Something Wonderful is the Byron-based label spreading positivity through thoughtful collaboration
IMAGE VIA @SOMETHINGWONDERFUL.STORE/INSTAGRAM
WORDS BY IZZY WIGHT
“[A] low-strung radio wave illustrated using vibrant colours and bold graphics.”
Dean Carnemolla, the founder of Byron-based unisex label Something Wonderful, creates clothing to make you smile. After working for a friend’s fashion brand in Los Angeles, Dean was inspired to start a label of his own. Utilising his background in graphic design, Dean released Something Wonderful’s debut collection of vibrant, happy-go-lucky leisurewear in July of 2020.
Keep up to date with emerging Australian brands over at our Fashion section.
Two years down the track, Something Wonderful has blossomed beyond its signature logo staples. “The brand has evolved from artist collaborations to logo-print staples and now into cut and sew ranges,” Dean tells me. While the label will always have a focus on collaboration (with creatives like Max Leaver, Jake Foreman and Almost Free Services, to name a few), Something Wonderful is open to evolution. Below, Dean speaks on the brand’s journey so far.
Tell us about you. What’s your fashion background?
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Technically, I don’t have a fashion background. I studied animation at one point because the graphic design class was full. I picked up some Photoshop basics and have a little bit of retail experience.
My father worked in menswear as a wholesaler helping curate and build relationships for the brands he represented. Growing up around boxes of stock and seeing stacks of Polaroid photos as on-the-fly lookbooks were my first introductions to the fashion world.
How did the label get started? Talk us through the process and the challenges.
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The label started after a few conversations I had with a friend. We’d been in LA doing a couple of pop-ups for his brand. After working with a hectic timeline to complete the space for the opening and then packing down, we took off to Huntington Beach to surf for a few days.
That’s when we had the first conversation about me starting my own thing, based on the knowledge I had acquired working alongside him. A few months later I started messing around with the first iteration of what [became] Something Wonderful.
The hardest thing was knowing where to start. I asked a lot of questions about manufacturing and printing. Thankfully, that same friend was (still is) forthcoming with information and guidance. His best piece of advice has always been ‘it’s the long game that matters, there’s always tomorrow… so keep on pushing’.
What were you trying to achieve from the project at the time? How has this evolved and what are you trying to communicate through the brand now?
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Currently, our focus is to bring a better quality product to our customers. This will be evident in our upcoming seasons… we’re pushing into a diverse range of cut and sew items.
The brand has evolved from artist collaborations to logo-print staples and now into cut and sew ranges. Our focus [now] is to champion others and to continue to build [our] community.
Everything great in my life has come from great relationships – the initial idea [for the brand], the logo, the artist collaborations. I hope to build our relationship with our customers via pop-ups and more in-store events.
Where did the name come from?
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The name came from that same guy who gave me the [initial] push. After a year, the first iteration was starting to feel like it had run its course for me.
I wanted to give more and the old name wasn’t going to take me there. After a few texts back and forth he said I’d be silly not to use ‘Something Wonderful’.
How would you describe your label to someone who’s never seen it before?
A high-spirit, low-strung radio wave illustrated using vibrant colours and bold graphics.
What are you most proud of in your work on your label?
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I’m most proud of the fact that it resonates with others. Being creative and putting yourself into any work can be isolating. Getting DMs saying ‘I was walking down the street and someone walked past me with a huge smile after reading the brand name’ validates [the work] we’re doing.
What do you wish you knew when you started?
I wish I knew not to rush it, to start slow and let it build over time. I had this fantasy that I’d be able to force the hands of time in my favour.
Who do you think is most exciting in Australian fashion right now?
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Like what Hell from Ratlife said, the guys at Sucker in Melbourne are doing a great job of curating and promoting [the work of] up-and-coming creatives. Also Mutimer, Mantle, Performance, Felicity and Gesture Eyewear are making some cool stuff.
What about the Australian fashion industry needs to change?
Probably the egos.
Dream Australian collaborators?
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Incu, Suku Home, Dabsmyla, Otis Carey.
Who is in your wardrobe right now?
Something Wonderful, Carhartt, Acg, Arcteryx, Asics, Gesture Eyewear.
How can we buy one of your pieces?
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Head to our website or hit up one of our stockists: Sucker in Melbourne, Mi-Life in Fremantle, Sunset Store
in Mona Vale and World Meets in Byron Bay and Manly.
Check out more of Something Wonderful here.
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