THE work of Beaudesert-based global fashion designer Cassandra Pons has featured on the Australian Fashion Week runway for the second year in a row.
Waanyi woman Cassandra showcased her newest collection at Australian Fashion Week in May as a designer selected for the two-year Indigenous Fashion Projects Pathways Program.
It was a whirlwind two-day trip, returning to the runway on Gadigal Country, Sydney, where she made her 2023 Australian Fashion Week debut.
She flew into Sydney on show day, went straight to have her hair and makeup done, had media interviews with the likes of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar and saw the stage built and the models rehearsing.
On the second day she met with media, influencers and other key people in a showroom set up in the David Jones bridal suites to showcase the collection straight off the runway.
Australian Fashion Week is considered to be the pinnacle of the nation’s fashion calendar, connecting Australian designers with the world’s leading stockists and media.
Even prior to her Australian Fashion Week involvement, Cassandra was attracting the interest of customers globally, with her made-to-order brand, Lazy Girl Lingerie.
From her Beaudesert studio, quiet but confident Cassandra designs, pattern makes and sews her creations and packs and posts orders all over the world.
Nature inspired Cassandra’s ‘Ocean Eyes’ collection for 2024 Australian Fashion Week.
“I had the idea for the collection while I was wrapping up 2023 fashion week, the idea of the connection we feel to the ocean and caring for the environment,” she said.
“The designs are really ethereal, I’ve used more natural fibres, flowy silhouettes.
“I created some showstopper pieces that are a little more extravagant than usual but it’s fun to do that for the runway. The pink boudoir gown I made was a crowd favourite. Coming down the runway, the model was a vision in pink, a fitted bodice, loose flowy sleeves, feathers along the front of the gown and a full circle skirt that cascaded over her body.”
Cassandra said experiencing Australian Fashion Week and the Indigenous Fashion Project was invaluable and she looked forward to sharing the collection amid taking maternity leave from July onward for she and husband Dillon to welcome their baby into the world.
