No doubt you’ve heard of the four P’s of marketing, or are there six now? No hang on I think they got cut back to four again … oh I can’t keep up. Either way what about the four P’s of design? During the Perth Fashion Festival I caught up with Erica Allia from Martini & Coz. Apart from talking about the collection they’d be showing, we talked about two aspects that help them keep motivated, along with the four p’s necessary for anyone pondering becoming a designer.
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© Martini & Coz
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Erica works between Bali and Perth and had just arrived back from 6 weeks in Bali … sounds good to me. She started making jewellery 12 years ago while at fashion school. Then after meeting Natasha Hinett they decided to start their first label together in 2008.
Martini & Coz was born.
The label focuses on creating accessories for individuals who are inspired by the love of timelessness and old glamour.
‘It came natural to incorporate jewellery into our accessory label.’ Erica explained.
In terms of inspiration we’ve seen several designers look to nature for inspiration. The Martini team take a different approach …
Erica nominated 60 actress, model and socialite Edie Sedgewick as their muse. They seek out quirky vintage fabrics, soft leathers and sterling silver embellishments for their designs. The collection they presented at the PFF was their ‘very first all leather collection of garments’, called London Calling.
Not satisfied with one label, they set about creating a sub-label called Raspberry + Pop. This collection was inspired by Havana Cuba summer nights, and included …
‘Fun relaxed pieces you would pack in a suit case to take on a summer vacation anywhere.’
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© Martini & Coz
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Given their workload of two labels I asked Erica how they stay motivated, and clearly one of the benefits of working in a partnership, was the ability to keep each other motivated.
‘We motivate each other…and have fun during process, which we believe is very important especially as things can get stressful. As the creative designer I spend a lot time between Bali and Perth, and find travelling and music are what always inspires me creatively.’ said Erica.
‘Meanwhile Natasha is based in our Perth office where she works her magic running the business and seeing over our WA Designer Agency where she does all the selling for the labels.’
Another motivating factor was the ability to keep moving forward with a clear, shared dream in sight.
‘We keep focusing on what’s happening in the present and moving forward. I think both Natasha and I are very focused and ambitious and therefore won’t really notice our success until we feel we have reached our complete dream of having our Fashion House.’
In terms of advice for upcoming designers Erica said it was important to have the four p’s …
‘Be passionate, persistent, patient and perseverance, and always stay true to what you believe in and doing.’
I was left pondering that these four p’s represent sage advice for anyone setting out on the lonely road of creation, be it in fashion, art, writing, new product design or business.
For more information about these labels go to http://martiniandcoz.com.au
