Q&A: Pip Edwards, fashion entrepreneur

Fashion entrepreneur Pip Edwards on early attempts at creating her own style, launching a global brand and her first runway show.

Pip Edwards. Picture: Steve Baccon.

You have a commerce-law degree. Can you imagine working in that area now?

My parents would tell you that I’m meant to be here, working in fashion, even though they would have loved the other path back in the day. I’ve lived and breathed fashion since I was three. I was always destroying something or putting something together; I would rip the collars off shirts and wear them as bracelets, sew ribbons onto singlets. It was in my blood.

Who’s your role model?

My mum is my only female role model. She’s always led the charge. She was one of the first five women to drive a car in Kuwait, and the only unmarried one, at a time when you had to be chaperoned in a car if you were unmarried. She worked for the Bank of Kuwait, a young unmarried woman in the workforce, so was quite a pioneer.

When your label P.E Nation was launched in 2016 it was picked up by 50 stores; it’s now in more than 250 globally. Was that immediate success a surprise?

Yes it was. I understood the process of how to get wholesale accounts [from having worked for Ksubi, Sass & Bide and General Pants] but whether they take it on is another story. We had to cold call first and then go in and sell a dream. But it also had sell-through, that’s the most important part. We smashed our budgeted potential by 500 per cent in the first year.

You’re all about blending activewear with fashion. So... heels with sportswear?

Yes! I love blending it with tailoring from Rebecca Vallance or Dion Lee. Giving it that high-end spin. It shows the versatility and it’s consistent with my style.

Australian Fashion Week next month features your first full runway show. Was that the dream for you and co-founder Claire Tregoning?

I don’t think we thought we would ever do this because we never saw it as a runway brand. But there’s going to be a new twist to the styling, it will show the label in its many facets, and we’ve added denim.

You were music captain at school and an accomplished pianist. Do you still play?

No. That was a very full-on time in my life. I’d practise three to six hours a day. At seventh and eighth grade, those pieces are phenomenal and I really enjoyed it, but leading up to that was a bit of a chore. When I finished school, I was done. The piano’s at my parents’ house – when I can afford a Bondi apartment big enough to fit a baby grand, I’ll bring it home.

What’s it like bringing up a son as a single mum?

Justice is 12 now and I’m 39 next week. It’s been amazing because I think we’re growing up together. There is parenting and there are rules and structure but we learn from each other.

You’re well known for your personal style. What does fashion mean to you today?

It is still an exploration. You have the opportunity to reinvent constantly. Some might call me a hoarder, because I never let pieces go. I’m my own vintage store.

I’m guessing a Marie Kondo clean-out doesn’t spark joy for you?

I’ve tried! But everything sparks joy. Too much joy!

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is in Sydney, May 12-17; mbfashionweek.com