ChloëO'Reilly's designs have come a long way from her early theatrical corsets crafted from paperbark, which she now readily admits "looked great but were a tad itchy!"
Her creations ain't for the faint hearted, combining unexpected colours and fabrics that cook up a feast for the eye. Her move from theatre design to fashion surfaced from the limitations she felt theatre placed on her creatively. "I wanted to design costumes for a play that was not yet written, where I could make anything and everything I wanted to".
Chloë has built a strong following of dedicated and supportive buyers Australia-wide. Her cutting edge, accessible and feminine creations bring an unexpected splash of colour, humor and beauty into everyday life.
Her designs take delight in the quirky juxtapositions of unexpected neighbours - the CWA and the hill tribes of Vietnam. Her broader influences reflect her diverse adventures so far; emigration from Dublin to Sydney, Asian performance/anthropology at University and her travels across Australia and South East Asia, where she madly hunted for fabrics at roadside stalls and stuffed her backpack full of goodies.
In 2004 Chloë gave birth to the lovely Finn O'Reilly Fireball Flanagan. It was a year of chaos, creativity, commissioned wedding frocks and breastfeeding.
But it didn't stop there, summer and winter flowed thick and fast much to the delight of some of Australia's leading and quirky retailers.
Winter 2005 Country Lady Collection - a burst of inspiration from a record-buying trip to Cessnock (Hunter Valley) featuring fast cars, utes, rodeos and Bundy rum stickers...
Summer 2005-2006 1950's Housewife Love Affair Range - Think Desperate Housewives gone retro, domestic bliss and Housewife of the Year Pageants... day wear, evening wear, party wear, swim wear and the races...
2006 - launch of Little Dumplings childrens range - a riot of colour well received by fashion conscious mummys wanting to avoid saturating their children in blue or pink. Sooooo cute!
Ongoing - wedding dresses for people who shudder at the idea of a meringue... perfectly customized to the bride's individuality.
Chloe has just popped another one; the gorgeous Miss Ginger-Rose O'Reilly Frangipani Flanagan, a bundle of squishy love. After 7 months of not enough sleep, jungle themed 3 year old birthday parties and many a trip to the park. Chloe is hitting the drawing board again.
The new look women's range will celebrate the art of domesticity by combining op shopped goodies and vintage fabrics, an original speciality of Chloe's. They will make you want to twirl in circles, drink pink cocktails, have fun and giggle! Party frocks, 50's frocks, aprons and corsets....... the possibilities are endless.
So for now Chloe is concentrating on her quirky (and very cute) kids range, one off special occasion pieces, accessories and homewares. The web-site will also feature online sales (bargains!) - so keep your eyes peeled and make sure you join the mailing list!
Chloë (and anyone that knows her) believes this is her destiny. Her work reflects her gutsy enthusiasm. "The risks I have taken are paying off. Right now everything rocks!"
