Friday, November 19, 2010

Elliot Ward-Fear's bottom line



Elliot Ward-Fear’s profile is completely disproportionate to the size of his business. In fact the 22 year-old Sydneysider has yet to snag a single stockist. Given that he only graduated from TAFE NSW last year, that’s not so hard to grasp. But that hasn’t stopped pieces from his spectacular 'Beauty In Exile' debut collection, which was unveiled at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week in May, finding their way into two episodes of Australia’s Next Top Model, this month's ARIA awards and even an audience with Miuccia Prada. When your stocks-in-trade are 18cm microsuede booties and gargantuan, stalactite-like Lucite jewellery, people tend to notice you. Having a publicist doesn’t hurt of course - and he's had one of those since June. Next week Ward-Fear is going to be flat chat. First up, he will unveil his Autumn/Winter 2011 ‘Spirit of Clothing’ collection at press showings in Sydney. Here is an exclusive preview of that collection, which includes some quite beautiful dresses, such as this pretty, deconstructed tennis dress in fondant pink and white and the intricately-seamed caramel wool bodycon dress, above and below, which boasts a curious cutaway panel at the derrière. The latter is designed to be worn, we are told, with a full, flesh-coloured brief - as white hot new Australian model Codie Young will discover later next week when the Vogue Australia September covergirl shoots Ward-Fear's first lookbook in Brisbane with Thom Kerr. 

Young will also be negotiating the, by all accounts, equally extreme accessories of Ward-Fear's AW11 collection. They include a handbag with a detachable glove, a pair of sunglasses cut from one piece of Perspex and a pair of 45cm platforms.  

Just what is the Prada connection?

Manila-based blogstar Bryanboy was sent some Elliot Ward-Fear pieces in the leadup to the Spring/Summer 2011 shows in Europe. 


On October 7th, the final day of the season, he wore both the 18cm booties and a spiked Lucite necklace to the show of Prada's diffusion line Miu Miu in Paris (and continues to be photographed in the booties). 

Of his attempt to greet Miuccia Prada after the show in the necklace, Bryanboy later noted on Twitter:
"Took a miracle to exchange kisses with mrs prada with my extreme elliott ward-fear necklace".

As for comments that have since been attributed to Prada regarding Bryanboy's outfit, we have it on good authority that the sum total of her commentary was “you look beautiful” – which is not quite the way Grazia Australia spun it in this piece.

Nevertheless most definitely one to watch from Australia, Ward-Fear hails from highly creative lineage.

He is the latest big buzz graduate of the TAFE NSW Fashion Design Studio, whose alumni include a roll call of this country's best known fashion names, from rising star Dion Lee to Akira Isogawa, Michelle Jank, Nicky Zimmermann, Gary Bigeni and Alex Perry. His father is set designer David Ward-Fear, who worked on films such as The Shining, Mad Max, Aliens and and The Matrix triology. 

Check the Elliot Ward-Fear website for more examples of earlier work.

 





all images: supplied exclusively to frockwriter by elliot ward-fear/mother & father PR

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