There's a scene in Bernardo Bertolucci's 1996 film, Stealing Beauty in which a teenage Liv Tyler leads the object of her affection through a rolling, wild field in the afternoon light of the Tuscan sun. She is curious, coquettish and innocent all at the same time.
As the starting point for the debut MBFWA runway collection of Sydney brand We Are Kindred, this balance of beauty, fragility and sexuality expresses in a matter of moments the mood and the intrigue of the Kindred girl. "Liv is a bit of a muse," explains Lizzie Renkert, the former editor-in-chief of Madison magazine and the elder of the two sisters (Georgie Renkert has a formidable CV working in production and design for some of Australia's best). "The light and the outdoor nature of that film is so beautiful - the Italian countryside. And the collection has that ethereal, whimsical feel to it. And an innocence."
However, the Kindred girl is no shrinking violet. "There's a real ease about the way the she dresses and you need to have a certain amount of confidence to pull it off, otherwise the prettiness can be overwhelming," explains Lizzie. "It's all in the styling - pairing a floral silk with biker boots rather than a traditional stiletto, for example."
As a whole, the collections are an effortless exercise in modern bohemia. Watery florals, many of which are designed in-house, punctuate a palette full of colour, (you won't find any black here - the Kindred girl is decidedly anti) embroidery and hand-beading realised in pretty silhouettes engineered for flirtation. "We felt this aesthetic was underrepresented in this market at this price point. Not everyone has $1,000 to spend on a sundress, So, we make a collection that is beautiful quality that is..."
"Accessible!" finishes Georgie. As sisters often do, they (adorably) finish each other's sentences when excited. It's little wonder that following a slow but steady two-year burn, the duo find themselves debuting at MBFWA and opening up a long-term pop up store in Sydney's storied Glenmore Road in the same week, all in response to demand from a loyal following.. "Everything so far has been organic, any success. We know that we have a strong aesthetic and we've got a girl who really loves us and we want to give her more."
