LEONA EDMISTON

Once considered fashion royalty on the runways, designer Leona Edmiston is now more quietly beating fast fashion at its own game. After making her name at Morrissey Edmiston, turning out rock’n’roll statements (remember the “noughts and crosses” minidress that superstar Kylie Minogue wore in 1989?) with co-designer Peter Morrissey, Edmiston came into her own by rethinking the daytime dress. “The market was all about separates then, but I knew dresses could be for everyday,” she says of launching her solo line of shifts, wraps and LBDs in 2001.

Swishing from the hips in forgiving jersey, cinching around waists in Italian silk, often leaning into strong colour and opulent 18th-century prints, Leona Edmiston dresses became classics as soon as they hit the runway. “[Supermodel] Elle Macpherson started wearing my dresses to watch other shows,” she says. “We’re actually relaunching one of Elle’s favourite styles (which used to be called the Zoe dress but will be renamed the Elle) this year, twenty-something years later.”

Longevity has meant letting go of some things while gripping harder to her core. “I stopped thinking of seasonal collections for runways and started thinking stories,” she says. The pivot was perfect for an online store.

These days, Edmiston drops a “story” – a limited set of designs based on a particular print or style – a week. “But we only make a certain number of pieces and we sell through,” she says.

Edmiston still sources unique prints from the archives of old factories in France. “I love prints from all eras [and] the craftsmanship. They would paint such intricate patterns,” she says. “We recolour, rescale or add motifs to bring new life to them.”

Also true to her original process, she spends “a lot of time” on the fit. “That is what generic brands are missing,” she says. “They are designed for the average but what’s the average?”

The dressmaker also recently branched into very on-brand activewear, featuring seamless tees, tights with double-comfort waistbands and chuck-on jackets with tailored panels. Prints are bold – think florals and jungle scenes – and the materials technical. “We work with makers of sportswear for elite Australian athletes,” says Edmiston. “Fabric, for me, is always everything.”

“It was all about separates then, but I knew dresses could be for everyday” – Leona Edmiston

Edmiston’s day dresses for Myer in 2013.