Blog:Isabella Charles Interview
We sat down to speak with emerging Australian designer Isabella Charles about her, and her eponymous label over a Zoom call. Isabella released her first collection in 2020 titled ‘Solitude’. She has been a growing presence within the Australian fashion scene with her gothic inspired work and dark palettes, which is a stark difference from the usual Australian brands. We spoke to her about her early life, her time in Berlin, her favourite materials to work, and much more.
You’ve previously mentioned that you’ve been obsessed with fashion throughout your whole life. How did that obsession come about, and how did it go from an obsession of “I love clothes” to “I want to design and make clothes”?
Not being able to find clothes that represented me so I kind of taught myself how to sew clothes at quite a young age and it grew from there, and by like middle school/high school I kinda figured out that that’s what I wanted to do with my career. And so after that, after school I studied university and then I went on to intern at a few other brands and now I am here just doing my own brand.
Were your parents supportive of this, as it’s such an odd career choice? And are they also in the industry?
Yeah, no they are not in the industry. But they’ve always been supportive of creative industries, like arts, music, and that sort of thing. So they didn’t really have any problems with me choosing a creative field, and they were always pretty supportive, and they still are.
Did you pursue any other creative endeavours?
Throughout school and earlier stuff, I did art, a lot of photography and digital manipulation work mostly. But also a bit of sculpture, but after school that kind of phased out and I turned to focus primarily on fashion.
Who were the key inspirations in your life?
Well, the first designer I interned for was in Brisbane, so she’s an Australian designer called Gail Sorronda. I actually still work for her part-time and she’s been quite a big inspiration to me... She was the first person to show me the inside of the fashion industry, and being able to work on major shows with her for Australian Fashion Week. So I’d probably say she’s the main one.
What is your worldview/worldbuilding like? What world or storytelling does your brand create?
I mostly look at historical figures and concepts, and I look a lot at religion. A lot of my work has been based on Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. I've done collections for Inferno, Purgatorio, which is my latest one, and eventually I’ll do one for Paradiso. So that has been the concept for the last five years or so. A general basis for my work is kind of middle ages themed.
I went through your collection on your site again yesterday, and there were product names such as ‘cleaver’ and so on, which felt very medieval-themed. But also the photoshoot that you posted with the swords and the chainmail. What made you pursue that specific type of inspiration, especially because it is quite niche, and especially with people who don’t know much about you, would say it’s very similar to Rick Owens? Is that something that you’re emulating, is he a designer that you look at and get inspired by, or do you create your own stuff and say “hey, this is me, this is my work”?
Yeah I am definitely inspired by Rick and some of his work, but not so much directly. Maybe more so in the beginning when I was more so getting into fashion, I was influenced by things. But I actually tend to avoid exposure to current fashion collections, and social media. So that I can have more individual ideas that just come to me, instead of being subconsciously influenced by trends and things like that.
I actually love that, because you will look at something and say “hey that’s cool” and then a few months later, you will wonder “where did I get this idea from?" and it just turns out that you “stole it” from someone.
Yeah, I used to live in Berlin and the vibe that’s there definitely translated to my designs [whilst I was] there. But now since I moved back to Australia, I live in quite an isolated area, and I don’t have that exposure to current fashion as much. My ideas are coming in a lot more solidified.
You have lived in Berlin and worked there, was that for a different brand or yours?
I worked for two brands there and I tried to do my own stuff on the side. But they expect a lot of time over there, and I found it really difficult to juggle and by the time I got to the end of staying there. I just thought I would prefer to focus my time and energy on my own brand instead.
If I understand things correctly, you also worked in Paris?
No, so I did a collection whilst I was in Berlin for Paris Fashion Week, for a designer called Gerrit Jacob.
Have you changed your identity after that? As you mentioned before, when you are in Berlin you are influenced by the people, the culture and the German brands all the same. So I am assuming that you have completely changed your style and you are not as heavily influenced from the work you did there previously?
Yea definitely, the style I wouldn’t say has completely changed, but it has definitely narrowed down. My personal style has come through a lot more than it did previously and I can kind of interweave it through all the concepts.
Touching on Berlin and Paris, for those who are unfamiliar with the Australian fashion scene. What are the biggest differences between the European fashion scene and the one in Australia?
I would say two things mainly, the weather and we’re on the opposite schedule. The summers here are really hot and we don’t really have much of a winter, at least where I am located. So I feel that kind of limits the scene translating from Australia to Europe, because it’s missing this whole chunk of seasons, like winter time. I would also say colour, people here are very attracted to bright colours and patterns, and that’s a lot of the mainstream fashion scene. And I think that’s at least a lot less prominent in Europe, at least from what I’ve seen.
Speaking of that, how has it been to have your own style, with gothicism, in a country that is very warm, and where the majority is wearing shorts and shirts all the time? How has that been, not fitting the mainstream category? But also working with a design language that might not be too popular in Australia?
Yea definitely, it means that I have to factor in a lot of natural fibres and breathable fabrics, so that my clothes are actually wearable here. Despite them (her garments) looking quite heavy, using mostly cottons and natural fibres makes them a lot more breathable in the summer. You definitely notice it with orders where things go in the world, a lot of the lighter pieces tend to sell in Australia whereas the more heavy ones are going overseas.
You define the brand as having a dark palette that is heavily adorned with gothic overtones: tell me about what gothicism means to you.
Has this worldview always been steady or has it evolved over time?
I’ve always been kind of attracted to gothic and dark things for as long as I can remember so I think it has just naturally evolved from there. Like [I am] always seeking out natural locations such as cemeteries and admiring the architecture. I feel like there’s something really special about it, like the old cathedral buildings. So I think that has really informed the style over a long time.
Berlin fashion week is starting to regain its former spark - Are you still connected with the Berlin fashion scene, and if yes, is there a possibility that you’d like to move back/show there in the future?
The Berlin fashion scene is heavy on individualism and innovation, which was inspiring to be around. I had a lot of great experiences working in Berlin, making lasting relationships and gaining a plethora of industry knowledge. Although that was accompanied by others that took advantage, which I guess can be expected in such a competitive and creative city. It was certainly unpleasant to deal with at the time, but it taught me what I value and how to handle industry relationships. Whilst Berlin was great for the time, at this point a business base there would not be sustainable, and I am very much enjoying running the brand from Australia. Being away from the city and being much more secluded from outside influence has really fostered my creativity and refined my design language, which I prefer for the moment. Although anything can change and I would not close off the possibility of moving back to Europe or elsewhere.
Your brand also does custom designs. How is it for a designer with such a strong vision to work with a customer’s ideas?
Yeah I don’t do a lot of that, it’s mostly things for when I work with artists, my partner is a stylist and we’ve worked with a few musical artists, and we’ve done a few custom pieces for them. So there’s not really that kind of pushback, we just create the options and we can then style them after. But I offer commission pieces, similar to what I do, or if I do one-off styles, like I do with a lot of the leather pieces. I can kind of do a lot of custom options to mirror what has previously been available. It definitely has to be in the same realm, or something based on another piece [of hers] or customised to suit someone. But definitely a similar vibe.
When it comes to balancing your artistic vision with the commercial side of fashion, how do you make sure you stay true to your ideas without feeling pressured to play it safe?
I definitely feel like my designs can sometimes be perceived as a bit too bold, especially for the Australian market. But the way I see it, it’s not gonna stop me from doing it [my way], regardless if the style doesn’t necessarily sell. I still want to produce some type of document that the style is part of the collection, and also be able to factor in pairing it with those pared-back and easier to work with pieces as well.
I’ve seen that you’ve used kangaroo leather, what’s that like to work with as it’s not a common material to use in Europe.
It’s my favourite leather to work with, I love working with it, I source it from a local place. So I specifically ask for the scuffed up and scarred pieces because they have a lot of character, and they really show the individual characteristics of the animal. So I love being able to use that in the design as well, and it makes individual pieces every time. Being able to do those ‘one off’ ones. It can be difficult to sew at first, but you get used to it and I use a mixture of machine and hand sewing with my leather pieces.
Is it thicker?
It can be as thick as cow leather but not as thin as goat leather. But it’s definitely tough to work with.
Are there any other leathers or fabrics that you can only get in Australia that you prefer to work with?
I’ve really been focusing on using kangaroo leather in the last few years, because it is kind of a niche thing in the country as well, and it's nice to be able to represent that. I’ve previously used cow leather, goat skin, I always use deadstock too. I often find that they come with those strange characteristics in them as well, and ostrich leather is another favourite of mine. But it is quite hard to source. It’s got so many different characteristics and changes throughout the leather. It’s very thick as well and quite difficult to work with but I think the result is super unique. I actually got my skins from my grandparents as they used to have an ostrich farm in rural Australia. It would have been 25 years ago or something, and several years ago my grandma gave me a bunch of black ostrich skins and so that became my material to work with for a while.
How would you tell fashion students and enthusiasts to learn more about fashion? What should they be looking for?
I’d say, definitely get as much work experience firsthand because what you learn from uni is not always what happens in the industry. I feel like just getting proper industry experience outside of unity taught me a lot more than what I got from those practical classes.
When did you move to Germany?
It would have been in 2023…
So you were roughly 21-22?
About that I think, haha!
But you’ve had your brand since 2020, so you were roughly 20 years of age when you started your brand right?
My first collection I did was in 2020 and I was living in London actually at the time when I was studying over there for a period, and it was during Covid so I was in lockdown for about six months. So I was doing my collection alongside my uni online, which wasn’t really fulfilling me. So yeah, that was my first collection. I was designing for a while prior to that.
Did you learn anything during lockdown in London?
I really didn’t enjoy the online classes, I thought it really hindered me and I wasn’t learning a lot. So I think I got a lot more out of the practical experience of me just doing my own thing, and making mistakes whilst being able to teach myself more during that period.
We haven’t spoken to many designers who studied during lockdown, so I want to know what it was like to study fashion during it. Fashion is one of those things that is easier to study when you have a teacher next to you, telling you what to do, so I am assuming you didn’t attend any classes and just did stuff at home?
Yea I did about 50% of the semester in person and the rest was at home, maybe a bit less in person. But yea, it was definitely tough having to navigate through videos and zoom calls. It kind of led me to create my own way of doing things that aren’t probably necessarily right but just works for me.
I was going to ask about that, I bet that gives you a little bit more individuality in comparison to having a teacher telling you “this is what I’ve learnt throughout my life, and that’s what I am going to teach you”?
So in that kind of aspect I didn’t mind more of that freedom because it meant that I was kind of less dictated on, or swayed in a way that teachers would do.
You previously mentioned that you were inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy, and that you’ve based two collections of his work (Inferno and Purgatorio), what other inspirations have you had for the other three collections?
So I’ve kind of looked into a lot of medieval references outside of that, catholicism, quite heavily into nuns, and priests. So everything along those lines has been the general inspiration for all of my collections I would say. And kind of looking into the works of middle-age era artists like Gustave Doré, as more visual references.
How do you conduct your research? Since a lot of it requires reading and sometimes even visiting places.
The visual stuff comes from visiting galleries and architecture, I actually take reference photos myself. I don’t love to do a whole lot of online research unless it’s for artworks or specific things. Or like clothing references for what people wore back in that time period.
Part two of the interview with Isabella can be found here:
Isabella Charles Interview pt. 2
Interview conducted on: 21/08/25 9:04 AM CET
By: Jez