A new collection from Cowaramup-based fashion label Featherhorn was launched on Sunday at local storey Saharan Daze. The brainchild and one of many creative outlets of store owner Freya Cheffers, the range features flowing, feminine and funky prints and comfortable, flattering designs.
Ms Cheffers said the label has deep connections to the region, from their cow skull logo to the origins of the business itself.
“I originally started Featherhorn five years ago with Leona from Hobo and Hatch when we were doing the Pop-up Collaborative events, and had our pop up space for two summers in Cowaramup,” she said.
“After our second summer we closed the doors and called our partnership a day but remained good friends. Leona opened up a permanent store in Busselton and I moved to Bali for the winter of 2014.
“There I sourced beautiful fabrics and worked alongside a husband and wife team at their home who had made clothes for me in the past that I had sold in my shop in Fremantle - Violet Pilot.”
Sourcing fabrics and working with screen printers was part of the intensive journey into the fashion world, including fabric testing to ensure durability.
“My tailors and I know each other so well, they never get my samples wrong,” Ms Cheffers said. “I pride myself on my fabrics being or top quality that wash well and last, and my beautiful colourful prints.”
After another travelling stint, this time in Morocco, Cheffers returned to the South West with a container full of Moroccan products and homewares and promptly set up her permanent space on the highway, where the Featherhorn range is stocked.
Sunday’s launch event coincided with the one year anniversary celebrations of Cathy Horan-Anderson's Seven Seas Tea shop space in the collaborative space now known as the Old General Store Collective.
“Seeing my designs on the catwalk fills me with so much pride and satisfaction, but the best feeling is selling a pretty dress to a woman who really needs to feel uplifted.
“I've sold dresses to cancer survivors who've lost all their hair and have spent months feeling unattractive and who are suddenly uplifted when they put on a pretty dress and feel feminine and pretty again for the first time in a long time.
“Older ladies who don't think they should wear pretty dresses anymore, when they put one on they feel young and beautiful. Or nervous girls who haven't got their confidence yet and suddenly feel gorgeous. A pretty dress can make a big difference to a person's day.”
To see the range visit saharandaze.com.au or instore at Shop 2/24 Bussell Hwy, Cowaramup.
Nicky Lefebvre
I am a journalist, photographer and content creator based in the beautiful Margaret River wine region, covering all aspects of our community including local news, sport, entertainment and events, as well as providing a platform for our readers to share their voices direct from regional Australia.
I am a journalist, photographer and content creator based in the beautiful Margaret River wine region, covering all aspects of our community including local news, sport, entertainment and events, as well as providing a platform for our readers to share their voices direct from regional Australia.
