About Cyan Reign

2008 FINALIST in the NRA Australian Fashion Design Awards

2008 FINALIST in the Australian Wool Fashion Awards

2007 NATIONAL WINNER of the Jeans For Jeans, “Do It With Denim”Fashion Design Awards

2007 FINALIST in the Ssideline Fashion Wars

Cyan Reign at the VRAW Ssideline awards

Dynamic, daring and dreamlike- just some of the words you could use to describe Brisbane fashion designer Cyan Reign's couture and ready to wear collections. She has been described as “...one of the best talents coming out of Brisbane right now”, and “...one of the best corset makers in Australia.” Cyan's designs are highly sought after, with orders and enquiries extending to international buyers eager to own one of her innovative and high quality garments.

The sudden influx of interest is part of the ripple effect Cyan has been experiencing, particularly in the last year. Cyan earned recognition and admiration for her work at a variety of esteemed fashion events. Her most recent nominations are as a finalist in the 27th annual National Retail Association – Australian Fashion Design Awards, alongside gaining first place in the 2007 Jeans for Genes, 'Do It With Denim' competition.

Cyan's latest collection, 'Eden', redefines denims place in the fashion world while raising money and awareness for the Children's Medical Research Institute. Featuring corsets made from recycled denim, it seeks to reinvent a typically casual fabric into high fashion garments. Not only is each garment unique, high quality and environmentally friendly, but 15% of profits on items sold from this collection will be donated to support vital research into genetic disease prevention and and treatment. A cause which Cyan believes, “is so important because it ultimately affects everyone. These kids will grow up, so preventing it from when they're young carries over to older generations. I'm doing it (the collection) because I strongly believe in this charity.”

In relation to the 'Eden' collection Cyan is not particularly religious, but wanted to portray a different slant on the 'Garden of Eden' scenario. Instead of showing Eve as being sinful or guilt ridden, she is shown as being a women who saw that she wanted the apple, took it and was happy to live with the consequences.

Cyan draws inspiration from a wide variety of subjects and, “can be anything from dreams that I have to an amazing piece of artwork, architecture or even just peoples personalities and attitudes.” Feminism and femininity might sound like two conflicting ideas but the idea of strong, independent, yet very feminine women is a reccuring theme throughout Cyan's collections. Winning the 2007 'Do It With Denim' competition, the muse behind her winning 'Flight of the Aviator' outfit was Amelia Earhart. A woman she describes as, “a really strong individual who at the same time did not want to lose her femininity. She always wore tailored suits and skirts when flying and was definitely not afraid of being who she was.” Cyan finds inspiration in the way that Earhart's actions “left in her wake a legion of young women who aspired to push the boundaries the way she did”. While corsetry may not be an obvious choice of specialty for someone who has such strong ideals of positive women, Cyan however views corsets as an empowering choice of clothing and that the ability to take control of your own appearance and how you present yourself shows inner strength and confidence.

Experimentation and rebellion are high priorities for Cyan's designs. She has “...a love/hate relationship with rules- I love the fact that they are there for me to break!” Cyan's designs are really her alter-ego and she rebelled a lot with her personal fashion and designs. “Fashion isn't meant to be serious. It's meant to be fun and harmless. A way of rebelling without hurting anyone and I love how you can step out the door as a different person every day depending on what you're wearing.”

With exciting prospects on th horizon and an abundance of ideas, Cyan Reign is one designer who is paving her own distinct way through the fashion industry.