Kym Ellery on her greatest inspiration

On a fleeting visit home from her Paris headquarters leading Australian designer Kym Ellery revealed the woman behind her creativity and her greatest muse. With Mother’s Day this Sunday, it’s fitting that Kym’s art teacher mother Debra still receives the lioness’s share of the credit for propelling her daughter to international fame.

While in Paris Kym made the bold move of showing her collection during haute couture fashion week, amidst the finest work of Chanel, Christian Dior, and Jean Paul Gaultier.

“The current show system is in crisis,” Kym says. “There’s so much pressure so it’s matter of finding a way that works for you.”

As well as immersing herself in French language lessons, Kym hired a design team in Paris to connect with artisanal methods for her own take on red carpet dressing during fashion’s premium period.

Mark Holgate from US Vogue connected with Kym’s big-picture plan: “Ellery’s positive, upbeat attitude to throwing herself into producing haute couture is admirable. And then there’s the fact that she has developed a loyal global following for her brand of quirky, cultivated dressing that places the idiosyncrasies and foibles of women at its heart.

Holgate also compared the work of Kym with female fashion force Phoebe Philo, who recently departed Celine. It’s a comparison Kym accepts proudly and she acknowledges that had LVMH courted her for the top role, instead of Saint Laurent’s game-changer Hedi Slimane, she would have happily gone into seduction mode.

“Sure, it would be an incredible experience,” Kym says eagerly. “To work for one of those houses where you just have to think something, and it happens.”

Now Kym is focused on her next show, possibly in the haute couture season in July. “We are trying to make that happen,” she says.

Back in Paris, the designer is enjoying how much fashion is a part of the city’s fabric, with people celebrating the opportunity to collaborate.

“In Australia you enquire about booking a venue for a show and it’s just too hard for the people,” she says. “In Paris they get back to you in minutes with a price. They’re just so used to fashion as a part of their lives.”