A quintessential homegrown small fashion business, Bianca Pavlic the Label was started in 2017 from the namesake’s home studio, converted from her garage in Wamboin NSW.
A fabric fanatic, Bianca was constantly inspired by unique patterns and intricate beading on fabrics she discovered, often in op shops and vintage stores. The creations that inspiration bore were posted and eventually sold online.
“I think of the fabric before I think of the clothes,” said the young designer. “I add them to my library of fabrics where customers can choose their designs from.”
Since then, her custom festival wear, lounge wear and lingerie has gained almost 23,000 followers on Instagram – her main trading platform – with products sold in stores across Canberra and Perth, as well as shipping worldwide.
In the midst of countless small fashion businesses being driven to a close during lockdown, Bianca has managed to stay busy in quarantine, maintaining her growing business.
Despite having studied Fashion Design & Technology at CIT, and Fashion Business in Sydney, most of Bianca’s design knowledge was developed organically, sewing from a young age. Similarly, her strategies for pivoting during lockdown were developed by following her gut and observing her audience.
“Originally, I had a focus on festival wear, but I transitioned to also making lounge wear and lingerie in lockdown. I kept an eye on my target market, what they are currently doing and what I can make for them. When festivals started up again in the US, I began marketing my festival wear towards them.”
Bianca emphasised how crucial having an online space has been to her business’s survival during iso. “I can imagine there would be a lot of challenges in moving to online from a storefront. For fashion businesses in particular, it would be difficult to take all the photos without models, but there are always ways around. I found customers sometimes prefer the flat lays to real models.”
Online shopping can be daunting in lockdown, as sizes tend to be unpredictable and sometimes weight can fluctuate while staying at home. Size-inclusivity has always been a priority for Bianca. After she was only taught to sew for editorial sizes at uni, she challenged herself to learn to sew for larger sizes.
“It is very important to me that everyone can wear my clothing. I’m able to do this, as I make to order in each customer’s measurements, meaning there is no wastage of product as there would have been if I had items premanufactured. It’s very important to be size-inclusive as many labels aren’t, even when they can be,” she said.
“Everyone deserves to wear the pretty things they see online and feel comfortable in them. If I can provide that to people, it makes me so happy.”
Bianca stressed the importance of supporting her fellow local businesses whenever possible, during the pandemic.
“It’s important that we put money back into our local economy to keep it going and thriving. Without local support, most businesses wouldn’t be able to survive. Shopping local means you are making someone happy dance every time they make a sale!”
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