Fashion Designers

See through clothing, shorter hem lines and contrasting colours. It’s all about fashion when we head into the hot sizzling season of summer here in Australia. The latest fashion trends and women’s seasonal styles are often defined by celebrities. And the fact of the matter is, celebrities are often dressed by renowned fashion designers.

So for the aspiring fashionistas who want to dress like the Kate Moss and Paris Hilton, perhaps it’s time to take a step back and see the bigger picture – the bigger picture of the entire fashion world. It’s all about taking ideas from the fashion designers and being unique and comfortable in your personal fashion sense.



Chanel is one of the best known and renowned fashion brands in the fashion and haute couture world. The brand started off with a no-nonsense approach to fashion. The designs were produced for women to feel comfortable and look dignified. This has since been transformed into a classic, tailored style. The trademark can be seen in Chanel’s read-to-wear range, where the tailored-at-the-waist cardigan jacket is most popular and most copied. The evening wear and formal collection of Chanel tends to have an understated sex appeal, not blatantly revealing, yet exudes luxury, feminism and delicateness.

Escada is known for its clean, sleek and sophisticated look. The Escada fashion collection, spearheaded by Margarethe Ley, is known for innovative fabric and colour combinations. This appeals to the slightly more daring and makes for unique fashion statements that stand out. Escada is all about creativity in fashion, and their use of the most updated technology in creating fashion is testament to that fact.

Prada wraps old-world Italian luxury into a new world fashion design. It is innovative yet classic, understated yet unique. Its upside down triangle symbol is now famous in the fashion circles and fashionistas sporting Prada accessories are indeed in a league of their own. Their fashion line for women have been created from a careful eye to detail and a deliberate study of fashion trends and styles.

Just a reminder! All of d'Italia's fabric is imported directly from Italy and comes from the same manufacturing houses that provide for designer labels like Prada, Gucci, Escada and Armani. d’Italia boasts a range of material and fabric that are often used for the creation of uniquely tailored evening wear, bridal wear and professional wear.

We're open six days a week, located at 61 Glenferrie Road, Malvern, Victoria. Australian tailor and seamstress services should be booked in advance (especially for wedding couture). More information can be found at: www.ditalia.com.au

Spring Racing Carnival 2008

Melbourne's Spring Racing Carnival 2008 has officially kicked off here in Australia! Thus starts a period of exciting horse races, betting frenzy and of course, beautiful fashion fiestas.

This year, d'Italia has been at the forefront of the fashion phenomenon . We've had the privilege of assisting many ladies with choosing the right fabric for the creation of unique and innovative race wear.



Looking back over the years, we are amazed at the various fashion trends that have surfaced, especially around the Spring Racing Carnival season. Since we hand-pick seasonal fabric every few weeks and import them directly from Europe, we are able to provide the up and coming fashionistas with the best in quality and design.

Summer Fashion!

Spring and summer are traditionally the seasons for bright colours and interesting designs in the fashion world. With local, fashion-centred events like the Melbourne Cup spring racing carnival and the Brownlow Awards, fashion designers certainly have their hands full.

As we continue to enjoy the bright, floral prints of spring, summer styles and fashion designs are in the works. This year’s summer styles are promoting silky satins and sheers against wispy fabrics and materials. The metallics which have been so popular this Spring will continue to be used in many designs throughout the summer months.



So what does this mean for us women? Whether you are looking forward to spring weddings, summer parties or Christmas celebrations, there is always a reason for a new piece of clothing! This year, with the many available designs, styles and colours that are in trend, having a dress tailor-made would be the best way to make the most of the beautiful fashion styles around.



Silk satins, dupions, voiles, georgettes and chiffons are perfect for wedding dresses and bridal wear. If you are planning on attending a wedding this spring and summer, having a dress made in these fabrics will have you looking and feeling great on that special day.

Silk satins and chiffon can also be interlaced to create the wispy fabric styles that are looking so trendy this summer. The materials are light and airy enough to provide comfort on warmer days. They can also be layered to create interesting colour combinations that will accentuate a pretty design.

Wherever you are and whatever you are looking forward to this season, check out some designs and spoil yourself with a tailor made dress!

Project Runway Australia

So the first (and so far only) season of Project Runway Australia has ended. A big Congratulations goes to Julijana Grbac of Brisbane!

The show has been highly popular, with millions of local viewers tuning in weekly to see the next aspiring fashion designer get booted off the show. Project Runway Australia follows the very successful original Project Runway in America. Twelve contestants are chosen to compete for $100,000 that goes towards creating a collection for Melbourne Fashion Week, a six-page spread in Madison magazine and a car.

In Australia, the show was judged by Sarah Gale and Jayson Brunsdon. Gale, a fashion buyer and trend forecaster, is a regular speaker at the Melbourne School of Fashion. Renowned fashion designer Brunsdon has over a hundred shops around the world, and has dressed many celebrities including Linda Evangelista and Princess Mary.

Both of the hosts had good chemistry on the show, and their judging criteria complimented each other well. Gale critiqued based on the commercial viability of the designs, while Brunsdon gave his opinions based on the survivability of the design in today’s fashion world.

Being the first season in Australia, Project Runway is expected to create a second season following its great success locally.

d’Italia had the privilege of providing fabric to Petrova Hammond, one of the Top 3 Finalists of Project Runway Australia. Petrova used d’Italia’s material for some of her designs in the show. Hammond sourced a range of Prada metallic suiting from the shop, which she tailored into a slim-line pant and mini skirt for the show.

Her collection also showcased her talented use of colour combinations, where she used a purple/green mixture and an orange/charcoal arrangement of Gucci silk chiffon ombre material from d’Italia. Petrova's work on PRA was a crowd favourite, and she is renowned for unique designs and innovative use of colour.

d’Italia is currently displaying Petrova’s orange/charcoal silk combination in-store, and has a new and extensive range of summer and spring designs.