Elliot Ward-Fear

Excitement has been building around Elliot Ward-Fear for some time now. In December 2009, when R'n'B diva Rhianna was on tour in Australia, she spotted a purple-and-black skirt being worn by a stylist's assistant, called in its designer's look-book and ordered several garments. The twist? Rhianna was looking at 21-year-old Ward-Fear's East Sydney TAFE Collection. Then there's the story about fashion blogger Bryan Boy wearing a Ward-Fear perspex-spiked collar backstage at a Miu Miu show and nearly taking out one of Miuccia Prada's eyes when the design maven leaned in for an air-kiss - but praising it as "amazing".

"I don't know if it all started off with an interest in fashion or whether it was just a general interest in clothes," says the designer, who grew up in Katoomba and now operates out of a cramped Darlinghurst apartment. Winner of the HEP5 Original Fashion contest in Japan for his sci-fi eveningwear, Ward-Fear showcased in the Powerhouse Museum's Student Fashion 2010 exhibition and debuted a collection in last year's Fashion Week in the Innovators category. Ward-Fear's Spring/Summer Collection 2011/12 is centred on the story of a girl who falls into a "Monet pond" and becomes a water spirit. "I really love Monet's palette - the lilacs, greens, all the pastels. I'm also fascinated by supernaturalism and I find that translates really well into fashion."

He was gearing up for his debut solo show at this month's Fashion Week when he got the offer of a major, hush-hush overseas opportunity that he's going to pursue instead. And it's probably just as well for such an avant-garde designer. "My main concern with the Australian industry," Ward-Fear says, "is its tendency towards practicality, simplicity and commercial viability."

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