News feed
The origin story of emerging Australian fashion brand Beare Park—who showcased their Resort ’23 collection as part of Afterpay Australian Fashion Week this afternoon—is one of those great narratives a fashion journalist can’t help but love. Creative director Bella Pereira began her career not as a design student or even an editor, but as a financier specialising in private wealth management. Fashion was a long-time love that she never thought would become a career, until all of a sudden it did.
Inspired to begin making pieces she felt were missing from her own wardrobe, Pereira began advertising for factories on Gumtree, according to a recent interview with the Australian Financial Review, before eventually launching Beare Park in 2021. Her first collection was a mix of well-tailored everyday staples (think easy wool suiting), and understated eveningwear, including beautifully draped silk gowns and delicately ruched cocktail dresses. The offering included a $4,900 statement shearling coat which is, by local fashion logic, “not the kind of thing” that sells in Australia. And yet most of that first collection, including the five teddy coats, completely sold out. A star, as they say, was born.
All of which is to say that eyes were firmly planted on Pereira’s latest runway offering, which debuted in an austere space at Carriageworks’ Gallery III this afternoon. The show notes referenced Pereira’s reverence for “the art of getting dressed” and “rediscovery of decadence”, with pieces made for women who are finally ready to enjoy the return of nightlife and carefree socialising. Highlights included beautifully tailored blazers and coats made with chic heavy wool, artfully draped evening dresses made in Italian Taroni silks, and structured trench coats tied elegantly at the waist. With a muted, minimal colour palette that included navy, camel, ivory, and oxblood, the tight 31-look collection encapsulated the easy after-dark glamour Australians have long excelled at.
Perhaps most impressive is Beare Park’s commitment to ethical fashion production. The collection included the introduction of recycled polyester, while all pieces are designed, cut, and made in Sydney. A collaboration with Helen Kaminski, the heritage Australian headwear brand equally committed to sustainable business practices, bought the whole collection together, courtesy of modern boater hats and berets made with the same premium silks and wools used in the ready-to-wear. All in all? A confident, assured sophomore offering from one of this season’s buzziest names. Sell-out status beckons once more.
