With a mother and grandfather who were both tailors, Arthur says, “fashion and clothes are in my blood.”

Fashion and clothes are in my blood…

After studying Commerce at Melbourne University and working in corporate finance for a year, he made the bold move to clothing manufacturing and began the ‘Arthur Galan AG’ brand in 1998.

The brand began as a menswear label and the first store opened on Chapel Street, with a second store on Little Collins Street following soon after.

Arthur is now about to open his twelfth store in Chatswood, Sydney. The AG brand now features men’s and women’s wear and is also stocked in David Jones stores nationally and can be found in several department stores in Singapore, Malaysia and New Zealand.

It’s clear that Galan’s label is a success, and this was confirmed in November last year when he received the GQ Magazine Designer of the Year Award.

He was also crowned Men’s Designer of the Year by FHM Magazine in early 2008.

Arthur’s biggest inspirations are fabrics, he says.

“I love fabrics. I travel to Europe every six months to attend fabric and shoe fairs and I’m like a kid in a lolly shop when it comes to fabric.

Most of our fabrics are from Italy or Austria, we have worldwide exclusivity with our supplier. I love coming across a fabric and thinking ‘that would make a fantastic dress or skirt…’”

When I asked Arthur about his latest collection and his advice for staying chic during a recession, he offered this advice:

“Purchase a great new key piece, like a shirt or a skirt, and mix and match it in with your older stuff.

Even though times are tough, you still want to feel great and that’s why my latest collection is more high fashion than basic.

In hard times people don’t want simple basics, they want to feel special and a good dose of retail therapy always helps.”

This year, the AG Autumn/Winter collection is all about a tailored chic punk look for men and Arthur identifies a red-check trench coat as the key piece from the collection.

For women, Arthur says, “I wanted to create beautiful clothes that still have an edge and a bit of attitude.

Sleeves and collars are oversized and have plenty of volume to emphasise a cinched waist.

There’s plenty of horizontal pleating and prints and colours are rich and luxurious.”

Proud of his Greek heritage, Arthur says: “What I love about our heritage is our passion for fashion.

In Europe everyone is interested in looking good, they dress up more and they enjoy quality.

In our culture people always make an effort, and I love to see men making just as much of an effort as women – that always inspires me.”