MEET THE DESIGNER

WHAT A treasure

“I REMEMBER STANDING on the kitchen table trying on beautiful ’50s dresses for my nan to hem. Fashion is in our blood.”

Designer Kim Manfi eld always knew fashion was her calling. Inspired by colour, texture and fabric and with a love for vintage and one-of-a-kind items, she grew up with a fond appreciation for the craft.

She remembers her mother hosting dinner parties in the ’70s while wearing beautiful palazzo pants or jumpsuits bursting with colour.

Watching shows like Bewitched, The Brady Bunch and Gidget, Kim fell more in love with styles and prints of the eras, and the unique fashion pieces.

“I used to love wearing Mum’s outfi ts that she made me. I would think, have a look at me! No one else has this. I liked that individualism. My mum was a sewing teacher, my nanas were seamstresses, tailors and dressmakers and my grandfather worked after the war in Myer.

“My fi rst job was in the fashion department at Kmart when I was 14.”

Kim’s love for fashion only grew and before long she was working on designs of her own. “I always loved colour – especially working and partying in the ’80s! As I say to my customers ‘if you cannot wear colour in Queensland you cannot wear it anywhere’.”

Seeing beauty in everything, she loves the generational language of fashion and how one piece can be worn and loved for decades. “I think that’s why I aspire to vintage. These things have been through generations and generations.

“They didn’t have the machinery we’ve got now, but these pieces of clothing have lasted. We handed them down to our kids and now my grandkids, creating new memories and stories to tell future generations.”

Wanting to share her passion with as many women as possible, Kim ran stores in country New South Wales from 2000 to 2003 and then ran the successful Miss Manfi eld store in Mooloolaba, which specialised in resort wear, from 2011 to 2015.

During her Miss Manfi eld days, and subsequent success of her daughter’s boutique – Natashya Manfi eld – Kim realised there was a market for one-of-a-kind items.

She took a few years off to plan for her next project – Treasure Store.

The store, which opened in December 2020, is fi lled with everything Kim loves about fashion with something for all ages, bodies and budgets.

“I love catering for all the generations,” she says. “We have vintage, original pieces, limited edition, pre-loved and one-of-a-kinds. As I was with my mum and nana, it creates a story and a memory of a bygone era and we learn something new about our family or experience that we wouldn’t have otherwise known.”

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“We have vintage, original pieces, limited edition, pre-loved and one-of-a-kinds. ”

Kim loves to watch the ladies in store to see where they gravitate to and what colour, print, design or type of garment they pull out and what resonates with them.

“We bring vintage out of the UK, Miami, LA and Tokyo – Japanese tea dresses are amazing.”

With Kim’s mother affectionately calling her ‘treasure’ as a child, Treasure Store is a nod to her mother’s love of fashion and a refl ection of Kim’s belief that every woman should treasure themselves. She knows women need choice, so it is like going on your very own treasure hunt.

The store is also a place to fi nd statement jewellery pieces and homewares, including cushions covered with rare vintage fabrics.

She hopes to use the store as a space to not only support women to feel empowered and acknowledge and work with their emotions in fi nding their style, but to also educate women on actively contributing to a more sustainable fashion industry.

“I love bringing people out of their comfort zones and helping every woman fi nd their own individual style and build up confi dence to own it. Women are too hard on themselves; they don’t treasure themselves enough. I say to people, if you love it get it, because you know you’re going to wear it and wear it and wear it – yes over and over again!

“I also love educating people on how clothes are made and where they are made and educating them on the fabrics and how to look after them. There is a great deal that goes into making clothes. We are ruined because we walk into a store and it’s all there – so much mass production and it is a very long and precise process to even get them to the sales fl oor.

“COVID has changed the footprint of fashion and how it’s done,” she says, adding that price plays a big part and so too does reinventing what you already have in your wardrobes.

“The whole industry is too fast now. If I can help save something from landfi ll I will. I even love working with my manufacturers and using their stock fabric, so it isn’t wasted and the benefi t is I can do small production runs. When you have your own print made, you have to do a large meterage.”

As there are so many different consumer types, Kim also understands life is expensive and is a big believer price should not stop a woman feeling her best. “Everyone is allowed to spend money the way they want to and if it means you can buy a $49 dress to cheer you up, it isn’t any different to spending money on a $400 dress.” But she also loves to tell you the reason behind why there is a price difference.

With 13 labels in the making and 18 manufacturers across Italy, India and China that have all different skill sets and fabric experience, Kim explains her design process is different – she crafts each piece to perfectly suit the fabric, rather than fi nding a fabric to suit a design. She also has the jewellery made to complement the print or design.

“My thing is fabrics. I design from fabric fi rst. The fabrics speak for themselves. When my fabrics come, I’m like a kid in a candy store. I am just in awe, though I don’t get anything else done for the next day or so!” she says with a laugh.

“Then when I design a range, I design a little collection, or a capsule. I’m trying to keep it at 25 of each item, that’s it. I will continue to use Lurex fabrics in some of the designs as it is a refl ection of our brand essence and the fact that you can fi nd that little piece of gold or sparkle in everything – very Treasure Store!”

Her next major project is experimenting with organic linen and plant fi bre fabrics as she continues to identify gaps in the fashion market. “I get excited fi lling gaps and creating brands. I have identifi ed so many styles, cuts and shapes that are needed in the marketplace that now I’m going away and creating labels to fi ll these gaps. After Christmas I’ll be moving into the studio to start designing – my happy place.

“Thanks to the wonderful clientele I have and the fi rst-hand experience they give me in real time, this enables me to be able to put this research into motion and design and create accordingly. So we as women, are always helping each other.

“I’m still learning every day and that’s the exciting part of it.”

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