Much more to Sample

Working in synch is a key factor for Sample Only designers Rickie Dee and Penny Holmes. Picture / Carolyn Robertson

You might expect Sample Only designers Rickie Dee and Penny Holmes to be in a panic, given that Friday is their first showing at Australian Fashion Week.

It's only their third full season and they had barely a month's notice for what is the biggest moment of their careers so far. But the Auckland designers are surprisingly relaxed for the Mercedes-Benz-sponsored event.

"It's a lot of stress for such a short time, but it's all been working out really well," Dee says. "We probably won't get most of the samples back until the day before we have to leave, but it will be fine."

Scouted by the organisers of Australasia's largest and most highly regarded fashion event, Dee and Holmes were asked to show as part of the New Generation collection after being one of eight finalists in February's Start Up competition. While they didn't win, their whimsical and colourful range obviously impressed the right people.

Their label, taken from a stamp on the inside of an old piece of clothing, sometimes causes confusion.

"It's quite funny, because even with the clothes being on the rack, every now and then you get a lady that asks, 'Can I try this on, or is it just a sample?' " Holmes says.

"You have to kind of smile and say, 'No, you can actually buy this - it's yours if you want it - and I could actually possibly have another one out the back."

The name of Dee's boutique, Superette - where the label began - also has customers confused sometimes. "People ring directories asking for Superette in Freeman's Bay and get the numbers of four or five dairies before getting us."

When she opened Superette three years ago, Dee never imagined she would be designing her own label. "No, it wasn't my vision at all. I think it was purely just to fill the racks. I started by doing one thing, that went really well and led to doing more, which I have just tried to build on."

As the label grew, Dee wanted someone else to work with. "We wanted to go further with Sample Only and start wholesaling and getting a full range together. We hadn't even looked around for anyone, and just thought we'd offer it to Penny, thinking she might want to leave her job."

"I think that it was just one of those meant-to-be, timing, fate things - I was working here one day a week, Ricks and I hit it off and it just all worked," says Holmes. "Really I think it was from having lots of coffees and moaning about my day job."

Although neither Dee nor Holmes have had formal training in design - Dee comes from a background in advertising, and Holmes worked as a merchandiser for a mainstream New Zealand label - they are clear on why it has worked for them.

"I think if you've got a big enough passion for it, you make it work," Holmes says . The pair share a similar work ethic. "We think really similarly, so we can just bounce ideas off each other," Holmes says. "Most of the time we seem to be on the same wavelength."

Dee: "And that's quite good, because we can be honest with each other - if we don't like something we will definitely say so."

The collection they are showing in Sydney is called Journey into the Jungle. It's Summer 05/06 and is full of silks, prints, bright jewelled colours and a lot of detail.

"It's kind of the vision of something pretty, but mixed up, messy but beautiful," Holmes says. Dee adds: "We've had to be in two minds - we've created pieces which will look good in the show, but then at the same time it's had to be a range that sells. So it's like, 'Maybe we should offer that in black as well'."

The two have attracted a lot of interest already and have meetings booked in Sydney.

"A couple of them are quite exciting, but we won't say who they are, just in case."

It's clear that this venture across the Tasman is going to be a real boost for Sample Only.