This Friday night, By Johnny will be one of the exciting brands hitting the catwalk in the David Jones showcase for Adelaide Fashion Festival. Designer Johnny Schembri spoke to Glam Adelaide about his collection, his trip to Adelaide and more.
You began selling your designs from a market stall, tell us a bit about how this helped your rise in the fashion industry?
Having a physical presence at the stall gave me direct access to my customer, allowing me to better understand their wants and needs. This helped me to better understand what my customer looked for from the brand. design
How long has your label been stocked in Adelaide for and how do you find the Adelaide market?
The Adelaide market is constantly growing with each season. In 2012, was when BY JOHNNY first started appearing in selected boutiques, today we are now stocked in both a number of boutiques and David Jones.
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Your collections tend to have a large focus on blacks and whites with pops of colour and patterns, what is the inspiration behind this and how to you design these patterns?
I love art, I am very inspired by art and the world around me. Contrasting colours can create interesting proportions on the female figure, both faltering and unique.
What are your collection’s hottest colours/trends/textures this season?
Spring features soft colour combinations of white and pale blue with flashes of orange, while the Summer collection makes a bold statement with neon weave tweed and soft pink structured dresses.
If you had to sum up your latest collection in one sentence, how would you explain it?
BY JOHNNY Summer 17 is Bold, Bright and Modern.
Who are your ultimate fashion idols?
Christopher Kane and Tom Ford
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What are some of your favourite national fashion events and why?
VAMFF, I love the vibe at the shows and the feeling of excitement that surrounds the whole week. I also love spring racing carnival season, this is a big time for BY JOHNNY and I love being involved.
How do you feel about being involved in the Adelaide Fashion Festival? What does this mean to you and your brand?
This will be a first for us and I am very honoured to be included and look forward to travelling to attend AFF. We have worked hard to be as involved as possible and will be offering a special GWP ‘Johnny Bag’ at David Jones.
When you come to Adelaide, what are the bars and restaurants you never fail to hit up?
This is actually my first time to SA which is exciting, so I am looking forward to getting to know the area and finding some new go-to’s
What are some bars and restaurants we need to try in Sydney, where you’re from?
A couple of my favourites are Apollo in Potts Point, they are the best for Greek food and Bar Machiavelli in Rushcutters Bay for a delicious Italian meal.
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What’s one fashion hack you’ve found invaluable when running shows that might be of use to the every-day fashionista?
A great trick for when putting on slip fitting tops is too use a piece of silk fabric over your face, this helps to make sure no make-up is put on the top and also that the make-up isn’t messed up.
What can people expect to see on Friday when they come along?
There is going to be a lot going on in David Jones, from fashion shows to branded activations, I will be there and will be offering GWP in store.
Buy your tickets to the Mercedes-Benz Adelaide Fashion Festival David Jones showcase here.
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