Brisbane fashion brand Kitten D’Amour made famous by Britney Spears makes $20m

The brand was started by a Brisbane woman and has attracted the likes of Lady Gaga, Pink and the Pussycat Dolls – raking in $20m a year.

When Alana Smith launched her “crazy” idea for a business it had a very raunchy name – Sex Kitten – but it wasn’t for what people might think and it attracted the likes of celebrities such as Britney Spears.

Instead, the Brisbane woman was inspired to create a fashion label by her great, great, great grandmother, who had created a brand called Kitten D’Amour in Paris in 1889.

Back in the early 2000s, Ms Smith was working as buyer and designer for a national retailer travelling to places like Paris, London, New York and Los Angeles to suss out what was trending overseas.

Alana Smith was inspired to create a fashion brand by her great, great, great grandmother. Picture: Supplied

There she would buy samples and “copy them” as that was how it worked back then, she said, but she also really loved to design clothes too.

“I don’t have any training in design, it was just really something I had an interest in and I loved anything old, anything antique because for me that is where you see true design in the shapes, in the architecture, in antique furniture and classic cars are another great example,” she told news.com.au.

“So when I worked for this big retailer I would also design and it was those styles that sold the best so that got me thinking … I thought I would start my own label and I started with really making corsets and it just went crazy and that was really the time that burlesque was quite big and no one was doing that type thing.”

The 54-year-old said they opened their first store in 2003 in Surfers Paradise and “couldn’t keep up” with demand as the brand offered feminine and pretty styles at a time when cargo pants were hugely fashionable.

Alana creates vintage-inspired designs in extremely limited quantities. Picture: Supplied

The brand has also been worn by a number of celebrities. Picture: Supplied

The fashion entrepreneur can credit some her success to this first shop which was located next to the former Versace Hotel where celebrities used to stay.

“One was Britney Spears and I remember she came in with her huge big bodyguards and she had bought up the whole shop practically but one of the items she brought was a denim jacket that had ‘sex kitten’ embroidered on it,” she said.

“She went back to LA and there were pictures in magazines of her wearing the jacket and she had given it to Bijou Phillips, who was also photographed wearing the product. And that was the advantage of the position – it was like a billboard without having to spend a lot in advertising.

“It got us quite well known relatively quickly.”

In 2008, Ms Smith decided to change the brand’s name from Sex Kitten to her family legacy of Kitten D’Amour and now garments have also been seen on the likes of Lady Gaga, Pink and the Pussycat Dolls.

Kitten D'Amour’s first store was a huge success. Picture: Supplied

Ms Smith added fashion is in her DNA with ancestors long involved in the industry.

“I guess that’s where I picked up all this love for frilly French beautiful tailored garments and corsetry, it’s in the DNA. I’m sure it came from my great, great, great grandmother and my great, great, great grandfather made undergarments fitted like corsetry, so it must be in the genes,” she added.

She started her business in her parent’s garage where she did “absolutely everything” except making the garments but which included designing, cutting the fabric, ironing and delivering the clothes.

She thinks the business was set up for success – with it now raking in $20 million annually – from working the retail floor as a teenager as well.

“What I had to do in the beginning gives you an appreciation on how to present your product, how the shop smells, the music you play, the staff you hire – it’s all very important and it’s a part of the big picture,” she noted.

Working in retail helped her succeed as well. Picture: Supplied

Ms Smith said the “other advantage” to the brand’s success was during the winter months there would be a huge influx of tourists from Dubai and Kuwait, who visited the same shop that Britney Spears spent big in.

”They would literally walk around the store and they would be plucking off practically every garment we had – it was like Christmas times 10 in the middle of the year – and the reason they buy so much was it was not just for themselves but they are buying for their big family group, so it was fantastic,” she said.

Now Kitten D’Amour has seven stores and the obvious online presence but Ms Smith said the ethos of the brand’s fashion hasn’t changed with a focus on feminine, detailed, quite fitted garments with beautiful fabrics, although corsets aren’t as big anymore.

The brand focuses on feminine clothing. Picture: Supplied

Often the vintage-inspired designs are made in extremely limited quantities such as only 300 of each garment.

“What we do is we launch collections every three to four weeks and they are very limited in number and each collection has a theme and the last collection was peacocks and palaces – a beautiful print – and there was probably 20 designs in that collection,” she explained.

“When we tend to launch these collections our guests just devour them and love them … Out of that collection there was a gorgeous vegan leather crop jacket that was a standout seller for us. It had beautiful peacock and palaces satin lining and was in a gorgeous shade of blue and the lining was the hero print, so it was stunning.”

Many older pieces in their collections become so coveted that they are selling for more ‘used’ than when they were first available, according to the founder.

Corsets aren’t as big for the brand anymore. Picture: Supplied

She said another signature of the Kitten D’Amour brand is their bustle designs.

“The bustle skirt it’s a fitted skirt with a gorgeous flouncy lace detail that is reminiscent of the olden days and it’s always our biggest seller,” she said.

“We also have it have on jackets and wiggle dresses [where the hem is narrower than their waist] and they are always a headturner and if I was to ask any one of our guests what style they love the most, it would be anything bustle.”

Ms Smith said she had seen the fashion industry evolve over the years from mass production to sustainability and ethical manufacturing becoming more important in recent times.

Next up for the brand is opening a new store in Doncaster, Melbourne.

A new store is opening in Melbourne. Picture: Supplied

It’s also extending into other ranges. Picture: Supplied

They are also manufacturing their own make up range, including lipsticks and blushes, in “beautiful packaging” that is not tested on animals as well as products like shower gel and body lotions.

“We are expanding our range of shoes. Our shoes have been very successful and very popular so that’s going to be something we do more and also homewares are going to be expanding as well because Kitten D’Amour is such a look,” she added.

“We have dabbled in homewares and it’s been very successful. We have designed our own doona cover, quilt cover, pillow covers and lamps and it has been well received and we would like to do more homewares.”

Originally published as Brisbane fashion brand Kitten D’Amour made famous by Britney Spears makes $20m