Emerging designer follows her heart

Jacinta Emms sits down with Brisbane fashion designer Kimi Schieren

IN Australia, we're surrounded by some pretty cool fashion designers. They may be well-known labels we love and wear or some really exciting emerging designers we have yet to discover.

 

What I love the most is how unique each designer is. With their own creative ideas, they bring to life the most incredible pieces.

Take for example Brisbane designer Kimi Schieren. When looking at her collection, we're seeing brightly coloured prawns swimming on scarfs and sunglasses, alongside flying saucers and one-eyed cats on clutches, earrings and bag tags. All are sketched, then hand-sewn by Kimberley herself.

Now, if oversized animals sporting one eye and dangling from someone's lobes doesn't get your attention, I'm not sure what will. How could we possibly not wonder where on earth Kimberley's inspiration is coming from?

 

Not one to let curiosity harm a cat, I tracked down Kimberley for a chat. It turns out that she's always enjoyed creating things. Then a couple of years ago, a friend admiring her handpainted handbag asked Kimberley to join her at a pop-up shop she was hosting. Well, why not? Fast forward two years and here we are admiring her prawns, which I might add have been swimming out of her Noosa stockist Slow Cartel. Seems this is a sought-after sea creature on the Sunny Coast.

A prawn seems an interesting animal to incorporate into fashion design but for Kimberley, they feel fun and have a special nostalgic feel about them.

It reminds her of summer holidays, especially around Christmas time. It takes about an hour per pair of prawns to create, she says.

But this doesn't explain the singular eye situation. Why only one eye, Kimberly?

"As an illustrator, I have always had issues drawing two exact eyes. So I just started doing single eyes and it's kind of stuck," she says.

"I'm really obsessed with eyes - I love the shape and they have so much mysticism and romance attached to them."

Well, I think they're fabulous and nothing short of eye-catching and that's what makes Kimberley Schieren so special: she follows her heart and lets her creativity take over. You can't be sure what people will love.

If you only follow trends, never leaving the safe zone, you may never know. I'm sure the first person who bought the prawn, pussy cat or flying saucer accessories didn't head out that morning with it on their list. They were just too much fun to resist!

Want to see what all the fuss is about or feel like it's time to get your hands on some curious creatures?

Pop in and see Tillie at Slow Cartel Noosa to see the exclusive range or find Kimberley at www.kimischieren.com/.

 

Jacinta Emms is a Sunshine Coast-based fashion stylist. For more tips, visit @jacintaemms on Instagram