Fashion Circus
Circus performer, go-go dancer, milkshake-maker and sales girl; fashion designer Alannah Hill
tells Time Out her rags
to riches fairy tale
Perched on a stool at her parents' milk bar in the wild coastal town of Penguin, Tasmania, a wide-eyed little girl sits dreaming of a world of excitement, colour and adventure. Fast forward to present day, and all Alannah Hill's childhood fantasies have been realised - with more than a story or two to pass down her family line.
Hill, for those unfamiliar with her coquettish style, is one of the true originals. Like a character that has transcended the pages of a romantic, day-dreamy novel into the modern world, the designer is the living embodiment of femininity; red lacquered rose bud lips, sparkling mischievous emerald eyes and a brunette's take on Rapunzel's voluminous locks. Her label follows suit, with clothes that make getting dressed in the morning as exciting as raiding your mother's wardrobe to play dress up; floral georgettes, reflective satins, velvet roses with
a twist of magic and an ever-present ladylike appeal. Given what appears to be an innate style of fashion,
one would expect her clan to be of the similar ethereal substance. Apparently not.
"I did grow up in a rather Wuthering Heights meets creaming soda kind of way," she recalls from her Melbourne home, "but I don't come from a creative background - my parents ran a milk bar and a service station. What can I say?"
One of five children, Hill's creative mind was fuelled by a lolly sugar-rush rather than a fashionable family member where there "wasn't even a sequin in sight". Despite the lack of style muses during her early days, she grew up to perfect the idiosyncratic ornamental doll look that turned heads in her subdued surroundings.
Unemployed and spending many an hour engulfed in the halo of smoke that her mother's 50-a-day habit chugged out, the 17-year-old Hill was restless. "She would stare into space," Hill says wistfully, "I would stare into space and she'd constantly ask, 'What are you going to do with your life, dear?'"
Determined to realise the secret she'd been hiding from her family (Hill knew she'd be great at something), the youngster ran off to the join the Ashton circus. As if out of a scriptwriter's vivid plot, the teen finally got her hands on those sequins and was manically sewing them onto costumes, riding elephants and assisting fearless magicians. But the adventure was short-lived. "The life was hard and brutal and I couldn't travel around in a caravan for the rest of my life with them."
Not prepared to run off home, tail between legs, Hill danced in go-go bars in cages and sang to Abba songs. A demeaning time for the girl who knew her talents were worth a lot. "I cried inside my heart, I didn't know what I was doing and I wanted someone to look after me."
Finally ready to spread her wings, Hill made the escape from Penguin and its land-bound inhabitants for the bright lights of Melbourne.
"I wanted to start something, it was a spur of the moment thing," she giggles. Armed with six suitcases and $50 ($30 of which went on the taxi to the city), she was ready for her new life, admittedly knowing no-one and no-one knowing her. A terrifying feat for anyone but not so for Hill. "I was fearless, brave - all I knew is that I wanted to make something of myself." Living hand-to-mouth, she was soon pouring the city's café society steamy cups of coffee on trendy Chapel Street, staring out longingly to the fashion stores nearby.
Hill's original self-styling, even in her waitress attire soon snagged her a job working on video and film clips, eventually leading to a role (albeit a small one) on the cult film Dogs In Space starring Michael Hutchence. Yet another adventure for her memoirs but again she was left empty, yet to discover her true calling. "I didn't care for acting, I stared into the camera all the time and was self-conscious and neurotic." As for the leading man, what did Hill make of him? "He was really smart, twisted, upset, handsome, frail hearted, sad, on drugs, a bit mental and kind but mostly...a bit lost," she says candidly. "I was charmed by him but he loved beautiful girls so I was on the outskirts a bit."
So it was back to the drawing board once again but this time, luck was on her side. Hill accepted a job in a fashion boutique called Indigo, finally offering the nomadic soul some resemblance of stability - she worked in there for the next 16 years to become their head designer.
In 1997, Hill launched her now renowned label, which brings girly glamour with an antiquated vibe to women everywhere; there are 13 boutiques in Australia and her clothes are stocked worldwide. When quizzed about what makes her fashion stand out, she answers, "My clothes are emotional and it's an emotional escape for girls, but
I design over 1000 pieces a year so I am business savvy as well."
Alannah Hill, 44, is now a national - not to mention an international - name, she's also a mother and an innovator, so what's left of her hit list? "When you've fulfilled all your dreams, you need to work out something else - I am looking for my next goal which is a goal itself."
It may have been a rocky road to her glamorous status but given the chance to do things differently, she points out philosophically, 'one doesn't have the chance to and to have the chance is just too cruel to think about - the most important thing is to be able to accept you in your life."
With a flutter of her perfectly made-up lashes, that dazzling smile and a casual flick of her ebony curls, Hill leaves us without a doubt that this exactly what she has done. SB
To find out more about Alannah Hill visit www.alannahhill.com.au
style@timeoutsydney.com.au