ABC News
source: ABC
Melbourne fashion designer Rochelle Gregory found success in 2018 when one of her custom-designed leather jackets was worn by actress Ruby Rose in a cosmetics billboard campaign.
The moment marked a career gear shift for Gregory, but as her sartorial narrative soared a mental health unravelling almost derailed her.
Now the rock ‘n’ roll-inspired designer, who has clothed the likes of Gigi Hadid, Dua Lipa, Hailey Bieber and Paris Hilton, has created a short film to tell her story.
Gregory was inspired to sew from a young age, all thanks to her Greek grandfather who worked as a tailor and kept his industrial machine at the front of his house.
That fashion love language was in her blood, and one she wanted to continue.
After graduating from the Whitehouse Institute of Design in 2014, she applied for an internship at Alexander Wang’s studio in New York but missed out.
She took the loss in her stride and started her independent label, Rocky Rafaela, in 2016.
The brand, built around custom pieces, edgy shirting, dance floor-bound dresses and ready-to-wear jackets made from sustainable leather and silk, proved the perfect distraction for Gregory, who was trying to work through multiple mental health diagnoses, from borderline personality disorder to depression.
For a period, the world was Gregory’s oyster; she even had a bricks-and-mortar store in Albert Park — a stone’s throw from where she grew up. It has since closed and business is via an online portal now.
