“What did you get up to last night, Hussy?!” This was the first question to ask friends the morning after a night out, yet little did the then 19-year-old Marie Hatzis realise the latter would catch on in the fashion world.
Seeing Kelly Rowland wearing a Hussy dress on the red carpet was a pretty OH MY GOD moment!
“It was a really playful term (used in the 90s) to call a head turning and alluring woman, and that really became the ethos behind the Hussy label,” she explains.
But it is not purely ‘Hussy’ that encapsulates her passion. Hatzis’s seamstress mother inspired her from a young age.
“I think I must have been born to it because the first memory I have of designing is of outfits for my Barbie dolls, which my mother used to make for her. She was the most stylish Barbie in Sydney!”
Hatzis created garments from her parents’ garage in the northern suburbs of Sydney which turned heads when she wore them to clubs, bars and the like.
The next step was only natural.
With only two thousand dollars in her pocket and fierce determination, a 21 year old Hatzis created the Hussy brand in 1995.
It was meant to be for the young designer, whose says the location of her first flagship store was coincidently owned by “the lovely old Greek man” who took her parent’s wedding photographs.
If there was an ‘it’ moment in Hussy’s development as an international cult brand, it was in 2003. Hatzis watched as Kelly Rowland from Destiny’s Child sauntered down the red carpet at Entertainment Weekly’s It List party in LA wearing one of her dresses.
“Seeing Kelly Rowland wearing a Hussy dress on the red carpet was a pretty OH MY GOD moment!” she reflects.
“Once Hussy started to be picked up by stock lists overseas I realised that the label had the potential for international success as well.”
With sister, Beba as operations manager, the duo have over the past 14 years built the company into a multinational organisation.
Hussy now has an export arm spanning 11 countries including Greece, and representation from showrooms and publicists from Sydney to London and New York.
In 2006 Hatzis launched Hussy’s high-end sister label, Madame Marie on an individual runway show at the 2007 Australian Fashion Week. The luxe, ultra-feminine label was picked up in elite boutiques world-wide, and also sported by several A-listers including Charlize Theron.
In the same year she was also voted 36 in the BRW Top 50 Women Entrepreneurs list of 2006 and took out the National Business Award at the Australian Business Awards.
Hatzis is philosophical of her achievements. “I believe my Greek heritage, coming from such a hard working family has absolutely influenced my continuous drive and ambition to succeed,” she says.
Her collection may have evolved as she and the original ‘Hussies’ have matured, although Hatzis emphasises that her brand ethos remains.
“There is an edgy elegance in the clothing and accessories…with signature prints, intricate hand embellishments, and that unique twist that gives it such a feminine, structured look.”
Hatzis will be showcasing Hussy’s Autumn/Winter 2010 collection, The Killing Moon at the upcoming L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival in March.
The collection is inspired by sultry gothic glamour and Sci-Fi, adopting a confident and dramatic direction with asymmetrical dresses, capes, heavy cuffs, statement belts, gold and silver embellishments and subtle detail to ruffles, necklines and edging.
“Both the Enchanted Dreamer dress and Enchanted Prowess dress in Enchanted print are must have items for next season,” she says.
“Its sweet venomous acid lime base, interspersed with an abstract fushcia floral vine, entangles the body in contrast to the ultra wearable silk textures and feminine silhouette.”