Designer DETAIL - Leonard St

Prints Charming meets Bold Femininity.

With hints of Audrey Hepburn glamour, Deborah Harry’s flair and an injection of some 80’s flavour, Leonard St ruled the runway at Royal Australian Fashion Week. Keeping it clean with sharp cuts and strong silhouettes, this Melbourne label balances femininity with street credibility. So just who is the brains and talent behind the bold, young label? Meet Amanda McCarthy.

Where it all began…

Amanda’s love for design and fashion bloomed in her youth, finding her love of the trade with help from her paternal family. “My fathers’ family have always been in the rag trade, and as a child I spent holidays in the dusty sewing room in Flinders lane, and hid in racks in the glamorous but very seventies showroom,” Amanda says. “I studied art and design at Monash University and majored in Sculpture, but I was drawn to fashion retail after uni.”

With this experience under her belt, Amanda began to design, demonstrating her art and sculpting influences by applying her focus on shape, line and drape. It wasn’t before long that Amanda decided to launch her own label Leonard St in summer 2006.

Developing the Leonard St style.

Classicism and a unique outlook on life are factors that Amanda relies on for inspiration. “My outlook on life influences my designs; an easy going approach but the constant desire to be stylish,” Amanda says. “I am influenced by my childhood and love to reference classic shapes and prints. I recently went to LA and Palm Springs so we will see if that influence of early modernism comes to play in the next collection.”

Summer stunner.

Leonard St’s Spring Summer 08 offers a new take on old favourites, subtle retro undertones and innovative shape detailing, with the emphasis on effortless chic.

“I drew on Art Nouveau for the prints but updated them with a contemporary palette of hot pink, burnt orange and Indigo. But shape is always an inspiration for me, clean simple and flattering,” says Amanda of her design inspiration.

Highlights from the collection include a khaki hooded parka with a full skirted back, Bermuda shorts offset by a bright floral shirt with pussy bow and drop balloon sleeve, a graphic printed frock coat, and the khaki voile batwing mini dress, injecting some 80’s flavour and Deborah Harry spirit.

Amanda loves…

“I am in love with a bat print I have done from AW08, it is based on an art nouvea design so its very feminine but then on closer inspection the bat adds a sinister element. The cape sleeve shirt dress in bat teal is on my list!”

Who is the Leonard St girl?

“One who has her own sense of style, one that embraces a new shape in her wardrobe, and one that appreciates quality more than trend,” Amanda concludes.

You can find out more about Leonard St by visiting the website www.leonardstreet.com.au.