Camille McDermott

Chicken or the egg? Camille McDermott or high end menswear in Australia? Which came first? Recently I had the pleasure of talking to Camille about her entry into this year Fashion Palette emerging designers’ competition.

With her heart for fashion and menswear combined her entry into the Fashion Palette fashion designer competition was nothing short of inspirational.



At the ripe age of 21 Camille is so close to her dream of becoming a success in the fashion industry. After finishing her fashion design qualifications Camille wasted no time jumping straight into her career. Becoming a finalist or winner in every design competition she has entered was no small feat. Sleep was minimal and time off was never an option.



Camille’s line is menswear focused, "I never chose to design menswear, and it was a natural progression. Being a female designing menswear automatically gives me a different outlook then the men designing for men in the industry.”
Her label under her own name is a collection of pieces that separately are easy to wear, and together on the runway evoke strong emotions for the wearer, the line Camille McDermott is about how you feel.

Camille will be joining us at the Fashion Palette conference and she is more than excited to be able to draw knowledge from leaders in the Australian industry. “Opportunities like this in Australia are hard to come by. I am excited to listen to Creative Director of Mimco, Cathryn Wills. I have followed her story from the beginning and I am interested in how she started her amazing and successful career from nothing”




Camille believes that Australian Fashion designers defiantly have what it takes to ruffle the feathers of our international competitors. Camille admires designers such as Alanah Hill, Toni Maticevski and the new kids on the block, Alpha60.



Camille’s entry into Fashion Palette will be judged by our experienced team and will be notified on March 20th if she is successful. Watch this space. Camille

Hello My Name Is...

First and foremost I'd like to introduce myself to my new home and your new destination for everything Fashion Palette.



My name is Megan am I am an avid blogger,writer,designer,brander and student(gag).
I'm a 20 year old Gold Coast girl, a place most commonly recognized for vinyl gold bikinis unfortunately, and i reside here purely for my uni degree in marketing and journalism. Otherwise I'd be conversing with Kristy Clements & Anna Wintour about how they desperately need me on the Vogue team, ha.



More importantly my life as a fashion blogger lead me here. I came across Fashion Palette thanks to many many hours trawling fashion websites in pajamas and when i found this exciting project I knew straight away I had to be involved. The Australian fashion industry occupies most of my heart in a very special way. Our country is so amazing and bursting at the seams with creativity. For such a new player in the worldwide fashion village we are doing exceptionally well. I love the idea of the Fashion Palette conference because in a sense we are 'putting our heads together' to be able to learn from each and see this fashion nation prosper.

Now you know I'm not a robot from the horrible pictures I've posted of myself. I have no photo shop skills nor photography skills whatsoever so these are as real as fashion can get baby...

In week to come I will be keeping you up to date with Fashion Palette news, interviews, sneak peaks, hot gossip etc. You know you'll love me xoxo

Peter Morrissey at the first ever Fashion Palette Event in 2009

Iconic Australian Fashion Designer Peter Morrissey loves to fashion your lives as well as your bodies because his philosophy is that fashion should enhance your life.  He has been a dominant force in the Australian and International Fashion Industry for 25 years.

The Morrissey label Peter started solo in 1997 cemented his dominance in the Australian Fashion Industry.  His designs revolve around the notion of your personality is your best accessory, using fashion to enhance not to hide, with the result that if you wear the look you live the life.

A decade on it has proved to be a winning formula. Morrissey offers a diverse range of men’s and woman’s apparel, accessories, jewellery, sunglasses and underwear.  Peter is currently the Design Director for Morrissey which is now owned by Webster Holdings.

He has established five star credentials and dressed some of the world’s biggest stars including Elle Macpherson, Nicole Kidman, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Christensen, Jon Bon Jovi, Chris Issack, Jerry Hall, Dame Edna, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Megan Gale, Kylie Minogue and Michael Hutchence and the Band  INXS.

Peter has received a multitude of awards throughout his career including GQ Man of the Year – Designer 2002, FHM Designer of the Year 2003, 2004 and 2005 and CLEO Maybelline Designer of the Year 2004.

In 2003 Qantas chose Peter Morrissey to design its new staff uniforms worldwide; these were updated once again in 2008. The Peter Morrissey experience also extends to Qantas Business Class passengers who are treated with his signature pyjamas.  Peter’s ability to capture the essence of a business is evident; firstly with the Qantas uniform, then IAG; now OPSM staff and the Novotel hotel chain are getting the treatment.  Peter has designed uniforms that are worn by 67,000 employees around Australia and worldwide.

Peter Morrissey, the man, has been able to spread his wings and leverage his own business acumen, experiences and design ability across all creative mediums including fashion, interiors, lifestyle and branding. He is a Qantas Share the Spirit Ambassador and a Mentor for the Qantas Spirit of Youth Awards.  Both roles see Peter touring Australia to meet and talk to young groups of students about his own life lessons and sharing his insights for success and how to cut it in business.  He has also presented Bio Pics on Foxtel’s Biography Channel.

As a speaker Peter has had extensive experience across a multitude of audiences and demonstrates that there is much more to the man they call Mr M.  With his optimistic approach he can inspire his audiences with stories of his career experiences, challenges and personal growth.  Peter is an authority in Brand Building, The Art of Dressing, Marketing – Making a Product a ‘Feeling’, The Fashion of Uniforms and How to Get Success out of Failure.

About Fashion Palette

From the outside, the world of fashion can appear glamorous, mysterious and impossible to break into. Watching leading Australian designers show their collections at fashion week can be an inspiring and exhilarating experience for the few lucky enough to get their hands on a ticket.  Now the Australian fashion community will have the chance to soak up the skills and knowledge of some of the worlds most prominent fashion figures at this new and exciting event.

In addition to the two-days of presentations from leading fashion figures, Fashion Palette will host a design competition, catwalk show and after party, all designed to offer networking opportunities and to celebrate newly discovered talent.

As the last of fashion week models stomp down the runway on 1st May 2009, the inaugural Fashion Palette Event will open its doors to the public at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, running from 1st and 2nd May 2009.

The premiere Fashion Palette event will take place in Sydney, with future events running around Australia.

Fashion Palette Excellence Awards

The 2009 Fashion Palette Excellence Awards have been designed to reward emerging Australian fashion designers, nominated for outstanding vision and achievement within each category.

Fashion Palette is designed to bring together all facets of the fashion industry and to provide recognition to the best emerging Australian fashion designers.

Fashion Palette is committed to nurturing the development of the Australian fashion industry’s future designers. The awards are celebrations of the sheer talent emerging Australian designers have to offer.

“Fashion Palette is honoured to support the Australian fashion community. The annual Fashion Palette Awards create a platform that supports, recognises and celebrates the ongoing creativity and talent in the industry. We hope this recognition will enable up-and-coming designers to grow, gain exposure and be supported, while allowing their creativity to flourish.” Sonya Mefaddi, Founder of Fashion Palette

Applications open 12th January 2009 and close 20th March 2009.

Shortlisted entries will be announced and published on 23rd March 2009 on the Fashion Palette website, with the 3 finalists from each category being named at the Fashion Palette event on the 2nd May 2009 in Sydney, where the winner will also be announced.