It’s a long way from Raworth to the red carpet runway of the annual TV Week Logie Awards but for dress designer Katie McIntyre it’s a dream come true.
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The former St Peter’s and St Mary’s Maitland student always wanted to be a fashioner designer and follow the footsteps of her aunty Lisa Brown who has her own fashion label and business on The Gold Coast.
Managing The Beaumont cafe and bar in Hamilton by day, Katie works as a seamstress at night from her Raworth home where she runs Katie Maree Designs. It was from this humble studio two gowns were made and unveiled on the red carpet at this year’s Logie Awards.
Nine Network Travel Guides stars Cathy and Victoria Fren, wanted to showcase the work of a local designer and a quick Internet search by Cathy located Katie.
Victoria said she and her mum wanted to give the opportunity of designing and making the gowns to a young local designer. “Katie is the same age as me, 25, and is such a beautiful girl and was so easy to work with,” Victoria said.
“Our dresses definitely stood out on the red carpet. We showed Katie a few pictures of what we didn’t want to look like and had a few ideas of styles that we liked and Katie did the rest.”
Victoria said she and her mum felt like they had won the best dressed award at the glittering event held on the Gold Coast recently. “Our dresses showed off our personalities perfectly and the compliments we received were amazing – even big name celebrities were asking who made our dresses,” Victoria said.
Katie started her business in 2014. She continues to work from home with the help of another seamstress and sometimes her mum. “We’re a pretty small operation,” she said.
“I market my pieces through social media, my website www.katiemaree.com and through two stores in Newcastle – Teddy Mac Boutique in Hunter Street Mall and Voyage A Lifestyle Journey at The Junction.
“My age demographic is anywhere between 18 to 40 and my styles are a mix of modern, boho, chic, influenced by laid back casual style with a bit more structure,” Katie said. “I really love the 70s high waists and flares.”
Katie’s aim is to have her couture business as her sole income. “I’d love to have my own store with my clothing and some other brands. I’d like to promote other Australian designers.”
When she was contacted by Cathy Fren to design and make the Logies dresses Katie thought it was a joke. “When I got the email I thought someone was having a go at me. I thought it was a joke and almost deleted the email,” Katie said.
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