whimsy contrasting with sharp, tailored styling and fun-loving sequins, which has won her fans including Beyonce, Katy Perry, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Lopez, Kylie Minogue and Kourtney Kardashian

Now in her early 40s and a mum to daughters Wilde Rose Morley, 12, and Hopi Silver Moon, 7, she is someone who simply likes to get things done.

With her work team in place, she has more time to devote to the things she loves — designing and her daughters. Her face lights up when she talks of the girls she has with former partner, designer Nicholas Morley.

“Hopi has turned seven and then my Wilde turns 12 soon, so just pre-teen and (she) really feels like a teenager. She is allowed to get the bus by herself and they are both really well rounded.

“They’ve got nice activities that they love. Wilde’s into songwriting and goes to The School of Rock in Potts Point a couple of days a week. She’s got a little band and that really is nice therapy for her as it allows her to express herself and, then, little Hopi, who is a great little dancer.”

Although she has had great global success, her daughters are still the best things in her life.

“I was just thinking that when they went to stay with their dad a few weeks ago, just for three days, I had this thing where I (felt like) I was sort of running away from my responsibilities. I thought it would feel so good to just go out for a little bit, but I love the responsibility of parenting.”

But it’s her design that has propelled her to the dizzy heights of fashion.

“I love being a leader. I have 100-odd employees, 50 in head office and 50 retail staff and I love when I’m grounded like I feel now,” she says, her hazel eyes shining as she talks of the business she has built from scratch.

“To be really honest, I was aimlessly growing the business for a little while but I feel more focused than ever, and more aware of where I want to go in the future — more than ever … and that feels really good. It’s nice to plan and strategise and know what I want for the future.”

When Alice looks ahead, she sees consolidation followed by further expansion of her on-line business.

“I’m mindfully — in straight up terms — being really economically-minded with my business, in order to focus on profitability, but then making conscious decisions about product assortment and in design that will sell more. Because I’m a businesswoman I know how to do that, and I like that. Being considered, being mindful of growth and expansion.”

Her eponymous label has gone from strength to strength since she debuted at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in 2004 after a couple of years designing for Sass and Bide.

When I first met Alice, she was at all the right parties, with all the right people, regularly tearing up the night. While she still loves a night out, her priorities have well and truly shifted.

“When they say ‘middle age’ or ‘midlife crisis’ it’s actually not a crisis, it’s awareness,” she says. “It’s empowerment. We’re such creatures of habit that sometimes you do need to be mindfully aware of that and just tweak what you do in order to live life happily — self-preservation and making yourself happier by making considered decisions.”

As a single mother who is on good terms with her ex, she would really seem to have it all.

“The key thing is, well, we’re all balls of energy, and we need to plug in and energise,” Alice says.

“I’ve been big on that more recently. When I invest in my yoga and self-care then I have more energy, I’m more centered, I make better decisions and I’m calmer.”

Alice gives herself a home Vipassana each week — a gentle meditation technique which explores the deep interconnection between the mind and the body.

“I decided last minute not to go to work for the week last month. My decision every day was, ‘Shall I go for a walk, or shall I try that new fish and chip shop I never tried?’. I just did that for a week. I talked to about three people, and I had a lot of time in silence. And I felt like I resolved a lot of stuff.”

Before establishing her business, she had already been working as a stylist for magazine publishing house Conde Nast for ten years, which she joined at 19 when she relocated to London from Sydney. As a hobby, she began selling one-of-a-kind silk pieces with her creations being snapped up by style icons Kate Moss and Alexander McQueen muse, Katy England.

She opened her first store in South Dowling St in 2010 and now has 13 around Australia, including in Paddington and Bondi.

How would you describe your personal style? I’m influenced by the ’70s and often feature a vintage find. The ’70s was a time of liberation. There was a freedom of music andnature and exploring of your mind. I’m a hippy at heart.

What do you love about the house and why? It’s kind of communal living. And natural light’s ever so important, I think, to everyone. And some people don’t realise it. It doesn’t feel congested at all. It feels sort of expansive, when you walk downstairs and there’s this wonderful natural light and it’s not claustrophobic.

My free-standing bath is in bedroom one, so it’s just lovely sitting in the bath in a really big room that feels a bit rustic-y Parisian. And I love antiques and things that have a story. I used to love the auction houses in London when I lived there. There’s still a few pieces here. And I love mid-century modern. I love the, sort of, Marie Antoinette era. Sort of Parisian, ornate — like Rococo — all fused with a little rock and roll.

What is your favourite room in he house and why? We spend a lot of time in the open plan living room downstairs. I can be in the kitchen while the girls are playing, and it opens on to the garden and pool area.

What was the brief for your interiors? It’s an eclectic space with lots of timber and natural textures, and a variety of antiques I’ve collected over the years, a number of which I brought home after living in London. Some of my favourite things are the doors. I love grand doors. I’ve got some old, antique, very large scale, ornate iron doors. One is at the entrance to my office, and the other’s the entrance to my show room. I really have a thing for interesting doorways, because symbolically it’s entrance, opportunity. I love grand entrances.

Favourite three items in your wardrobe? My Bluesy jeans, Gucci heels, and Loewe handbag.

How do you listen to music at home and what do you listen to?

Through an iPhone speaker system, anything from classical to disco to house — depending on the mood.

What books are on your bedside table? The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, The Art of Happiness by The Dalai Lama, The Whole Brain Child by Daniel J Siegel and Get A Life — The Diaries of Vivienne Westwood.

If you could live anywhere else in the world where would it be?

Perhaps somewhere north on the island of Ibiza, maybe Paris, definitely somewhere in Europe.

Is there anything you’d like to change about your home — and if so, what is it? Not now that I have a pool table. I love it! Wilde has got her head in a book as she is a big reader. She’ll dive into her own books, while mum and Hope’s are on the pool table.

What’s the best party you’ve had in your house? I love a summer barbecue outdoors while the kids play in the pool. I’m quite private. And my home is a sanctuary. So I don’t have big parties there. And if I do, it’s more of a barbie with the kids, who love the pool. So I’ll invite friends over who have kids and we’ll get out and play music and drink and eat.

What is something you treasure in your home? I adore the handmade teak wooden bowl that holds my crystals — it was a gift from my mother for my 40th birthday.