MOUNT Gambier local Ashlee Kalantarian of Ashlee Lauren Designs will live every designers dream this September when she packs suitcases full of intricate floral crowns and bespoke headpieces for a trip to the ‘Big Apple,’ with her passport and a highly coveted invite to New York Fashion Week in hand.
Ms Kalantarian has been invited to show her debut collection of couture race day millinery and gain international exposure for her brand at arguably the biggest fashion event in the world – a huge achievement given the collection was released only two months ago.
Ashlee Lauren Designs was established in 2012 when Ms Kalantarian designed the accessories for her own wedding and has since evolved into an award winning enterprise.
“I made myself a brooch bouquet for my wedding and after that friends asked me to make theirs and it kind of grew from there,” Ms Kalantarian told The Border Watch.
“Winning the Australian Bridal Industry Academy award was my first big success – winning the best bridal and jewellery accessories in South Australia was so exciting.
With pieces featured in Bride magazine following a successful trunk show in Melbourne, Ms Kalantarian said her market continued to expand locally and overseas.
“My local market has increased just through word of mouth – not being on the main street I don’t get that constant foot traffic, but the market has increased through good reviews and social media,” she explained.
“The US and the UK are my biggest markets overseas – I would say it’s around 50/50 in terms of local and international orders.”
Ms Kalantarian said landing an invite to mix with the fashion elite in New York City was beyond her wildest dreams.
“I honestly didn’t even consider myself in the fashion industry until I started designing headpieces for the races,” she said.
“I only released the first collection in March ahead of the Melbourne Cup and when the photos went out I was contacted for Adelaide Fashion Week – I think it was only two weeks after that I was contacted for New York Fashion Week.”
“I’ve worked on quite a few photo shoots and I love all that entails in terms of styling, so when I was invited to show at Adelaide Fashion Week I thought ‘wow, this is amazing and this is exactly what I wanted to do, I can’t wait.’
“The New York thing has just been a little bit mind blowing.”
Australian fashion agency Fashion Palette contacted Ms Kalantarian and offered to showcase her collection at the Fashion Palette New York Fashion Week show – a platform elevating and celebrating Australian designers.
“Fashion Palette contacted me and said ‘we would really like to launch your brand overseas,” Ms Kalantarian said.
“I think they usually wouldn’t contact someone as small as me – I’m required to cover costs including location, models, hair and makeup, directors, stylists, photographers and everyone backstage basically.
“I have a kickstarter account and I’m aiming to raise $10,000 – I don’t particularly like to ask for money, even if you buy a pair of earrings you’ll be contributing.”
Working from home with two young boys aged one and three, Ms Kalantarian will spend the next three months preparing and pooling funds.
“I’m nearly at $3000 and I need to contribute the full funds by the end of July,” she said.
“We are having a fundraising event on Saturday July 29 at Thyme at the Lakes.
“It’s called ‘Thyme for New York’ and it will be a night of fashion and cocktails – tickets will be available soon via my website.”
