Pssst. Want to shop online for cool, edgy clothes at purse-friendly prices? Want to stand out from the crowd in fresh and individual pieces that can't be found in your run-of-the-mill high street shop? Want to pick up titbits of style inspiration from a super-cool blog to boot? Then we'll let you into a secret. From today there's only one place worth logging on to: StyleStalker. The Aussie label, the brainchild of Sydney-based style obsessives Rachel Zeilic and Sue-Ann San, is your one-stop shop for clothes that just ooze cool.Launched in 2008 the label, which produces three collections a year, combines glam and street with aplomb - sexy body-con dresses, leather biker jackets, cut-out leggings, slouchy vest tops and lace up skirts adorned with heaps of eyelets, zips and sequins, that are all just a click of a mouse away. They speedily ship to the UK and, in even more good news for UK fans, the label will soon be stocked in Selfridges department stores across the country. Hurrah!
Clothes aside, the StyleStalker website also features a highly addictive fashion blog - think street style snaps, style heavy fashion editorials and personal piccies - as well as a video section that gives browsers a behind-the-scenes peek into the photoshoot of the current lookbook and campaign pictures.
Read on to find out what the StyleStalker girls had to say in our Q&A...
So, hello StyleStalker! Can you tell us a little bit about yourselves and how the label came about?
We met at university in Sydney and became the best of friends though our shared love of fashion and travelling, often spending all our spare cash on shopping sprees in Topshop and Zara on European jaunts. After we finished our studies we both worked at the same advertising agency and while there we dreamt up the idea of starting our own fashion label, fusing designer and high street looks. The StyleStalker label was born and we set up a small online store. Two years later we have 160 stockists across Australia, the US, Japan and now the UK.
Can you give us an insight into the creative process you go through at StyleStalker?
We both do lots of research - scouring magazines, trawling the web and travelling - for inspiration, then we lock ourselves in a room for a month and bounce ideas off each other. We always design pieces that we would love to wear and we have to unequivocally love each individual piece in the collection. Once we've settled on our ideas we then make samples of all the garments and engage our production manager, who helps us communicate our designs to our vendors.
Where do you draw inspiration from for your collections?
From all over the place: the internet, going out, our friends, art galleries, music, movies, history, libraries and the future.
Are there certain trends or key pieces that are StyleStalker staples?
The statement body-con dress and a worn in leather jacket.
Are there any celebrities who inspire you? If so, who?
Too many to count! Georgia Jagger, Kate Moss, Chloë Sevigny, Karl Lagerfeld and David Bowie.
Whose style do you admire at the moment?
I still love the Olsens. And we have a soft spot for Carey Mulligan.
How would you describe a StyleStalker girl?
Rock star spawn: confident, sexy and fun.
Why did you decide to focus on online rather than a physical shop?
We became obsessed with fashion blogs since the early noughties, so an online shop was the natural thing to do. Also, it's a better money option for starting a new business.
How important is it for you to have things like video and a blog on there too?
So important! The video allows us to showcase all the hard work each collection takes and allows us to portray the mood of each range to our customers. And we just love blogging! It's a great creative expression and it gives us an avenue to talk to our customers and get their feedback too.
Do you have anymore web-based interactive features coming up?
Well, we have more videos in the pipeline and maybe one day a StyleStalker online magazine.
Do you ever plan to open a shop?
Maybe - we will see what fate has in store.
Do you have any exciting projects coming up that involve British shoppers in particular?
We are thinking about opening up a UK-based version of the StyleStalker website. So keep an eye out for banging styles and super-fast shipping!
How does Australian fashion and the style of girls in your home country differ to what you see here in the UK?
Australian girls love the statement piece - they are really influenced by beach culture and they want to look fabulous without too much effort - while UK girls are more sophisticated in terms of their fashion knowledge and are able to work trends better, moving on to something new quite quickly. Girls in the UK also really know how to work the layering.
Thanks StyleStalker! Remember where you heard it first.
stylestalker.com
