Until recently, Croatian-born, Australian-based designer Karla Spetic’s eponymous line was only available in a absurdly small number of boutiques Australia-wide, so it was with a sigh of happy relief that we discovered her newly-launched online store where you can get pastel-happy on all the Karla Spetic that your purse strings will allow.
Her latest collection, called Blossoms Will Run Away, combines beautifully simple modern shapes and detailing – sculptural blazers with scalloped detail, knotted mini dresses and separated with tied details and pleats – with nostalgic references to the past – delicate floral prints, amazing crocheted pieces (inspired by her own grandmother’s needlework), and high-waist two piece swimsuits that are so adorable I could weep.
Like a lot of other independent local designers, Spetic has moved into the online space for retail sales – which makes sense: online boutiques make it easier to gain exposure to a wider audience. It’s works out well for the designers. The problems then fall with the consumer – how many times have you bought clothes online, got super stoked when the package arrived, put on your brand new dress only to find that the fit sucked balls? Answer: shiteloads.
Having said that, with Karla’s clothes (and gosh they’re pretty) you might have to just take that risk. Virtually every piece in this ‘now-meets-yesterday’ collection is worth selling your soul for – or, at least, hocking your boombox til the next paycheck comes through. Feminine, wistful, warm… Like those old hand-coloured photographs of your grandma from her childhood. Swoon.
