The Sainty spirit lives on

Designers Beth Ellery (left) and Julia Fong are keeping up tradition at Scotties. Pictures / Carolyn Robertson

They're still talking about it today: how one of their favourite designers deserted them in what was, for those who don't much fancy bohemian tops and gypsy dresses, their season of greatest need.

Yes, Marilyn Sainty, who's been in the local fashion business since the early 70s, decided to stop designing her own collection last year. Now that the last of the Sainty-designed garments are slowly making their way to the summer sale racks, the loyal customers of one of this country's best designers may feel they have even more to be upset about.

But then - gasp - they will see it. The dress that makes it all okay again. It's a black dress with the same refined lines as any typical Sainty silhouette. Fitted on a mannequin in Scotties boutique, Lorne St, it's incredibly well made, elegant and modern - but there, at the top, a section of the shoulder has unexpectedly been cut out. It's beautiful but spirited, in the same way Sainty's clothes have always been.

Standing next to the mannequin is garments designer Beth Ellery, who works in the store occasionally and knows customers still get upset about Sainty's retirement. But many fans will covet this new Ellery-designed dress. They'll finger the fine wool and then, if they know who the shop assistant is, they may dare to ask: "So are you the next Marilyn Sainty?"

Ellery will look worried at the question. "Maybe if I keep having good ideas, I could be as good as her. And she's very good. I think it remains to be seen, maybe in two decades we'll know."

Still, so far so good. Along with designer Julia Fong, Ellery has been working alongside Sainty for several years. Now Ellery and Fong have been asked to fill the gap.

"We committed to Marilyn that we would make our ranges much bigger to make sure that there's stock in the shop," says Ellery.

She occupies what was once Sainty's workroom out the back of the Ponsonby branch of Scotties and has gone into business with Sainty's former pattern maker, Mavis Luen. She also helps finish the Scotties range, the ideas for which still come from Sainty and which incorporate basics like T-shirts and long-sleeved tops.

Meanwhile, Fong, who recently took time out of the fashion industry to have her first child, Tiger, who's now almost 2, is also designing a collection, albeit a smaller one.

Both designers sell to Scotties and to stores further afield.

"And Marilyn's actually still there quite a lot. She supports us and we talk to her fairly regularly about business," says Fong.

Sainty is in Europe buying from the international collections for the Scotties boutiques and besides continuing to mentor the designing pair and oversee shop operations, she also turns her hand to a few smaller projects, such as making unusual brooches.

As for this season's locally-produced collections, Ellery and Fong are continuing to make the more intelligent style of clothing that had Sainty employing them in the first place.

Both designers have a similar approach to design. Ellery comes from an architectural background and Fong from an artistic one - they both treat fabric as the material from which to construct sculptures that can be worn and that exist outside of your average trend.

"I think for the last few ranges Marilyn was really wanting simplicity and ease," says Ellery, "whereas Julia and I are still fighting to make things complicated. We don't want to make it too easy on ourselves."

For instance, one of Fong's favourite items from her collection this winter is what she calls an ode to the art school spencer.

"You know, you can't afford much when you're a student so you used to wear one of those old spencers, with a little lace trim, everywhere. And basically this is a shirt which has what looks like part of a spencer sewn in. But there's more to it than meets the eye - the front of shirt ties at the back as well, which cinches the shirt in at the waist."

Which may sound relatively simple but is an exercise in elegantly complex construction.

Meanwhile, back at the boutique in Auckland city, Ellery demonstrates how the draped collar on one of her jackets can be flipped over front or back to make either a cowl or a larger collar and how the pleats in a formal skirt end up as an amazingly looped rosette.

The end result for both Fong and Ellery is a beautifully tailored type of art-meets-fashion-meets-architecture.

And Sainty devotees will be pleased to hear that some of the plainer garments (like that little black dress hanging on the mannequin) are similar to what Sainty would have designed, just with what's possibly best described as a few more risks taken and a little more youthful exuberance."All in all, I'd say the customers have been shocked [at the lack of Sainty-designed clothing this winter]. But they're re-adjusting. At the beginning of this season we were a bit nervous, too, but we put winter stock in a couple of weeks ago and it's sold really well already - so we're a little more relaxed now," says Ellery.