Okki is a grown up version of Fiona McPherson’s previous childrenswear label that was fiercely successful, known as “Oishi-M”. Okki was born from the demand of her glorious customers + the curiosity of adapting her famous designs into a womenswear brand… safe to say that she is bursting to unleash her complete unfiltered kookiness into her passion for her garments that are created from the inside out. Coupling this ethos with uncompromising workmanship, it imbues each garment with a rich + race character + quality.
HOW LONG HAS OKKI BEEN UP + RUNNING FOR?
Two and a half years, Okki has been adorning and flattering a myriad of lovelies.
EVERYBODY HAS SOMETHING… what do YOU love about your job?
I get to create. I am living my dream career. Intrinsically, there is nothing else I would want to be doing. If I was really going to push myself into another career path – it would be architecture. When you think of it though – I create all of my patterns in auto cad just like architects create their designs/patterns for buildings – basically I would be doing the same kinds of things in a different industry. Makes sense I guess. I simply love and adore what I live and breathe every moment of “da business”. The good the bad and the ugly… I’ve learnt to love it all… it all propels you forward in whatever way you need it to.
With Okki, I get to come up with big ideas and work towards them. This year I will be getting back into childrenswear. I love it! It’s something that I can unleash my complete unfiltered kookiness into and celebrate it. We all love colour and love the idea of wearing the same garment with different twists… but as adults we let fear get in the way of what people may think if I stand out. Whereas, people tend to live these outlandish dressing goals through their kids. Okki is for the creatively curious and OkkiD is for the kooki kids that just love rambunctious colour, patterns and all the good stuff.
Yup… I’m living life like a kid in a candy store.
IS YOUR JOB EXCITING… or you just play with clothes all day?
There is not one day that I have encountered whilst running Okki, that I have dreaded getting out of bed and going to “work”. I say “work” because I really feel like I’m not “working”… I love it all. It’s hard work running a clothing label, designing, spec-ing designs, drafting patterns, making samples, refining samples, improving patterns, making fabrication samples, photo shoots, creating and thinking up ideas for photo shoots, cutting bulk fabric, sewing production whilst, talking with potential wholesalers, fabric suppliers, accountants [I love mine btw], bookkeepers [mine is gold and I love her dearly], PR guru’s [also… I love mine… just say’n]… brainstorming and creating marketing campaigns, applying and following through with markets, trade fairs and their stall designs etc…
This business is hectic and big and the opportunity is huge. BUT most of all I love every bit of it.
What I have learnt through my experience is that you need to surround yourself with knowledgeable, experienced, quality professionals who take the things that you are not glorious at [and really don’t want to be] to give you the space to be creative and let your skills speak volumes. My ducks are lining up and the professional positions that I have needed to fill have been carefully curated… now it’s “go” time.
LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE… what’s planned for Okki?
Okki has a big year ahead! I’m launching OkkiD, Okki’s kidswear label. This is an extension of what my old kidswear brand was with pattern refinements and new creations to spark intrigue, joy and comfort in every kids life [and their parents]. The clothes are all constructed on the premise that they will grow a size with your child… be good enough after a couple of hand-me-down moments to still wear due to being made out of quality fabrications, and the patterns will grow with your child.
Whilst launching OkkiD in April, I will also be endeavoring to inject new styles and fabulous-ness into Okki, whilst running our Geelong based factory and our growing employee base.
TELL ME MORE… how do I get in contact + find out more about Okki?
Please feel free to email me on fiona@okki.com.au OR check our our socials…
WEBSITE // www.okki.com.au
INSTAGRAM // okkicollective
FACEBOOK // okkicollective