‘No Worries’ and ‘Mate’ is now peak Australian fashion

“We must embrace Melbourne because we are inspired by Melbourne,” says Best, who launched the label in 2018.

The former marketing executive is hopeful that Best Jumpers will be embraced by David Jones. Recent winners Alemais, Commas and Esse are all available at the department store.

There’s no point bringing in a brand that won’t succeed. We want to build things.

Chris Wilson, David Jones

Having the David Jones X-factor is part of the decision-making process for five-time award judge Chris Wilson, menswear general manager at the department store.

“One of the factors is whether there is cohesiveness in the collection and how it presents on floor,” Wilson says. “There’s no point bringing in a brand that won’t succeed. We want to build things.”

Unlike other fashion awards such as The Woolmark Prize, the Australian Fashion Laureate, The CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, The LVMH Prize and the British Fashion Awards, there are no designers on this year’s National Designer Award panel.

“Every year there’s a different group, and it mixes it up,” MFF chief executive Caroline Ralphsmith says. “It’s not a conscious thing but is something we can be thinking about. It’s about making sense of the criteria and having the good sense to judge it.”

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Malcolm Carfrae, co-founder of the Australian Fashion Foundation scholarship, which awarded Melbourne designer Kritikon Khamsawat and creative director Oliva Law a $US20,000 prize and internships at labels such as Alexander McQueen, Proenza Schouler and Oscar de la Renta in December, says that designers are crucial to his judging process.

“It’s very important to have designers on the judging panel who can speak from personal experience and give the fashion design finalists solid direction and mentoring advice,” Carfrae says. “We’ve been lucky to have the most accomplished, talented and successful designers with us, including Nicky Zimmermann, Dion Lee and Camilla Freeman-Topper.“

The awards also acknowledged Madre Natura in the area of sustainability, while Hyde & Stone won the People’s Choice award, which was chosen by 4000 David Jones customers.

The NDA panel inspected Gogos’s first ready-to-wear pieces. The vibrant collection loops in circular fashion ideas by using prints of fabrics made from the upcycled dead stock in his custom couture pieces. The flamboyant designer did his best to think about the David Jones customer.

“I am from the suburbs, so I know their customer,” Gogos says. “I was trying to create pieces that would not make my family laugh. They laugh at a lot of my clothes.”

With a show coming up at Australian Fashion Week in May, Gogos is still smiling. No worries.

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