20 21Summer 2015 | Crown Group Arts & Fashion

K A F TA N Q U E E N C A M I L L A F R A N K S I S A T E S TA M E N T TO W H AT C A N B E AC H I E V E D BY P E R S I S T E N C E A N D F R E E W H E E L I N G V I S I O N , W R I T E S B E L I N DA L U K S I C .

HERGYPSY

HEART

The designer behind the successful Camilla label recently celebrated the launch of her 13th Australian store, in Chadstone, Victoria, with plans to open a boutique in Los Angeles next year.

Vivacious, unstoppable and all heart, Camilla Franks has come a long way from the young woman who first showed her designs at Australian Fashion Week in 2004. Back then the sum total of her fashion industry experience was making kaftans and costumes to support her fledgling acting career. As she tells it, “I had no idea what the hell I was doing, but I invited everyone in the fashion industry anyway.”

That first showing—a highly theatrical, choreographed event in the round, complete with an aria-trilling opera singer suspended in a 20-foot pot and women of all ages and shapes draped in flowing kaftans—netted department store David Jones as a stockist.

Camilla then hit the road, armed with nothing but her designs and a determination to succeed. She dragged suitcases all over the world, season after season, rejection after rejection—the other constant being her unwillingness to give up.

“I believed in myself and had a dream, and no-one was going to slow me down,” she says. Her persistence paid off, with some of the biggest department stores now signed to the brand and more than 260 stockists worldwide.

Camilla takes none of this for granted, quick to point out that her success comes down to a lot of hard work and never taking no for an answer. “I’ve always trusted my creative gut instinct,” she says, “and I truly believe that with a lot of hard work comes a lot of luck, and I’ve been a lucky girl.”

While the perennial appeal of the kaftan is something that few saw coming, Camilla isn’t surprised. “I was just doing what I was passionate about, but the kaftan has been around for decades,” she explains. “Look at [model] Veruschka in the ’60s … and, of course, places like Morocco and India where it’s part of the culture.”

Camilla’s kaftans are a flamboyant riot of colour and patterns, often embellished with embroidery and beading. Inspired by her travels, each piece tells a story and can take up to nine months to create. That includes cataloguing some 15,000 photos of her travels, creating the fabric design (usually made up of a combination of 20 of those images), preparing the crystals, garmenting, and silhouetting the design in different fabrics.

Travel is the primary source of Camilla’s inspiration. “It fuels my imagination and becomes inspiration for my collection,” she says. This collision of personal experience and imagery translates into the evocative prints that make her designs so contemporary. It’s also the backstory that is particular to the Camilla brand.

Below: Camilla plans to open a new store in Los Angeles next year.

22 23Summer 2016 | Crown Group Arts & Fashion

Camilla’s latest collection, My Wandering Heart, is the result of her pilgrimage to Spain, Portugal and Turkey, where she visited basilicas, churches, cathedrals, ruins and coastal villages. Inspired by the backstreets of Istanbul and its kilim (rug) weavers, to the creative vibrancy of Spain’s Antonio Gaudi, My Wandering Heart is teeming with rich colours and intricate details. There are also new silhouettes and shapes, including a flared long-sleeved dress and midriff frill top.

While other labels have disappeared or been bought out, the Camilla brand continues to evolve and expand. Camilla concedes this has as much to do with hard work and a great team as not following trends. “I’ve always walked to the beat of my own drum,” she says. “I don’t conform to what, I guess, a fashion designer is meant to be—and I probably couldn’t, even if I tried.”

If the success of her brand is anything to go by, Camilla could be right. Her designs are worn by the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Kate Hudson and Beyoncé and countless other women around the world.

These days, the Camilla range includes menswear, children’s wear, swimwear, shoes and accessories, with plans for a candle and tea range by year’s end. Then there’s the US market, which accounts for almost half of Camilla’s export business and is one she is keen to expand into.

Camilla’s bucket list is brimming with ideas and dreams. First, there’s the Los Angeles boutique and a new range inspired by a recent trip to Africa. New York Fashion Week is also in her sights. Then there’s the dream of opening a Camilla-themed restaurant, a lifestyle department store with a bar, and a healing retreat in Africa.

Considering her achievements to date, it seems there’s nothing Camilla can’t do. As she puts it, “With big dreams you need an amazing team, and I’ve got that.”