By Hazel Lekkas
As the daughter of humble traders of hardware supplies, I saw many hands that had toiled to build a life for themselves and the local families they serviced. A stubby finger or two that had met with a sharp blade peppered with sawdust. Tanned leathery hands that had spread mortar between countless bricks under western skies. Skin covered in white specks with the strong scent of enamel. There was nothing glittery, soft or luxurious to admire of the hands of customers in our little hardware shop.
It was 2005. An advertisement in a glossy magazine caught my attention on my quest to find ‘the’ dress which led me to Annette of Melbourne. As I stepped foot into the modest shop on Charles Street in Seddon I was met with Rose, whom by any other name could not have been anything more or less, but who was, as she says, born to be a couturier. Rose’s calling to fashion design perhaps started from the time her Italian-born mother cradled her in her arms. Those arms were blessed with hands that sewed up to 40 to 50 hours per week on Collins Street in Melbourne to provide for her family living in Footscray in the 1960s.
Rose recalls turning her Saturday afternoons into a solitary game of spot-the-bride while the neighbourhood’s children played in the streets. Rose eagerly sat by the entrance of St John’s Anglican Church on Paisley Street, Footscray (formerly located on Pickett Street), waiting for a bride to arrive. A little girl’s romance with lace, veils and high-waisted empire style bridal dresses of the time blossomed. In her teens Rose designed and sewed to her heart’s content. She was brave enough to approach clothing stores to stock her garments, mainly christening gowns, even lying about her age to get her foot in the door, such was her determination to be a dressmaker.
In 1975, Annette of Melbourne was established, named after Rose’s younger sister. Her mother, aged 43, started the dressmaking business in a purpose-built workroom that the family called the ‘sheda’ (shed), located at their Footscray residence.
Their nimble hands turned cotton and fabric into wonders that were sought after. Servicing a high-end city store with children’s wear ended because they could not keep up with the demand. In 1988, the family purchased the premises on Charles Street, turning their designer hands to bridal wear.
Rose, as the self-proclaimed ‘conductor’ of the workroom, has successfully managed a small, highly-skilled team that has preserved and modernised the dressmaking craft in the face of fast fashion and online shopping to deliver a long-standing personalised experience.
Rose attributes the couture store’s longevity, against major competitors and rising small business costs to providing a quality personalised service where the bride-to-be is wisely guided by the head designer. I can attest to this. Nearing 20 years since I first met Rose, fond memories remain of an honest and collaborative approach to take the finest silk (I have ever touched) and transform it into my bridal gown. Actions speak louder than words indeed. From my initial consultation with Rose to meeting her seamstress, with all access to their workroom, the silk that encountered the meticulous hands of Annette of Melbourne exceeded the expectations of an expectant bride of the West. Delicate hands truly create a gown with up to 70% of the work that goes into a gown being hand-sewn. The rest is left up to a sewing machine.
After 50 years, unlike most local tradespeople I knew in the hardware industry, there is no sign that the admirable hands of Annette of Melbourne leading the bridal industry in the West, are taking a rest, any time soon.
