CANBERRA fashion designer Yumi Morrissey was at a beach taking photos with her new drone when she captured something she just had to use for her fashion label, Zilpah tart.

“I originally got the drone because I enjoy photography,” says Yumi, 33, of Flynn.

“But when I took the drone to the beach and saw how amazing it looked from above, I thought it had to be a print.

“If you’re standing on the beach, it’s a totally different perspective than from above.”

Using her photos from Forresters Beach on the central coast and photos from Mossy Point near Broulee on the south coast, Yumi is about to launch her new spring and summer collection.

They’re her first prints that aren’t Canberra based. In the past she’s used ACT icons on her designs such as Parliament House, which she says is her most popular print.

“I sold a lot to public diplomats overseas and public servants,” she says.

Many of them told Yumi they bought the dress to “break the ice” and use it as a talking point at work events.

But she’s hoping to expand the brand beyond Canberra and currently has stockists in Brisbane and Melbourne but wants to move into other cities such as Sydney.

After this collection is released, Yumi will start working on her autumn and winter collection but says she always finds her spring and summer collection the easiest.

“I find the spring and summer collections easier because I really like the bright colours,” she says.

“The autumn prints I plan a year ahead because if you wait until the leaves are orange, you already need to be releasing the collection.”

When deciding on a new design, she says she always starts by choosing a theme, which then guides the prints and styles.

“Once I’ve chosen the final design, I’ll put them on a storyboard on the computer and put the prints to scale so I can see what they’re going to look like,” she says.

This gives Yumi an idea of where the patterns will sit and avoids any unflattering big horizontal lines going across the body.

“Some photographs are more difficult than others,” she says.

“But the beach prints created some really cool patterns, especially at the point where the print is flipped.”

And while the styles of the dresses change with the new patterns, Yumi always keeps two styles – the cross-front dress and the T-shirt dress.

“They’re styles that suit everyone,” she says.

This collection uses a lot of sheer fabric because it reminded Yumi of the water.

“This collection is more feminine as it captures the magic of the ocean,” she says.

Yumi says everyone is invited to the launch of the new collection at the CARDIF Collective store in the Woden shopping centre, at 6pm, September 7, where the original photos also will be hanging.

zilpahtart.com.au