In June, handbag.com and the creative cultivating company Talenthouse launched a hunt to find a gifted accessory designer to join the British fashion designer Julia Clancey and her team to experience a unique six-month internship at her LA studio. This unique opportunity to work alongside Clancey, and to have their designs displayed during Julia's autumn/winter 2011 fashion show in New York, would be an invaluable platform for any up-and-coming designer looking to make their break in the industry.
Known in the fashion world for her elegant and sensual fairytale-esque designs using delicate silks and chiffons, Julia is fast gaining a reputation in Hollywood as the go-to girl for indulgent and empowering dresses for starlets who crave fame but have a sense of humour. Old school glamour is high on the agenda and has won Clancey a dedicated celebrity following amongst the likes of Victoria Beckham, Dita Von Teese and Mischa Barton.
The lucky winner has been announced as Austy Lee, a Hong Kong based jewellery designer. We interviwed both Julia and Austy to find out what this collaboration means to them.
handbag.com: Congratulations Austy! What do you both hope to achieve from this collaboration?
Austy: It will be a golden experience in my jewellery-design career to work with Julia Clancey, she is such a legendary designer. I truly hope my creativity will help to inspire Julia in her designs.
Julia: I want to take the classic element of Austy's design and mix it up a bit with my current collection. When I first started doing accessories I worked with a company in Taiwan making crystal eye masks, eye patches, headpieces. I had excellent press with these pieces. I want to now revisit my original designs and give them a new breath of life. As I am self taught, design is all about experimenting and feeling it out before you can settle into your style.
handbag.com: Julia, are you a keen supporter of young designers? Can you tell us a bit about how you got into the fashion industry?
Julia: Yes absolutely, I know how hard the industry is to crack especially in the current economic climate. Personally, I didn't have the usual path in. I was spotted whilst in Australia by an advertising exec who loved the outfit I had created. He invited me to style an advertising campaign. After that I was approached by an agent and went on to work as a stylist. I was asked to design a collection of dresses for a multi-million pound advertising campaign at which point I managed to convince a client to give me financial backing to produce my first collection. I sold that first collection to a boutique in London called Koh Samui and went from there.
handbag.com: Austy, what would you be doing now if you weren’t in LA working with Julia?
Austy: Prior to this I was working for the jewellery company Lane Joaillier as a senior designer in Hong Kong.
handbag.com: Finally, can you both tell us about your most precious piece of jewellery and the story behind it?
Julia: The most precious piece of jewellery I own is from my Grandma. She gave it to me when she was still alive. She had the most amazing jewellery collection and we used to joke about her diamond rings being like knuckle dusters.
Austy: A ring with a cross-shaped emerald. It truly expresses my character and so I wear at all times.
Picture: Austy Lee's designs which won him an internship with Julia Clancey.
