Diaz debuted her first collection, Hybrid, at LMFF 2011 after being hand-picked from a multitude of hopeful applicants to show in the LMFF National Graduate Showcase. This collection was a vibrant and textural exploration of the relationship between humans and nature and how they have interlaced with each other throughout time. This collection has attracted some positive attention and Diaz has just been selected to create a signature range for the “Sportsgirls like” collection.
Read the latest press covering the next part of her journey…
When Ana Diaz’s parents fled El Salvador bound for a better life in Australia, it’s unlikely they could have predicted their young daughter’s early success. The 25-year-old business and fashion graduate, whose mother taught her to sew, has secured a major deal with one of the biggest names in Australian fashion retail.
Sportsgirl has contracted the emerging designer to create a signature range for sale in stores around the country. With more than 110 stores on the company’s books, Diaz’s diffusion line will give the Queensland University of Technology the kind of exposure of which most young designers can only dream.
Diaz will also join the ranks of famed designers who have contributed “Sportsgirls Like” collections including Rachel Rose of 18th Amendment fame, Richard Nicoll, Kim Ellery and the quirky duo behind Romance Was Born, Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales.
Her parents are reasonably proud, the young designer says as she explains it all came down to a catwalk in Melbourne. “I’d been selected to show my graduate collection at the Melbourne Fashion Festival as part of the emerging designers program and it was really well received,” Diaz explains. “A whole heap of stuff came out of it, including the opportunity to take part in one of the mentoring programs [Sportsgirl] runs.”
After a first-hand look at the fashion manufacturing and retail business, Diaz was asked to show a selection of her collection – the only full collection she has ever designed – in the window of the retailer’s Chadstone boutique.
“This whole time they never really said anything, never even hinted at a possible collaboration,” says the designer, who finished university last year. “A few weeks later I got a phone call out of the blue asking me to take part in a new campaign – I couldn’t believe it. “I guess they saw something they liked and they basically said to me, ‘do whatever you want’.”
Diaz, who flew to Melbourne yesterday to show her concepts at Sportsgirl HQ, said her collection was inspired by B-grade Italian cinema of the 60s and 70s.
Unlike the graduate collection that started it all, her new looks will draw upon the vampish cuts and bold colours and textures sported by the genre’s voluptuous murderesses. “After I’ve presented my early sketch ideas and concept to [Sportsgirl], they’ll choose a certain amount of the designs that will go into production,” Diaz said.
“It’s been very nerve-wracking and hard to manage but I’m really excited about. “My parents are intelligent and creative people but because of the situation in El Salvador, they had to change their lives – I’m just grateful they’ve given me the opportunity to get to where I am today.”
Diaz’s designs will hit stores next year.
Article via the Sydney Morning Herald.
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Applications for LMFF’s Graduate Designer Showcase open in August 2011 for the 2012 L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival. Sign up to our monthly newsletter ‘Swingtag’ or join us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest announcements.
