Shirley Keon

Couture Designer & Owner of Keon Couture 

高级服装定制设计师和Keon Couture经营者

Shirley Keon features ubiquitously at the atrium of Sofitel Melbourne on Collins, a hotel that exudes French sophistication interlaced with the elegant and chic Australian style of hospitality. This time, with Australian couturier extraordinaire Shirley Keon’s work emblazoned across its Atrium Gallery, Sofitel pays homage to the fashion icon in a specially commissioned body of work by photographer Heidi Victoria that showcases the story of Keon in her Collins Street Studio.

Inspired and trained by her mother, Keon was sewing and creating her own clothes at an early age, in an era that celebrates authentic and organic works of art by hand, long before digital domination. “My mother instilled in me the beauty of creating individual and unique pieces.”

A couturier with a long list of celebrity and socialite clients, Keon started her career as a seamstress in the famed Flinders Lane, embroidering a name for herself stitch by stitch. She honed her skills in garment construction and hand detailing while attending night school to master fashion design and pattern making. “I’ve always drafted my own patterns.  I believe the pattern and construction of a garment are signatures of couture.”

Keon works with fabrics from the houses of Valentino, Armani and Givenchy. Sometimes she wonders if her idol Valentino uses the same fabrics. “Valentino has always been my inspiration and I admire his fabulous couture collections.”  

“I’ve always drafted my own patterns. I believe the pattern and construction of a garment are signatures of couture.”

The couturier’s success would not have been possible or meaningful without the love and support of her husband Philip Keon, who is a jewellery designer himself. Both make a chic and sophisticated couple among the Melbourne high society.

The most iconic and fashionable women in Australia and worldwide have worn the Keon label for years, a creation that has withstood the test of time and been passed down for generations. After five illustrious decades in the fashion industry, Keon has finally decided to retire from the fashion industry in March 2020, leaving behind a legacy of unsurpassed bespoke designs, artwork and enduring trends. 

“Shirley Keon”优美地渗透了墨尔本索菲特柯林斯酒店(Sofitel Melbourne on Collins)的大堂中庭，这家酒店散发着精细法式风情，掺杂着典雅别致的澳大利亚式待客之道。这一次，澳大利亚杰出的时装设计师 Shirley Keon的作品装饰在中庭画廊，索菲特酒店透过特别授权委托的摄影师Heidi Victoria的一系列作品向这位时尚偶像致敬，而Heidi位于柯林斯街工作室中展现了Shirley Keon的故事。

Shirley Keon自小在母亲的启发和训练下，开始缝制和制作自己穿戴的服装，那个时代推崇的是真实、有机朴质的手工艺术品，远早于数码时代。“母亲向我灌输了创作个性和独特美丽的哲理。”

“我一直在琢磨本身的特质设计模式。我认为服装的样式和构造是高级定制的标志。”

从著名的弗林德斯巷(Flinders Lane)作为一名女裁缝师起始，Shirley Keon一针一线细密的缝纫出自己的名声。直至成为拥有众多名人和社会名流的服装设计师，在夜校期间，她磨练了服装结构和手工制作技能，掌握了时装设计和图案制作。“我一直在琢磨本身的特质设计模式。我认为服装的样式和构造是高级定制的标志。”

她沿用的编织物面料来自华伦天奴、阿玛尼和纪梵希等品牌。有时她会想，偶像华伦天奴是否也用了同样的面料。“华伦天奴一直是我的灵感来源，我热爱他神话般的时装系列。”

这位时装女设计师的重大成就离不开其丈夫Philip Keon尽心尽力的爱与支持，否则一切对她来说毫无意义。Philip Keon身为珠宝设计师，两人是墨尔本上流社会中时髦、长袖善舞的一对佳偶。

多年来，Keon作为澳大利亚和世界各地最具标志性的女性时尚品牌，这是经受时间考验并代代相传的时尚精神。而在度过辉煌的五十年后，基恩终于决定在2020年3月宣布退出时尚界，留下了无与伦比的定制设计、艺术作品和历久弥新的潮流印记。

By Billie Ooi-Ng Lean Gaik