Tara Murray
A couple of all-nighters proved to be worth it for fashion designer Saliah Nesim, ahead of his debut at Melbourne Fashion Festival last week.
The Cairnlea designer’s self-named label was on show last Tuesday as part of the Artz showcase.
Speaking after the show, he said he was thrilled with how the night turned out and the reaction from the people in the crowd.
“I didn’t sleep from Saturday to Tuesday,” he said.
“It was a big day. I found out six or seven weeks ago and had to organise it while working full time and I already had some clients.
“I was lucky to really push through and managed to get more done than I thought I had.”
Nesim said the reaction to his collection, of couture, one-off gowns, had been really good.
He was hoping that the show would put him on the map.
“The main focus of my gowns are to create strong and independent women,” he said.
“You will always get attention wearing my gowns. Being able to show them has given me a platform to represent my brand and advocate for who I am.”
The 26-year-old, who has a studio in Keilor Downs, said he was always interested in design, it was a matter of whether it was car design or fashion design.
When he was 12, he settled on fashion, with car design involving too much science.
Having had a successful show, Nesim said he would take stock of things and then work out his next move.
“From the feedback I got told, this is big. A lot of people told me that this collection would go far.”
