Getting to know Deveaux

Casting played an important role in Ton's debut womenswear collection, having selected five women of varying ages and careers – including a model mother of two, a certified tea blender, a former forklift driver and a mental health advocate. "They're women I know other women would instantly relate to and basically girl-crush on," says Ton. "I've always found women of various ages to be the motivating factor in my street photography, and it trickled into the process of designing this collection. I think it's really important, especially now, to cast models that people can relate to and feel that what they're wearing is very accessible"

Were there any creative scraps over who and what they all thought the design for a Deveaux woman should be? "Only small ones over how sexy or sensual she would be, or how 'masculine' or 'feminine' the collection might be," recalls Ton. His role is to focus on the creative side, and how clothes should be styled and hang, while Tsao oversees garment construction, fabrication and initial sketching, and Breen addresses fashion from the merchandising perspective and considers the margins. "It really helps that we all get along so well," says Ton.