For the fashion world there is nothing new about BODY, the Australian made and owned label has been around for a while celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Globally renowned for its beautiful quality, wear-ability, and timelessness, BODY celebrates real women and real life. Following fashion week, the beauty behind the brand Dainy Sawatzky took a little time out to talk about her label and its life thus far.

What was it like showing at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week?
It was a great to be involved again after a few years away. For me it was an unusual experience, as I couldn’t be there as I was pregnant and therefore gaining all the feedback via phone. My whole team was there soaking up the vibe…so I felt a bit left out!

What part of RAFW did you enjoy most?
I loved preparing the collection for the parade with the accessories.

Can you tell us about the “Women behind the Brand” campaign?
BODY is all about reality…clothes that work for real life and real women. What better way to exemplify this by using our great team of chicks to get the point across? It’s also our 10 year anniversary this year so we wanted to celebrate the fact the label has such an inspiring team of people behind it to make it happen. The BODY ‘people’ are close knit and our philosophy behind the brand runs through the whole company and is not just a tag line.

In its initial stages, what inspired the creation of the brand?
Initially…it was really about creating a vision I had for beautiful and ultra wearable clothing at a price that would be ‘real’. I guess it was about ‘filling a gap’. I also had a very strong vision that the label should be a whole concept from basics to knock-out pieces displayed in a gorgeous but not intimidating environment; therefore having a retail space quickly to be able to achieve this was also a big driving force.

Having established the brand 10 years ago, what challenges have you faced?
Many! Keeping up the pace in retail, finding the right staff and training them, knowing how to grow and expand without doing it too quickly, putting the correct systems in place, keeping it made locally and still being competitive…I guess most of the challenges have been to do with learning how to run a successful business whilst being so involved within it.

How have you overcome these challenges?
Step by step. Sometimes it is possible to see clearly and feel confident to know what to do and other times I have been so busy with my own role I have failed to see areas that needed to be attended to. Mistakes are bound to happen, it’s about how quickly they can be rectified. I guess the way I overcome most challenges is to take some time to step back, see what’s happening and what’s about to happen and approach each step with honesty and reality.

Was it difficult to find a partner in the US? How has having found and established this partnership changed the business?
No, actually she approached me. Only positively; I think it happened at a time in the business where this kind of growth was a positive next step.

What was the inspiration behind the A/W 08 collection?
Predominately playing with opposites… the collection was titled ‘Modern Maiden’ which captured the essence of one theme of ‘new and old’ which ran throughout including mixing textures, colours, themes and silhouettes.

How you choose between different colours, patterns and fabrics each season?
I begin by story boarding themes, then the next step is to choose a colour palette which I usually paint my own swatches. The fabrics are really important and before I choose them I usually choose what I’m going to do to them – eg: distressing, pleating, dyeing etc. Then comes designing the print; usually 4-5 each collection. Once this ground work has been established, I begin designing the range.

What do you hope to achieve with BODY in the next 3-5 years?
To keep growing and achieving our goals and maintaining a good life/work balance.

To view the collection and find stockists near you check out: www.body.com.au