Stockists around the world are now clamouring to sell their clothes after former Canberra student Charlotte Terry and her design partner Julianne Propsting wowed New York Fashion Week with the debut showing of their label The Arlo Studio.
Former ANU law student Charlotte said she did not expect such a reaction and the universal acclaim for their 24-piece collection called Gone Bush has made them seriously consider what step to take next.
"It's made us think, 'Do we go into production or work for someone else?'. And that's a real crossroads," she said.
The collection, which started with a bushwalk through the Royal National Park and ended with the eyes of the fashion world upon it, has been featured by heavyweights from Elle to Harpers Bazaar and led to boutiques as far afield as Saudi Arabia asking to stock their designs.
Their collection was included in New York in the emerging designer show produced by Global Fashion Collective, an organisation that aims to foster promising young designers and expose their brands to international markets. And that's exactly what happened.
"It's been such a surreal experience," Charlotte said.
"I think we were so focused on getting the collection finished, we didn't really think about the reaction. It has been amazing seeing people get behind what is really a quite tiny brand."
The designs were intentionally unique but still wearable. And that has translated into sales inquiries.
"It's been more boutiques with more discerning customers who want something different to wear," Charlotte said.
Some fashionistas wanted to buy the designs straight off the runway.
A cream slip with "about 300 buttons" was lusted after by one or two brides-to-be.
"We have meetings next week to make some custom pieces," Charlotte said.
And there were also more than a few requests for the bucket hats that featured in the show.
"Everyone wants bucket hats," she said, with a laugh.
The pair have decided to produce a line of the bucket hats, to be available in two or three weeks, as a low-scale production to test the waters before going full tilt into manufacturing the clothes on a commercial scale.
Charlotte said while it would be easy to be caught up in the hype, she and Julianne were trying to approach their next step with cool heads.
She candidly says they want to assess whether they have the business acumen to start production on their own or whether they need to work for someone else. One thing they are certain of, is that that their future probably lies overseas.
"Going to New York really opened my mind to scale of production over there and the opportunities," Charlotte said.
She says they will be making some big life decisions soon, keen to capture the momentum for the brand.
It's been the best outcome for what started as really a dream.
"We decided to go to New York after one too many beers. we thought, 'Let's just do it, put something out that we really believe in', never expecting this to happen," Charlotte said.
