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Toni Maticevski

Click here to view Toni Maticevski's 2007 Autumn/Winter collection directly from New York Fashion Week.

Toni Maticevski is one of the most talked about names in Australian fashion. With his signature manipulation of traditional fashion silhouettes and use of beautiful materials, the range marks a desirable departure from conventional couture.

Tucking, twisting, and looping his textural fabrics into fascinating shapes that you can love and wear, Maticevski believes every stitch and detail, every line and every shape should provoke an emotional response from both the wearer and the observer. Challenging the traditional view of haute couture, season after season, Maticevski uses emotion to sense hidden characters in the forms and fabrics he uses, tapping into contemporary surroundings, music and everyday life for inspiration. Says Toni of his inspirations: “It’s too easy to acquire ideas by opening up Art books or fashion magazines. If you access your designs from the point of view of emotion, from the limitations you face, you can change what you know and what others see.”

After completing his Degree in Fashion Design with Honours at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Maticevski worked in the local fashion industry, experiencing the fashion process from design to production. He worked with Donna Karan in 1999, but soon made a pilgrimage to Paris where, inspired by the city’s history, culture, and architecture, he took up a position at Cerutti for two seasons.

It was during this time that Maticevski found his first mentor and stockist – influential ‘Absinthe’ boutique owner, Marthe Desmoulins – who describes Maticevski as “someone with spirit. His designs and work are precious, a refreshing change amongst designers who try to outwardly shock.”

Exploiting his garment construction abilities to the absolute limit, every Maticevski season is different. Colours are interspersed within garments to provide unusual yet complementary moods to the collections. Through endless experimentation with cuts and colour, Maticevski explores the boundaries of fashion process and movement.