Just a year after its launch, Marie Savvas’ luxury intimates brand, Palindrome, is going places; London to be exact. This week Selfridges’ flagship store in Oxford Street will unveil her latest creations after signing an exclusive deal with the Sydney designer.
Savvas traces her passion for fashion design to her childhood, and the experiences of her Cypriot family who left their village of Kyrenia to migrate down-under in the early 1950s. Playful and sexy new takes on classic styles is also very Palindrome, where Marie’s eclecticism and fine-tuned sensitivity is the heart of the brand
“Meteoric” might be the right word to describe Savvas’ trajectory with Palindrome, which saw her go solo in 2015 after more than 20 years in the business, where she first cut her teeth with traditional brands like Formfit and Playtex, followed by eight years designing for Australian label Pleasure State, before then going on to buy and design for Bras N Things.
What Savvas has done with Palindrome is create a brand that embodies fresh, exquisitely feminine, sophisticated, often surprising styles – all with an emphasis on a fit that flatters. With Myer an early buyer in 2015, Palindrome’s success in the Australian market so far has been about targeting the middle price bracket for luxury intimates with a unique product. And it’s a story about inspiration and re-invention.
“My inspiration for a collection comes from everywhere,” says Marie. “It can come from visiting a new country, seeing an art exhibition. I focus on certain things. It could be that I’m looking at prints, and that sets the tone for where the collection will go; colours and patterns that tell a story.”
Digital prints, with exquisite detailing – lace inserts and all – are very much part of the unique Palindrome ‘look’, along with playful and sexy new takes on classic styles, where Marie’s eclecticism and fine-tuned sensitivity puts clear blue water between Palindrome and its more mainstream competitors.
Born and raised in the Hills District of north west Sydney, Savvas traces her passion for fashion design to her childhood, and the experiences of her Cypriot family, who left their village of Kyrenia to migrate down-under in the early 1950s.
“Mum and my grandmother were both machinists and they used to do a lot of work from home, so being around sewing machines and patterns and fabrics was always there,” she says.
“At eleven I knew I wanted to be a fashion designer, I was just waiting for the day when I could finish school. I’d sit in maths class and draw dresses in the back of my books.”
Savvas’ path to her chosen career involved three years at one of Australia’s most revered training grounds for fashionistas – the Sydney Fashion Design Studio in Darlinghurst (now part of Ultimo TAFE). A full-time diploma course gave shape to her creativity and by 1995 she’d landed her first full-time job as a designer for Sarah Lee Intimates.
There’s something about her experience and achievements that tells a universal story about the art of creativity and commerce. In the 20 years since she started, it’s the application of experience that ironically gives the youthful Palindrome brand its edge.
“When you’re starting out, you want to do ‘fresh and new’ but it’s without any commercial sense. As the years have gone by, I guess I welded that with commercial reality and experience,” she says.
The Selfridges deal, won after Palindrome presented its wares at a small boutique trade show in the UK earlier this year, sees the giant department store chain take almost 2,000 items – a cross-section of nine themed styles, or ‘stories’.
With the help of a tenacious UK agent, discussions with Harrods turned into a conversation with Selfridges’ buyers, and things moved fast.
“At no stage did I think they’d commit to a buy so soon,” says Marie. “It was a combination of the right product at the right price. There were a couple brands that were exiting the market, so the universe was working in our favour.
“The new collection will be in their Oxford Street store, the flagship, which is amazing.”
Selfridges has exclusive rights for one season in the UK, after which Palindrome may seek to widen its presence in Britain to boutiques and other department stores.
As for other international markets, Marie says she’ll take things slowly.
“We’re trying to temper where we’re going. We’re certainly considering the US market, but that won’t be for a while, and not until Australia and the UK are well covered.
“There’s a risk you can grow too quickly. I wouldn’t want to over-commit and not deliver.”
A push into Asia is also not on the cards just yet, and for a variety of reasons – not least the complexities of sizing between western and eastern markets.
For the foreseeable future, with sales agents in the UK and Australia, the next stage of development for Palindrome will be to grow its presence in the independent boutique market, which buys a wider range of product compared to department stores, and is able to service regional consumers.
While Palindrome has an online store which continues to grow its customer base, it’s not a device that can ever replace a traditional retail experience, says Marie.
“With intimates, its such a fit driven product. Nothing beats going into a bricks and mortar store, trying it on, and getting the feel of it. Women know there is no substitute for getting it fitted, and each style fits every woman differently.”
Long gone are the days when most garment manufacturing for Australian companies took place literally in the hands of migrants like Marie’s mum and yiayia. Today, like most commercially mass-produced garments for western markets, Asia (and China in particular for intimates) remains the top manufacturing centre used by western brands. Palindrome’s no different. With regular reports of some western manufacturers’ unscrupulous approach o overseas production, Palindrome’s approach was from the start to identify factories where only the highest working conditions for factory staff applied.
“There are so many components and fabrics that go into one item,” says Marie. “What happens is, it gets designed here, all the technical specs get done here, then it goes to our factory in China.
“We go back and forth making sure it’s right, and I’m absolutely satisfied our factories comply with all the necessary standards – the conditions are great.”
As the (heterosexual male) writer of this article who readily admits to having bought the odd intimate for his partner over the years, there’s one final question I’m keen to ask Marie; is that old story true, that men buy more women’s lingerie than women?
Not a bit of it, she says, though men might be inclined to buy what might be described as ‘less functional’ lingerie.
“There are certain types of intimates that appeal much more to women than to men, and vice versa. Before Valentines Day or Christmas you may see a spike from male consumers, but girls are buying more in the rest of the year, or they want to buy more functional lingerie.
“Liken it to a pair of shoes,” says Marie. “You wouldn’t wear your ballet flats to the same place you wear your black spike stilettos. Lingerie is the same. You need a wardrobe of intimates, some are appropriate for some occasions, but not others.”
‘Functional’, got it. Must remember for next time. For more information on Palindrome, visit www.palindromestudio.com.au
