Spotlight on: casper&pearl
This Adelaide label is dominating.
Adelaide-based label casper&pearl doesn’t just design sweet clothes, it tells stories. Focusing on shapes, fabrication and exclusive prints, casper&pearl’s designs exude a sense of childhood nostalgia which is combined with a strong feminine aesthetic and playfulness.
The label’s incredibly talented young designer, Stacey Hendrickson, works to include a hidden meaning and metaphors in each design, resulting in beautiful art-like statement pieces.
For a little label out of Adelaide, casper&pearl is dominating. We thought we’d check in and learn a little more about the South Australian brand.
Just two years ago, you were featured in the Adelaide Fashion Festival as an emerging designer. Was that your big break?
It definitely helped, I remember thinking that it was a really great experience to showcase next to already established brands that I really looked up to.
How has being based in South Australia influenced your designs?
I’m not sure if it has influenced my designs, but I do think it can really influence your chances of success. I think that it’s a great time to start something in Adelaide, whatever it is, because our city’s culture needs to grow. We’ve all really supported each other because we knew our city needed it. It’s a very nurturing place – the Adelaide council gives out hundreds of free retail spaces for creatives to work and sell out of. Tell me one other city that does that!
Which event are you most excited for at Adelaide Fashion Festival?
Ready To Wear! It opens the festival on October 22 and will show casper&pearl next to some other great South Aussie labels like Simmone Standing, Scott and Scarce and SIG the Label.
The new collection CYBER is full of bright prints and cute cyber-related names. What was the inspiration behind it?
I’m always really inspired by romance and futurism. Putting the two together, you think about how everyone is now finding love online. It’s so common now to find a couple that has found each other on Tinder or over dating websites, which I think is pretty amazing. Next month my Mum is actually getting married to a man that she met via the Internet about ten years ago.
What is your favourite piece from CYBER?
It has to be the Emoji dress. It sold out overnight in stores, so we are re-cutting more.
You’ve jumped from two collections a year to six, what made that happen?
A supportive team that has the experience and tools to help me reach new heights! I’ve been lucky enough to partner with Maximum Agencies in Melbourne, who are now financing the brand and selling the brand nationally and internationally. The increase in collections is also something that has been on the cards for the last couple of years, just because the demand was there. We put a lot of thought into each range. Each has a back story and an exclusive in-house designed print which I think a lot of girls really appreciate. Two drops a year in a store just isn’t enough!
What has the international response to casper&pearl been like?
Really great! We showcased at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia in the New Gen show this year. There were quite a few international buyers and press who picked up on the brand, which was pretty exciting.
Where is casper&pearl heading for the next collection?
The next range is named Ice Breaker, which is the range we are showcasing at Adelaide Fashion Festival. It drops in stores from November to December and is inspired by the imagery in the hauntingly beautiful documentary Chasing Ice by James Balog.
Any advice for other aspiring designers out there?
Keep trying and don’t give up, even if people say that you should.
Your fave place to shop in Adelaide?
Azalia Boutique for sure.
The best thing about living in Adelaide?
Living so close to wineries, hills and beaches all at the same time. The restaurants and cafes are ‘heaps good.’ And also having that city experience without the huge crowds, bad traffic and exy parking.
You can catch casper&pearl at the Ready To Wear runway on October 22 as part of the Adelaide Fashion Festival. Get your tickets here.
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