A successful entrepreneur once lectured Bri Cheeseman and Andrew Prince, the team behind Sydney label Secret Squirrel Clothing, on the importance of having a ‘party line’. “You know, it’s the thing you say whenever someone at a party asks what kind of clothes you make,” says Andrew. “It’s basically a 5-second sales pitch for the label.”
So have these two creative souls – Bri is a designer, qualified florist and award-winning graduate of Enmore TAFE; Andrew is a designer, musician and the brains behind fashion merchandise label Beesides – perfected their own spin? “No!” laughs Bri. “Well, I haven’t. I still kind of go on about whatever collection we’re designing at the time."
"I guess if I had to define Secret Squirrel, I’d say what we’re trying to do is make clothes that will stand the test of time. Clothes that are simple and elegant without necessarily looking ‘simple and elegant’. We are young and modern, and a little innocent, but there is a splash of gorgeous and grown up about us, too,” says Bri. Vintage fashions are a key inspiration for the label, as are everyday things like people watching, TV, music, art, flowers, pretty blogs. “All those things everyone says."
The Secret Squirrel story officially began under a canvas umbrella at Sydney's Glebe Markets, where the label’s playful prints and super flattering cuts proved an instant success. Today Bri and Andrew produce two seasonal collections a year, with the label stocked in a select range of retail and online boutiques throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Their clothes (and home) have featured in Frankie and Shop Til You Drop magazines, as well as Vogue, Russh,Yen, and London-based style blog, All Things Good to name a few. – Catherine McCormack