Tell us about Kitten D’Amour.
Kitten D’Amour was inspired my Great, Great, Great Grandmother who was a fashion designer in Paris in the late 1800’s. Today, everything we do is a nod to that French legacy.
We create beautiful, vintage inspired, feminine clothing and accessories using the highest quality, ethically sourced fabrics. Every Kitten D’Amour piece is designed in Australia and we only make extremely small quantities of each design to keep each style as individual as possible.
We are fortunate to have very loyal customers, and our unique pieces have been seen on the likes of Teagan Croft, Britney Spears, Lady Ga Ga, Pink and numerous Australian celebrities.
We have boutiques in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney and Melbourne and we do everything possible to create a wonderful shopping experience. Stepping into one of our stores is a feast for the senses, with vintage inspired décor, Kitten D’Amour radio playing over the airwaves and our signature scent ‘Paris’ filling the room.
What inspired you to start Kitten D’Amour?
I’ve always had a love of fashion ever since I started my first job in the industry at age 18. That, combined with my fascination with my Great Great Grandmother and the luxury and decadence of 18th Century France, inspired me to start a label that paid homage to that legacy.
Tell us about your career and background.
I started out as a sales assistant at Benetton at age 18. Here I learnt about the importance of merchandising and it really help develop my interest in fashion.
My next job truly started me on the path to creating Kitten D’Amour. I was working for a popular fashion brand when the buyer for the brand came into the store and told me all about the current trends that were popular at that time in the US and Europe…..I instantly knew that this was the job that I wanted!
Fast forward three years, I had moved to Sydney and landed my dream job…the new buyer for that same company! I would travel around the world buying samples and discovering the latest styles and trends in London, Paris, New York, and Los Angeles six times a year. Between trips, I also designed for the company and it soon became apparent that the styles I was creating
would often ‘out-sell’ the designs based on samples that I had bought on my buying trips. I then decided to start my own label. With no formal training, it was a real learning curve. I basically taught myself to create and grade patterns, cut fabric, sew and assemble garments and create clothing designs that I felt would be popular. I sold my designs to various clothing boutiques in Queensland and this gave me the confidence to open my own shop…I have never looked back.
Describe a typical work day for you.
I usually wake up around 6am, to the sound of Gracie (my African Grey Parrot) calling out ‘Good Morning Gracie’ at the top of her voice.
After breakfast and feeding my birds and cats, I pack up my laptop, sketch book and fabric samples and pile into the car with my three dogs.
I usually have a meeting with everyone on Monday mornings, this allows each department to know exactly what we have on for any given week.
Once I’ve had a long black, I try my best to answer as many email messages as possible before starting work on the design process for forthcoming collections. I surround myself with as many things as possible to help with my inspiration including flowers, antique furniture and pictures.
The design process includes sketching designs, choosing fabric swatches, colour palettes and prints, creating a print design and working with our fabric manufacturer to create the printed fabrics.
If I’m not in our head office designing I might pop into one of stores. There’s not
What advice do you have for those wanting to start a business?
Listen to your intuition. We don’t follow trends at Kitten D’Amour, and I believe that you should never deviate from what ‘your gut’ is telling you during the creative process. We do our best to always be original, we don’t create designs just to be ‘on trend.’
Over deliver. When I worked at a clothing brand in my 20s I would often travel overseas on buying trips without much notice! I never questioned when and where I had to go, and I would ‘hit the shops’ to gather clothing samples the minute the plane landed. I had no interest in finding my hotel and resting after a long international flight. I had a job to do, and that was my
first priority. I soon discovered that the more I ‘over delivered,’ the more successful I became and this has also proved to be true starting and running my own business.
Don’t Get Too Comfortable. I have a saying, “I am only as good as my last collection!” The success of Kitten D’Amour all depends on how popular each of my collections is. I never take the success of Kitten D’Amour for granted and I strive to make each collection the best I’ve ever created.
What’s next for you, and Kitten D’Amour?
We’re very excited to be opening a brand new store in Westfield Doncaster in Melbourne in September and we are in the process of creating our own cruelty free make up range including lipsticks and blushes in gorgeous packaging.
Our shoes have been very successful and extremely popular so that’s going to be something we do more of and we’re also keen to explore creating more homewares in the near future.
For more, please visit: https://kittendamour.com/
