Can Australia’s biggest labels survive when their founding designer and creative spark departs?

THEY are some of Australia’s biggest labels, made famous by the vision of their well-known designers. So can they thrive after their founding names and brains depart? Prue Lewington investigates.

L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival. Dancer wears an Alannah Hill design.

THEY are some of Australia’s biggest brands — made famous by the vision of their designers. So can they survive after their founding names and brains depart?

Sass and Bide, Willow, Alannah Hill and Ksubi are all labels that are continuing without the big names behind them, while their brand owners move on to new projects or life changes.

So how are they faring? Insider decided to take a look at the new collections and see how they measure up.

SASS & BIDE

THEN

UNDER founders Heidi Middleton and Sarah-Jane Clarke, Sass & Bide became one of the hottest brands in history, so when the design duo quit last year the local industry went into shock.

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Design director Anthony Cuthbertson was chosen as their successor, and for his first collection at London Fashion Week this year, he referenced archival pieces, capturing the brand’s free spirit with a line-up of Japanese-inspired twisted leather separates and richly embellished warrior dresses.

From here, the designer will need to move the aesthetic forward without worrying about what critics are going to say.

It is evident Cuthbertson understands the psyche of the customer and, having consulted for Victoria Beckham, Mulberry and Scanlan & Theodore, he is the right man to take the brand into the future.

He knows how to cater to both high-end and commercial markets.

The Mojo Kiko collection, comprising 20 pieces in exclusive runs, is available to order online.

WILLOW

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SINCE Kit Willow’s controversial departure in 2013, a new design team has come on to broaden the range to make it more accessible.

You’ll now find separates starting at $125 and an expanded knitwear collection. The successful mix has led to new store openings in Miranda and Macquarie Centre.

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Charlotte Lohmann in Willow.

Staying true to the brand’s DNA, design director Constance Astbury and the team continue to create more of the sharply tailored pieces and silk printed dresses that the label is known for.

The latest new range includes structured leather separates, cashmere sweaters and jackets with nipped-in waists that are more about timeless sophistication than following any trends.

This season is inspired by sculptor Xavier Corbero and includes octagonal design details and eye-popping kaleidoscope prints.

Silk tulle dresses continue to be one of their best-selling items.

The label is owned by Apparel Group, which acquired a majority shareholding in the business in September 2011.

KSUBI

THEN

Erin Wasson modelling for Ksubi at Australian Fashion Week.

L'Oreal Fashion Week launch at Government House. .

IT’S been a tough few years for the cult streetwear label. But after two administrations the brand has bounced back with a commercially viable, denim-focused range.

While the wacky lampshade hat days are a thing of the past, the label is forging ahead with edgy denim basics, a new eyewear collection and a new leisure range, ksubi Active, launching this week.

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Charlotte Lohmann in Ksubi.

Created by design teams in LA and Sydney, the standout pieces for summer include denim shorts, jackets and jeans that are true to the brand’s rock-chick vibe.

They have a clever marketing strategy too.

A sultry-looking Helena Vestergaard has posed for the campaign wearing a ‘90s-inspired denim look.

She is the 20-year-old Aussie girlfriend of Red Hot Chili Pepper Anthony Kiedis, 52.

Launched in 2000, the label first went into voluntary administration in 2010. Aussie chain General Pants & Co signed a licensing deal to collaborate with US firm Breakwater Investment in 2013.

The new Ksubi includes old and new employees who understand the DNA of the label that shot to fame after releasing 169 rats down the runway.

ALANNAH HILL

THEN

L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival.

Melbourne Fashion Festival 2005.

IT’S been almost two years since Alannah Hill walked from her multimillion-dollar brand and we can see subtle changes in the line as the label adapts to evolving trends.

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Charlotte Lohmann in Alannah Hill..

Hill pioneered the girlie aesthetic giving dresses and twin-sets a generous dose of flower, tulle and sequined embellishments.

Now, the ornaments are kept to a minimum and the focus is on functionality.

The current campaign In Love Again is an eclectic mix of dresses and separates that can be worn from desk to dinner.

There are plenty of pink trench coats and oversized cardigans that can be worn over floral-print body-contouring dresses.

But they also offer sharply tailored blazers and work basics that make up most women’s wardrobes.

The company that owns the label, Factory X, will announce a new creative director in coming months, which means the fabled label will continue to evolve with commercially savvy designers at the helm.

Originally published as Can Australia’s biggest labels survive when their founding designer and creative spark departs?