After spending the early hours of this morning at the airport, sending off our Davroe Team (keep an eye out on our social media for some great behind the scenes footage), they are on their way to New York, where they will join the Fashion Palette team and the Aussie designers who will be showcasing their work during New York Fashion Week.
Natalie Rolt, one of the Australian designers who will be showcasing her work during Fashion Palette has already arrived in New York. I had a chance to sit down with her and ask her a few questions before she jumped on the plane!
At what age did you know that fashion was the career path you wanted to follow?
I have always been surrounded by fashion as both my mum and nan worked within the industry. I grew up being constantly influenced and inspired by the women closest to my heart, which is what sparked my love for fashion.
Who are your key influencers that you pull inspiration from?
I’m surrounded by the people who are the key influencers in my life – they are the people that motivate me and give me the drive to do what we do and to have fun whilst doing it. My team, my friends and my family. A big belief of mine is to surround yourself with like-minded people, who not only bring out the best in you but you bring out the best in them. It’s all about a support system which is a constant motivation to work hard and enjoy every moment of it.
New York – The countdown is on, what’s happening in your studio at the moment?
If you have been following my Instagram story you would see our packing madness – which has taken over the studio! Right now we all have our suitcases laid out over our pattern making table and we are planning our outfits, as well as asking each other do we REALLY need 11 pairs of shoes… haha!
This answer made me smile and I had thoughts of last week when I visited our Director, Mary to see what she was packing…. Shoes everywhere!
Well these two ladies sure now a thing or two about fashion, so who are we to question how many shoes they should take! You just never know when you might need that extra pair in the big apple.
The life of a fashion designer, is a busy one, and although we know that you are very hands on across your brand, tells us about your support team behind the scenes?
We have such a tight knit team, who all want to be the best at their roles inside NRD. When everyone has that mindset you seriously do create magic and thrive of one another. However, I do have another massive support guru in my life and that is the love of my life – my partner Ty.
New York – what an amazing city to be visiting! What are you looking forward to seeing while you are there?
I am so excited to see and live in the NYC lifestyle. Every one gasps when you say you’re going to NY because they’ve been there and experienced it already, so I’m itching to see how amazing it is for myself!
All mums love their children equally, but which is your favourite piece in your collection?
This one is a little too easy, as I have taken my two favourite designs from the collection, merged them together and created my outfit to wear to the show. How greedy is that… I basically have two dresses in one!
As you start to think about packing for New York, What are your top 5 travel essentials?
These are not so much my ‘travel’ essentials but are my necessities for everyday life…
1. NRD cap
2. Bondi Sands
3. Leather Bomber
4. Converse
5. Alexander Wang clutch
For those of you who have been following Natalie Rolt on Instagram would see that heading to New York with her, are her girlfriends, who are also the NRD hair and makeup artists, so I would definitely have to agree with Natalie that these girls are her ultimate travel essential!
Tell us something about yourself that your customers wouldn’t know about you?
Unless you are a follower from the very start of the Natalie Rolt label you wouldn’t know that I actually learnt how to sew from my nan and would sew all of my designs myself. I’m OCD with my designs being perfectly made so I had a fire in my belly to learn how to produce my garments and to understand how they are made with quality being my number one requirement. I find this is a massive plus in this industry as I understand garment construction and garment breakdown like the back of my hand. This influences what and how I design, as I not only have a creative side but can actually produce them.
Natalie is ready to showcase her designs to the fashion buyers from around the world that will be attending New York Fashion Week; we wish her the best for her brand and look forward to being part of her fashion journey!
You can find her designs at www.natalierolt.com.au
