Flannel

Kristy Lawrence began her fashion career at age 16 as buyer and then as a retail outlet owner, first purchasing ‘Labels’ in South Perth and then ‘Fuschia’ in London Court, Perth City.

During this time she also completed a Certificate in Construction at Bentley Tafe and Diploma in Interior Design.After selling both stores she moved on to co found the label Empire Rose in 1996, acting as designer, buyer and director of fashion and operating four stores in addition to wholesaling to over 45 stockists across Australia. Her hard work paid off and in 2003 she was named Western Australian Designer of the Year.

In 2006, she made the decision to sell the company in order to spend time with her husband and three small children. Kristy was always happier on the beach with her children than on the runway for her latest collection but soon found she missed having an outlet for her creativity.From this sprang the idea to start a small business with her sister Brooke, providing them with the reason and funds to travel together with their young families.

Flannel came from summers spent growing up on the beaches south of Western Australia, instilling an early appreciation for comfort, for simple luxury and natural beauty. It was a natural progression to make it about lifestyle, about family, about effortless elegance and pared back style. It very much reflected in her choice of fabrics and materials and in her desire to create a range that is as relaxed as it is beautiful. From its earliest incarnation, as a labour of love for its creator, Flannel has been about creating and sharing the things Kristy loves to have around her.

With sisters and husband joining her in this venture, Flannel launched its first wholesale collection late 2006 with the dream of creating an elegantly simple range of home wares and luxury fashion made of fine silks with lace trims, slips and shorts in embroidered cottons and delicate hand knits in a soft natural palette. The reaction from buyers and media alike was instantaneous and the brand has grown exponentially since its inception as a unique capsule collection housed in a selected number of stores across Australia.

Two Flannel concept stores opened in Perth in quick succession from 2007 to 2008 to meet growing consumer demand and were followed by the opening of a Sydney flagship store in the boutique village of Woollahra in 2009.

Each store is unique and housed variously in an old art gallery, corner store and butcher shop and with their white washed walls and vintage architectural flair, they reflect Flannel’s chic bohemian personality.

Flannel stood out in an industry full of imitation and mass production with its hand crafted focus and attention to fine detail, with inspiration drawn not from following others but from a woman glimpsed in the street; a look, a gesture, a vision.

Flannel press includes Editorial in Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Marie Claire, Grazia…naming them the ‘Surprise hit of RAFW’ and Shop Til You Drop. There have been written accounts in The New York Times and New York website Refinery 29 (with over 1,000,000 hits per month) took a shine to the latest collection, predicting Flannel will soon be a household name! With wholesale orders doubling and with two more stores about to open, Flannel only seems to be getting started.