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Canberra Today 16°/18° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Leona brings style to Floriade’s designs

LAST September fashion designer Leona Edmiston made a brief visit to Canberra to show a collection at the Canberra Centre and although she got a glimpse of Floriade, she was “in and out” too quickly to enjoy it, so she promised herself she’d return someday.

Leona Edmiston
This month, she gets that chance as the ambassador for Floriade 2012.

“The gardens are so beautiful and this year the theme is style and design, so it’s really a perfect time for me to visit,” she says.

Floriade, over the years, has had a range of celebrity ambassadors (models Tara Moss, Rachael Finch and Kristy Hinze among them) whose green-thumb credentials have been questionable, but Leona leaves no doubt about her passion for gardening when chatting to “CityNews”.

“I do love gardens. We have 25 acres in the Southern Highlands that we’ve converted into a big garden – five acres is established and the rest is parkland,” she says.

“We’ve been going there for about 11 years. It just brings so much joy and the thing about gardens is, they are constantly evolving.”

Leona probably won’t find too many of her favourite flowers – roses and lilacs – amid the million blooms at Floriade, but she’ll be looking to the kitchen garden for some tips on growing her own produce.

“One of the things I’d love to do is build a veggie garden,” she says.

The iconic designer has been a part of Australia’s fashion landscape since the 1980s when she and Peter Morrissey launched their label Morrissey Edmiston. She says fashion and style are very different.

“Fashion is about trends, but style is completely individual – it’s about you and how you think,” she says.

“You don’t have to follow trends to look fabulous and be stylish.”

A style staple of the Leona Edmiston label over the years has been the signature jersey frock and florals have been a staple print.

“I always keep florals in my collections. For feminine and fresh, you can’t do any better than a floral print,” she says.

Her latest collection oozes ‘70s glamour with Leona’s use of prints, colour and cuts. Oversized kaftans and fitted minis joined Leona’s signature jersey dresses that “take you from the office to the opera with ease”.

Some of the collection will be on show during Floriade joining a program influenced by style and design.

Week 2 is fashion week at Floriade with Australian designers Jayson Brunsdon and Wayne Cooper presenting shows on the catwalk.

More information about the program at floriadeaustralia.com

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