Back for a second fix of success

By LEANNE MOORE

Designer Kylee Davis is hoping to be second time lucky at New Zealand Fashion Week.

Two years ago her fashion label Insidious Fix had a runway debut that every designer dreams of. The fashion show, complete with a short film and a live sheep being shorn on the catwalk, generated a rapturous response and a media frenzy. Insidious Fix had arrived.

But timing couldn't have been worse and the spectacular exposure didn't reap the rewards Davis and her business partner Jason Crawford had hoped for.

"We didn't pick up any [sales from] stores after our showing at the first fashion week, although we had a fantastic response," says Davis. "We wanted to pick up international buyers but there were only a couple there for the first year because it was just after September 11."

After last night's return to the Fashion Week catwalks with her winter/autumn collection, Davis is hoping their time has finally come.

Wearing a pair of incredibly high-heeled boots, 29-year-old Davis climbs the stairs to a large, loft-like room that doubles as her design studio and office, a peaceful refuge from the distracting clatter of knitting machines below.

Insidious Fix is based in a warehouse on the industrial fringes of a suburb better known for cut-price clothing than designer chic.

From this utilitarian Onehunga factory, Davis and Crawford have created one of this country's most sassy and successful knitwear brands.

The label is sold at hip stores throughout the country, and the pair is making inroads into the lucrative export market, with accounts in Australia, London, Los Angeles and Copenhagen.

As much as Davis and Crawford enjoyed the creative experience of staging the well-received 2001 show, the substantial costs did not pay enough dividends for a return last year.

It's too soon to say what buyers Insidious Fix attracted at yesterday's impressive Frost Bite show, but London department store Selfridges and the upmarket Australian chain store David Jones are two accounts Davis wouldn't mind adding to her list of export orders.

"We sell to about 15 stores in Australia but we want to increase our sales there. We also want to grow the Northern Hemisphere markets because that means we can have knitwear going through our factory all year round. London, Denmark and LA are all opposite seasons to us, which works well, but we want to increase that."

Last year Davis and Crawford, who split up as a couple a few years ago, decided it was time to take stock of where the company was headed after a period of rapid growth.

"We had two massive factories and 32 staff and our overheads were just phenomenal. There was a lot of stress involved in the size, yet we didn't necessarily increase the turnover for how fast we'd grown," she says.

They cut back to one factory and halved the staff.

"Now we're back in a growth phase - the company needs to and wants to grow so we are looking for new international markets."

The difference between Davis and many other fashion designer wannabes is that she was able to fast-track her dream of having her own label, thanks to a $10,000 win in the Benson and Hedges Fashion Awards in 1995.

Davis and Crawford won a $5000 cash prize for the Lifestyle Award, and a further $5000 when they took the top prize, the Supreme Award, for three knitted garments in earth tones.

Soon after, Davis dropped out of fashion design school - just short of completing her three-year diploma - and went into business with Crawford.

The $10,000 jump-started their business, but at the time Davis wondered if she had done the right thing.

"I was only 20 when we won and quite young and naive. I wanted to give the label a go but I was afraid of failing because I hadn't qualified and I didn't know if the business would make it."

In the early days they lived and breathed work. "We were doing up to 18-hour days. We slept in the office on a fold-out couch."

As the business has grown, they have defined their business roles - Davis is in charge of design, while Crawford looks after the finances, though the boundaries do get blurred sometimes.

"I'm reasonably active on the business side of things and Jason certainly has input into the menswear range. Every now and then I'll ask for his opinion on the women's range," says Davis.

"We've always been quite proud of being New Zealand-made and that's quite a rare thing now. It gets harder and harder as every year goes by. You look at the competition out there and the market is full of Asian imports selling for $30 to $40. There's no way we can compete with that. Instead, we give ourselves an edge by trying to be innovative."

Initially, they launched two labels: Insidious, using fine yarns and accessories; and Fix, which was more cost-effective, yet still design-focused.

A third label, Esoteric, was added for the niche market between the two other labels, but after a couple of years Davis and Crawford merged all three labels into Insidious Fix.

As well as reviewing the business, Davis took stock of her personal life last year. "Work had basically ruled my life for six years. I made a conscious decision to do things outside of work to relieve stress."

She joined the gym, and is looking forward to cycling to work from the Mangere Bridge home she has just bought. Both Davis and Crawford have new partners.

"The house is a do-up project that will keep me busy for a while," she says.

"It needs painting and I'm going to put in a garden. I like setting myself goals and achieving them. I'm looking forward to that sense of reward."

Style File

Q. What is your best ever fashion buy?

A. Pink cowboy boots, R Soles from London.

Q. Name one fashion disaster.

A. Can't really think of one.

Q. Do you have a style icon?

A. No single person, but I admire people who are creative and innovative.

Q. Do you have any pre-loved pieces of clothing in your wardrobe?

A. No, I am a sucker for new stuff.

Q. Are accessories an important part of your wardrobe?

A. Only silver rings and piercings (nose and ear).

Q. What is your favourite knitted garment in your wardrobe?

A. One of the first Insidious Fix jumpers ever made - a gold polo neck jumper with interesting texture. It's often admired.

Herald Feature: New Zealand Fashion Week

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