One-on-one: Alex Perry

By Rebekah van Druten. Posted: Thursday, April 26 2007 .
Start doing lunges ladies!

RVD: Your collection is called Hawaiian Princess. Tell me what we can expect?

AP: What you can expect is Alex Perry glamour.

What I've done is...

I mean don't expect any hula skirts. The theme is not that literal. But I've taken those really beautiful Hawaiian colours and shapes of things from the late 1950s; movie stars who were resorting and going somewhere very glamorous.

Some people will look at it and go, 'I don't get what's Hawaiian?' But I do, so that's what's important (laughs) ..

. We've got some tiny, tiny dresses that are almost swimsuits, but they're not. They're completely micro and it's only for girls that have got amazing legs.

RVD: Last time we spoke you had shown your spring/summer 2007 collection off schedule. Then FashionAssassin had to pull his show and you agreed to an encore on schedule. Have you had any issues this year?

AP: Look I've done it [ ] every year. I'm the only designer that's done it every time. I'm really loyal.

I had a little bit of a designer hissy fit last year because I couldn't get the spot that I wanted and just figured after having done it for so long...

anyway that's an old story. But it doesn't take away from the fact that it [AFW] is the best PR exercise an Australian designer can do, it's the best springboard for showing your things to international clients who you would otherwise not have access to, it's a whole whack of fun and I don't know why you wouldn't do it. I think a lot of people don't because the competition's stiff.

RVD: Your show's always a highlight of the week. Do you have any plans to put on a show, say in New York or Paris?

AP: At the moment, no .

.. I know people are hell bent on the American market, but it is such a huge market and they have absolutely everything over there.

Unless you've got incredibly big bucks to spend to do an amazing show that really makes a dent on their market...

You can do it equally as well from here. For me it's more about the Middle East because they have such an evening wear culture.

RVD: But in a way you are breaking into the American market, dressing people like Jennifer Lopez and Nelly Furtado.

Here at home, celebrities regularly wear your creations on the red carpet. Are there any famous faces you would love to dress?

AP: There's lots.

In Australia, not so much. I have kind of done my wishlist of girls ..

. Catherine Zeta-Jones is beautiful. Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett, I haven't dressed them and that would be fantastic.

RVD: Will we ever see Alex Perry designing for Target or another low-cost chain store?

AP: I don't think so. What I do doesn't translate into that arena.

Other people's work does. You know, you can take Stella McCartney, you can take what she does and dumb it down and put it into that sort of environment. That's their call.

For me, a label that's aspirational is exactly that - it's aspirational. This is what I've always done: if I've seen something expensive that I like, I've saved up and gone and got it and it makes it very special. Whereas you know if you've gone and bought Stella McCartney at Target that you haven't bought the real Stella McCartney range.

You've bought the cheap version at Target. That is just what that is. You can wrap it up any which was you like, but that's what it is.

If Dolce and Gabbana was at Target, I kind of wouldn't want the D G that was at Target. I'd want the real one.

RVD: Finally, how are you feeling?

I understand you recently had a kidney stone lasered.

AP: Yeah ..

. I'm as fit as a mallee bull normally. I've never been in hospital, I'm not a good patient .

.. I'm not one of those sick day people.

I've just gotten on with it.

Alex Perry's collection will be shown on Monday April 30 - the first day of Australian Fashion Week. Rebekah van Druten will be in the front row covering all the action, so stay tuned.