Australian fashion designer Rebecca Vallance is marking 15 years since she launched her eponymous label, a milestone she is celebrating with a new celebrity client list, a loyal global following and a significant new commission: designing a redesigned uniform for Qantas, set to be unveiled in 2027.
Speaking from her Vaucluse home in Sydney, a harbourside residence she describes as a tribute to Palazzo Avino, the clifftop Italian hotel in Ravello on the Amalfi Coast where she became engaged to her husband, Maltese financier David Gasan, Vallance reflected on a career built on instinct, observation and a willingness to take risks far from home.
From PR to Paris: the leap that built Rebecca Vallance's brand
Before she became a name in fashion, Vallance was working in public relations in Sydney. That background proved unexpectedly useful. Working closely alongside other designers gave her a clear-eyed view of where creative businesses thrived and where they fell short, lessons she carried with her when she and Gasan relocated to London.
"To be honest, when I started the brand in London, I had no intention of coming back to Australia," she said. "I was working closely with other designers when I was in PR, and saw what they were doing incredibly well in, and the areas they weren't doing so well. That full visibility was a good learning curve for me as I made my way overseas ready to launch a brand myself."
Vallance holds a degree in business and marketing but has no formal fashion training. She launched her label in 2011 and took her debut collection to Paris that same year, knowing the stakes were high for an unknown Australian designer seeking international recognition. The gamble paid off: her first season was picked up by prestigious department store Harvey Nichols, giving the brand immediate credibility on the world stage.
A global following built on Australian glamour
What set Vallance apart, she says, is a distinctly Australian sensibility. Her aesthetic, built around bow-centric dresses, elegant silhouettes and hemlines with what she describes as a "flirt factor," carries an effervescent, sun-kissed quality that resonates strongly in overseas markets. Sixty per cent of her sales now come from international customers, with the United States, United Kingdom and Middle East her three biggest markets.
Her client list has grown to include actors Sofia Vergara and Anne Hathaway, along with socialite Nicky Hilton, whom she counts as a close friend. She also recently designed a custom camouflage-print dress for singer-songwriter Billie Eilish. Vallance is quick to credit years of relationship-building in business rather than any deliberate celebrity strategy for the connections she has made.
Closer to home, the brand is a fixture of the Australian racing carnival circuit, with her designs appearing regularly on competition stages, in VIP marquees and on public lawns at Fashions on the Field events. The racing season remains the label's most commercially significant period in Australia.
Qantas uniform and what comes next
The commission to redesign the Qantas uniform represents one of the most high-profile projects of Vallance's career to date. The new-look uniforms are scheduled to be revealed in 2027, and the project adds a new dimension to a label that has until now been focused primarily on evening and occasionwear.
Vallance has built her label on a clear design philosophy: cool, feminine and tailored pieces that transcend seasonal trends, and dresses that are immediately identifiable as hers. After 15 years, that formula, refined through early struggles, an unforgiving international market and more than a few moments of frank feedback, appears to be working exactly as intended.
She now operates between Sydney and frequent international travel, returning recently from London, and shows no sign of slowing down as the brand enters what she describes as a new chapter in its global story.
