Aussie fashion designer launches highly sought-after neon blazers and linen shorts: Summi Summi
>
The Australian fashion designer launches highly sought-after neon blazers and linen shorts in eclectic prints, after Covid nearly saw her give it all up
- Summi Summi was created by mother Ashleigh Vallis and released in 2019
- The brand has just launched a new collection called Good Luck Highway
An Australian fashion designer who almost had to ‘give up’ her brand during Covid shares what it’s like to bounce back with a bolder new collection, and fans are raving about the range.
Ashleigh Vallis, 31, is the proud owner of Summi Summi, an effortless, neon-coloured loose-fit range that actually started out as a children’s clothing line before transitioning to a more mature clientele.
‘All my friends were asking for adult sizes so I decided to give it a try and Summi Summi was born. Summi Summi is what my daughter would say when she wanted more of something,β Ashleigh explained from her home base in Yamba on the North Shore of New South Wales.
‘The first range of basic bodysuits in our famous ribbed cotton sold out and I’ve never looked back. We launched that first range in 2019.’
Ashleigh Vallis (pictured in pink) is the proud owner of Summi Summi, an effortless, neon-colored loose-fit range that actually started out as a children’s clothing line before transitioning to a more mature clientele.
The brand’s A Line mini dresses (pictured) are a bestseller because they’re “simple, timeless and flattering,” but the latest Good Luck Highway collection may prove even more popular.
The brand’s A Line mini dresses are a bestseller because they’re “simple, timeless and flattering,” but the latest Good Luck Highway collection may prove even more popular.
‘Our latest Good Luck Highway collection is full of new styles and really exciting prints and color combinations. I would say this is my first real opportunity to be more experimental with designs and so far it’s paying off,β Ashleigh said.
‘My favorite clothes are the sleeveless linen blazers, the skirt-pants and the ribbed flared midi skirts.’
After Summi Summi launched on the adult market in 2019, the brand found initial success, partly due to its promotion by top Australian influencers Ruby Tuesday Matthews and Elle Ferguson.
‘Our latest Good Luck Highway collection is full of new styles and really exciting prints and color combinations. I would say this is my first real opportunity to be more experimental with designs and so far it’s paying off,β Ashleigh said.
But Ashleigh soon became a reality when the Covid pandemic hit and the brand had to start promoting its garments exclusively online.
‘After that we crashed to be honest. I was almost about to give up until I hired an amazing wholesale agent called Kendi Agency,β she said.
βThey boosted the business and we have grown 200 percent in the last year and a half. Slowly our little team is growing, we have an amazing textile designer, Stevie, and a few other girls who help me run the business.’
But the hardest part for Ashleigh in general has been trying to strike a work-life-mom balance with her family.
But the hardest part for Ashleigh in general has been trying to strike a work-life-mom balance with her family.
“Owning and growing a business can be so consuming, and while I want to dedicate myself fully to it, I also need to make sure I never neglect the other parts of my life,” he said.
“It keeps me up at night, my brain never stops coming up with designs and ideas, it’s pretty exhausting.”
Summi Summi’s resurrection in the public eye has seen him shoot internationally, wholesale to 40 stores and become Ashleigh’s full-time job.
“I could never have imagined that it could get here and there is still a lot of growth on the horizon,” he said.