Former ANU law student turned high-end designer to show at New York Fashion Week

Former Australian National University law student Charlotte Terry made a dramatic career turn when she opted instead to follow her heart into fashion design.

The results have been spectacular.

Just six months after being awarded Fashion Design Graduate of the Year by the Design Institute of Australia, Charlotte's new luxury womenswear label The Arlo Studio has been invited to show its debut collection at New York Fashion Week on February 10.

Designed in early 2019 with her design partner Julianne Propsting, the Gone Bush collection is "an ode to the transformative experience of the iconic Australian road trip through the bush and outback".

"We're conceptual designers, and before we started sketching, we went bush walking in the Royal National Park to photograph colours and shapes that inspired us," Charlotte said.

"It's absolutely heartbreaking knowing that so much of our incredible environment has been wiped out in the fires."

Gone Bush will be included in the emerging designer show produced by Global Fashion Collective, an organisation that aims to foster promising young designers and expose their brands to international markets.

Charlotte said she was grateful for her time in the national capital, studying at the ANU between 2012 and 2015. She continued to do summer courses at the ANU and will graduate with her arts degree trhis year. Charlotte said she would return to law, hoping to become an advocate for fashion designers who were sometimes exploited or used by the industry.

"My time as a student in Canberra was extremely formative and has undoubtedly impacted my design ethos and approach to the fashion industry," she said.

"Canberra's got this beautiful underground this that's emerging a bit more now which has a very sustainable focus. Canberra has a community that is a bit more open to emerging artists; there's more room for people to do their practice and get exposure.

"I find Canberra is more welcoming and not as cliquey as Sydney."

Julianne Propsting, 23, meanwhile, has modelled for fashion houses including Armani, Vera Wang and Camilla and Marc. This time, she will be watching from backstage in New York.

She said the 24-piece collection embodied the duo's design themes of asymmetry and deconstructed tailoring. The collection was pattern-made and sewn entirely by the two women. The designs remain under wraps until the NYC show.

"We've been privileged to have the opportunity to collaborate with renowned Australian knitwear guru John Macarthur of Purl Harbour, and to develop Australiana-inspired prints with graphic designer and artist, Shana Danon," Julianne said.

Both designers feel strongly about minimising the negative environmental impact of their work, and have made concerted efforts to reflect this in producing their collection.

"We believe the future of fashion lies in the slowing down of the cycle of production, and in utilising a more environmentally conscious approach to design," Charlotte said.

"We employ minimal waste cutting techniques to reduce fabric wastage, as well as buying designer dead stock fabric instead of encouraging new fabric production.

"We've also had our prints developed by Think Positive, a Sydney-based company that recycles their ink, and promotes smaller print runs in order to discourage throw-away, fast fashion garment culture."

Julianne said they were against fast fashion. "As young designers coming into a fast-fashion culture, it is our responsibility to take a stand against excessive consumption," she said.

The design pair have further committed to planting upwards of 50 native trees upon their return with Land Care Australia in an effort to reduce their environmental footprint.

And always a fan of Canberra, Charlotte said her favourite in the national capital used to be Knightsbridge, she loved the Two Before Ten cafe to hang out and "I am obsessed with the breakfast at The Cupping Room".