Australian Chamber Orchestra

Here we are amongst the archives of the Australian Chamber Orchestra....just hanging out with a score or two.....We have been working on a new capsule collection that these dynamic players can wear on stage for their multitude of performances all over the world. A challenge? Oh yeah - a fabulous one!

2020 marks the ACO celebrating thirty years of artistic leadership with Richard Tognetti - so we are beyond thrilled to be developing this capsule for the female players. All pieces will be made to order for each of the female players and of course, all made locally in Sydney.

We are on track to deliver the final styles early May - here is how it's been rolling.....

Inspiration - pulling from the tuxedo but making sure that it's not too costumie, big brass band looking or waiter-esque. We love the tuxedo for it's tailored elegance, endurance as a style and strength as a look. YSL - we love you. 

The ACO players move! We didn't grasp how athletic the performances are. We need to design for a great range of movement from explosive to more mellow to explosive all in a short window of time. It's strong, dynamic and beautiful.
Research - this was tough. The ACO kindly invited us to view a range of performances which was AWESOME!!!! We were able to get a good understanding of the range of movement of the players, how different fabrics in shades of black looked different under lights and what the audience viewpoint was. - does it look together.

A little more research - this time entering through the Stage Door - now that was exciting! The ACO perform more than 100 times a year and travel all over the world - this capsule collection needs to be packed easily and pulled out of a tiny travel bag, thrown on quickly and look shmick! Hmmmm.....
Measuring Day - we met with all the players to chat with each one about what they liked to wear on stage, how they liked to feel and on the flip side, what they didn't like. It was a fabulous intel exercise and we have put all of that into our design cauldron.

Here is lovely Robin Hall, the ACO's Archival Administrator with violinist Maja Savnik - it's Robin's fabulous measuring tape. Part of the measuring experience was chatting with each of the players on what works and doesn't work with their instruments - no collars, no buttons, nothing too slippery, nothing too restrictive. The fabrics need to be comfortable, washable and stay black. Not too hot under lights, but then the stage can sometimes be cold.....

Fitting time - we have been taking our time to create a great pair of pants that can work across a multitude of bods, that feel fabulous to wear and look chic on stage - we have been doing a lot of butt staring....we are getting there! Inch by inch! Stay tuned - more to come in the next weeks!

We are so incredibly grateful to the ACO for giving us this opportunity!!!

xoxoxo