Therese Rawsthorne Fashion Label

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Contemporary Classics for the Confident Woman

View recent Therese Rawsthorne Collections on Australian Fashion Review Blog

Introduction to the Therese Rawsthore Fashion Label

Growing up on a wool farm in rural New South Wales, Australian designer Therese Rawsthorne spent her childhood shearing sheep and attending to the paddocks of her parents farm. With plenty of time to daydream about her future, it came to be that Therese would defy her parents wishes that she would become a lawyer, she instead decided to follow her (day)dreams and pursue a career in fashion.

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After studying hard throughout high school, Therese went on to study Fashion Design at the prestigious University of Technology in Sydney. Upon graduating Therese relocated to London, were she spent time gaining experience and working with the likes of Issey Miyake and Oswald Boateng. In 2003, following three years in London, honing her skills and learning about the fashion industry, Therese returned to her native Australia with the intention of staring her own fashion label.

A couple of years of some part-time work and a small business course then followed, before the birth of her first solo label – Youth World in 2005 – following a naming conflict, in 2006 the brand name was changed to ‘Therese Rawsthorne’. Therese’s namesake label soon gained a reputation for its aesthetic of modern classics, developing a cult following, both domestically and internationally.

As of early 2012, the Therese Rawsthorne label has a impressive representation in boutiques throughout Australia and New Zealand, as well as a number of high profile online stores selling the brand’s collections. A full list of stockists can be found on the official Therese Rawsthorne website.

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Therese Rawsthorne: Key Dates

2003: Fashion designer Therese Rawsthorne returns to Australia after three years in London, working for the likes of Issey Miyake and Oswald Boateng.
2005: Therese Rawsthorne launched her first solo fashion label, Youth World.
2006: Following a naming conflict, Therese changed the name of her womenswear label to ‘Therese Rawsthorne’.
2008: Therese Rawsthorne was recognised with a place in the finals if the Woolmark Award.
2009: At the Madison Fashion, Style and Music Awards, Therese wins the award for ‘Breakthtough Designer of the Year’.
2010: Sydney’s long established fashion retailer, Robby Ingham, picks up the Thereses Rawsthorne label, which will be stocked alongside fellow Australian labels Lover and Jac & Jack, as well as international labels the likes of Givenchy and Stella McCartney.
2011: The first Therese Rawsthorne pop-up store opens on 401 Crown Street in New South Wales’s Surrey Hills. The pop-up boutique was decked out by interior designer Katie Lockhart with plants, concrete boulders and trellises, inspired by the Spring/Summer 2011-2012 ‘Twin Peaks’ collection

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Aesthetic of the Therese Rawsthorne Brand

“I always think of my girl as being quite smart and cool, and not too uptight and has her s**t together, and is not afraid to do her own thing in life.” – Therese Rawsthorne.

Taking influence from conceptual and avant-garde fashion, the Therese Rawsthorne brand creates collections of modern classics that will be wearable season after season. With an aesthetic that juxtaposes the hard against the soft, and the feminine against the masculine, Therese is known for her use of natural fibres, such as cotton, silk and wool. In each collection, Therese utilises unique washed processes and both traditional and technological finishes – her signature washed cotton shirting has recently been accompanied by organic knitwear and sharp leather, helping to build the brand’s cult following.

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