Rebecca Vallance returns to Melbourne for the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival’s Fashion Summit

From her birthplace of Ballarat in regional Victoria to New York, Australian fashion designer Rebecca Vallance always knew she wanted her brand to have an international presence and she’s achieved just that in under 10 years.

She returns to Melbourne to make her debut as a guest speaker at the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival’s Fashion Summit, talking risk and reputation in the fashion world. Her fan base includes actress Eva Longoria, actress/comedian Celeste Barber, TV personality Kylie Gillies and Priyanka Chopra (yes, that Mrs Nick Jonas), yet Vallance isn’t one to brag about every A-lister wearing her clothes on social media.

Mind you, those aren’t sponsored posts either – they’re diehard followers devouring her every sartorial stitch.

When Vallance launched her brand in 2011, she was living in London and dropped a small capsule of kaftans that quickly sold to Harvey Nichols in Kuwait. It was a telling sign of what was to come, with orders from Europe soon after.

These days there are no kaftans to be found; instead she’s honed her silhouettes into something grander and party-bound. Adored for her structured elegance, Vallance knows her voice in the cluttered fashion world. From suits to minis and midis, she’s a fine balance between flirty and functional where elegance always finds a spot at the dinner table too.

Vallance, who graduated from Victoria University with a business degree, started out as a teenage model and dabbled in PR before finding her place in fashion. She measures her success on an international scale. “I always wanted my brand to have an international presence,” she says. “I never started this label as a hobby.”

The brand celebrates 10 years next January; a feat she’s proud of, but admits it’s been hard work. The busy mother of two spends a lot of time travelling – she’s just back from New York – meeting with buyers and planning her brand’s expansion.

She says showing at New York Fashion Week twice in her career and scoring a lucrative account with Net-A-Porter ignited her profile.

“That was my game-changer,” Vallance says. “Having a global presence is a reminder that you’re doing something right.”

She says her brand has evolved just as she has over the years. “[It’s] now a full-fledged ready-to-wear collection that can appeal to many women of all ages,” she says. “I spend a lot of time travelling to all markets and seeing what the international audience wants too. As I have grown older, so has the brand.”

She takes to the stage at VAMFF on March 13 alongside Mary Lou Ryan from Bassike and Margie Woods of Viktoria & Woods. Vallance knows all about the importance of risk.

“I’m very calculated with my risk-taking and very strategic. I always think things through,” she says. “I am at the core a creative designer of the brand, but I run the business as a business.

“I guess with fashion you need to have the stomach for it – it’s never an easy ride. You have to make sure you are prepared and know when taking a risk is crucial or not.”

Vallance’s autumn/winter 2020 collection is inspired by the movie Swinging Safari – there’s plenty of animal instinct with leopard print and pops of colour. “This season it’s all about the animal print,” she says. “It’s full of texture and earthy colouring.”

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