JAYSON BRUNSDON SHOW BUSINESS
As Australian Fashion Week hits Sydney again this May, we talk to enduring icons and innovators about the golden era, what’s new and who to watch
The early days of Australian Fashion Week were so fabulous they could break your heart. In 1997, Linda Evangelista, at the peak of her supermodel powers, walked a white wedding gown down the runway for Alex Perry (see page 36 for more). In 2000, glamazon Eva Herzigová wore a $500,000 pearl-encrusted bikini to put Tigerlily on the radar. And It-girls such as Jade Jagger brought global glamour to the shows.
“In the big capitals, like Paris, front rows were shoulder-to-shoulder Chanel or YSL; it was all very elitist,” remembers Jayson Brunsdon, who was a fashion illustrator and editor at Follow Me magazine before becoming a designer. “[In the ’90s] Australian Fashion Week was young. You’d get the magazine queens, models and international icons like [fashion writer] Anna Piaggi on the front row, but Australian designers would also invite their friends, and they would howl.”
Sydney was the place to be. “There was a feeling of optimism on a roll, like anything could happen,” adds Brunsdon. Case in point: it was only mildly shocking when fashion’s bad boy Wayne Cooper emblazoned “Who the fuck is Versace?” on a huge screen behind his 2006 show.
Brunsdon – with his backstory as a stylist for megastars Prince and Michael Hutchence (he once gave the
INXS frontman the leather shirt off his back) – hit the scene with bang.
His eponymous label’s trench-coat silhouettes, hand-beaded T-shirt dresses, tie-waist shirts and elegant shorts quickly became the definition of smart Australian style. He was an easy go-to for Mary Donaldson as she transitioned to Danish Queen-to-be.
The Australian scene burned so bright it caught the attention of overseas markets. Come the 2010s, fast-fashion behemoths H&M, Uniqlo and Zara exploded onto our high street, while luxe houses such as Prada, Gucci and Christian Dior opened local flagships. Squeezed in between, local labels – from Lisa Ho to cult designers Kirrily Johnston and Collette
Dinnigan – were all forced to close.
Brunsdon, who was stocked in
Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Selfridges as well as local department stores, felt the pressure to crank out more, faster. This and “being told what to do by buyers” took the pleasure out of things, so he decided to shutter his high-end label in 2016.
This meant the “freedom to sketch and paint again,” recalls Brunsdon. “Fashion illustration is a real craft.” So, his website jaysonbrunsdon.com was reworked to sell his original wall art and homewares. “That’s the wardrobe of your existence, really.”
But when Brunsdon’s son started on the playdate circuit, the fashion urge began to itch once more. And so, Mrs Jones was launched in 2023. The new brand offers women considerately cut skirts, shirting and un-basic basics. We can’t wait to see what’s next.