Cattle Stations and Couture Millinery

September 18, 2015

Editor’s Note: Felicity Brown is a dear member of the Central Station family and wider northern beef industry community. Central Station’s editor Steph was delighted to travel to NYC recently to attend Felicity’s first solo show at New York Fashion Week.

Imagine big blue open skies and red dirt for as far as the eye can see. A place where the landscape is ever changing; a mosaic of colour, shapes, and smells. A place which can only be described as pure, raw, and special.

Now imagine a place where mighty skyscrapers act as bodyguards, blocking out the sun and only allowing the pale blue sky a look in. Endless views of concrete buildings and pathways dotted with colour from fluorescent lights, screens, and signs. A place as far removed from any form of natural landscape, let alone the great Australian Outback, as possible – New York City (NYC).

The Big Apple is once again abuzz with the arrival of the 2016 Spring-Summer Fashion Week; it is a celebration of creativity, style, and vogue – Fashion with a capital “F”. Designers from all over the world flock to the city each year; some labels like ‘Dior’ and ‘DKNY’ are industry veterans, whilst others such as ‘Hats by Felicity’ are hand selected as ‘up and coming’, and invited to showcase their talents among the ‘Who’s Who’ of international fashion.

The creative force behind the label, Felicity Brown, arrived in Manhattan last week, along with a squad worthy of Taylor Swift status to help her bring a taste of the vast and vibrant landscape she lives in to liven up the catwalks of NYC. Unlike most designers, Felicity isn’t a Milliner by day or even by trade. As a Project Officer for the Department of Agriculture and Food in Western Australia, she splits her time between an “indoor” and “outdoor” office, the latter being the Kimberley region of Western Australia which covers over 430,000 km². It is her time in the Outback, amongst native flora, fauna, and the colourful local characters, from which Felicity draws inspiration for her millinery creations.

After being invited to feature in an established label’s show during the 2015 Spring-Summer Fashion Week (held in 2014), Felicity returned to New York this year for her debut solo exhibition at the Prince George Gallery. The gallery, in the lower east chic art district, was filled beyond capacity, with the demand for tickets far exceeding availability. The crowd included Felicity’s ‘squad’, return attendees of her first show, and a wave of new faces representing various segments of the fashion industry.

As the crowd anticipated the start of the show, the room was abuzz with recollections of the 2015 line and speculation of what the 2016 line would bring. The electricity in the room rose as the lights dimmed and the music began, with the first model of evening entering view. Each of the 30 one-off pieces being showcased had the undivided attention of the entire venue, with eyes only being drawn away as the next model came into sight, and more than once attendees struggled to choose which piece to look at. For the first time, the show was spontaneously live-streamed on the application ‘Periscope’ to just shy of 400 people around the world.

From the ‘Southern Cross’ to the ‘Jut Jut’, each design was undoubtedly inspired by Australia, yet completely unique to the collection; a small homage to the diversity of Felicity’s inspiration. Following the conclusion of the show, Felicity and her models were enveloped by people wanting to view individual designs up close to have a chance to appreciate the intricacy and delicacy of each piece. Within 24 hours of the show half of the pieces had been purchased, and discussions about custom orders well underway.

For this talented designer with roots deep in rural Australia, the success of her 2016 Spring-Summer collection is another milestone in this new chapter of her already long and successful career. This chapter is far from over though, and fans of the milliner’s talent will be able to relive the experience this years Fashion Week preparation and debut thanks to the documentary ‘Madhattan’, which has been following the collections development all year. The trailer for the documentary can be viewed here, and a crowd funding project has been established here.

New and old faces filled the Prince George Gallery.