Meet the Aussie Brand That Will Make Your Summer
Some sisters have rivalries; some have charming, Sydney-based clothing brands with buzz. Beth and Tessa MacGraw opted for the latter with their self-named label, macgraw, which debuted at Australia Fashion Week in April 2014—and it seems it was always meant to be that way. ”We’re close, we’ve always been really good friends,” Tessa MacGraw explains, ”it’s always been the plan to end up working together— it’s quite easy.”
The same might be said of their ultra-feminine pieces—like peek-a-boo lace dresses in sky blue and cloud white, shorts suits, Mod dresses and a strapless ruffle top that feels like a game changer, tucked into high-waited shorts. ”We love embroidery and lace and we love stripes,” Beth MacGraw explains, ”we tend to like a high waist. There’s always two hand-drawn prints by Tessa in each collection.” It’s a specific vision that’s borne of siblings with fashion cred—Tessa attended design school and Beth worked as a PR rep before going out on their own.
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Living and working in Sydney, one might assume a surf-ready, ultra-laidback aesthetic, but macgraw bucks that idea. ”I wouldn’t call us beachy, it’s definitely more of a polished look,” Beth says, ”Easy is definitely key, we’re not about being uncomfortable—we love a flat, we still love girly and fun things to wear.”
Their most recent collection channeled a character quite far from the beach, in fact. ”We created our version of the modern she girl—she has windswept hair running through the meadow,” Beth says, ”We took it to a French place, and showed it [at Australia Fashion Week] with girls walking on a plush pink carpet. It was very romantic and very pretty.”
So what’s next on the trajectory for two Aussies who count Alexa Chung as an inspiration? ”World domination,” Tessa quips. ”This year has been quit amazing for us,” Beth adds, ”We never expected to have a show and then three different international markets open up for us.”
”It seems we have to set new ones,” Tessa finishes.