Closing a beautiful chapter: The end of an era for Styling You The Label

As of this week, Styling You The Label will be closing its virtual doors, marking the end of a remarkable six-year era. While our involvement hasn’t been loudly publicised, it also wasn’t ever a secret, so I’ll share that for the past seven years, my business has been the sole manufacturer behind Nikki Parkinson’s Styling You The Label's beautiful collections.

From the very beginning, it’s been a partnership rooted in creativity, trust, and shared values. Together, we’ve developed and produced thousands of garments, each one crafted with intention and loved by Styling You The Label customers across Australia and beyond. 

It’s been an incredible journey, and one that my team and I are truly proud of. We’re genuinely sad to see it come to an end, but equally excited for what lies ahead - for Nikki, and for us at Philosophy Australia, as we focus fully on our own label.

Our collaboration began before Styling You The Label was even born. Nikki and I had already worked together through her Ultimate Capsule Wardrobe collections on her Styling You blog, and Philosophy Australia was consistently included as one of the featured brands. Our pieces resonated with her audience and performed well. So well, in fact, that over a wine and cheese night back in February 2018, we had a spark of an idea - why not create her own label?

And just like that, Styling You The Label was born.

Of course, developing a fashion label takes time, and it was nearly a year later that it launched, but what a launch it was. A truly fabulous event that I’ll forever cherish the memory of.

Our businesses have always been closely intertwined, sharing not only a vision of promoting locally made fashion, but also resources, fabric and even staff. For example, our much-loved Kim-Marie (who I affectionately call Kimba) has been the customer service heart of both brands.

And then there are the subsequent relationships I’ve built with Nikki’s team, stylists, influencers, and her logistics partner Deanne at Lexington Logistics. This collaboration has created such a deep sense of community, and I’ll truly miss our weekly production catch-ups. But, more than colleagues, Nikki and I are friends, and that will never change.

From day one, Nikki’s vision for the label was clear: to create wardrobe workhorses with a few fun show ponies thrown in - pieces that embody our style motto of easy wear, easy care, wear it anywhere. That ethos dovetailed perfectly with Philosophy’s approach, and together we created pieces that were not only beautiful, but functional and versatile too.

There are so many standouts for me over the years. I still wear the Simone shirt in signature leopard print, one of the first original designs, and the Cate shirt in our shared technical fabric. Then there were the Ali denim shorts Nikki named after me, because I never wore shorts until she convinced me to get my knees out!

Every piece had meaning. Each was named after someone special and carried stories with them. One of my favourites will always be the Suzie jogger pants. They remain a wardrobe staple that I reach for regularly, and financially they helped both of our businesses, especially during the pandemic.

One of the most powerful achievements of Styling You The Label has been its commitment to inclusive marketing. Nikki truly broke ground by casting models of all shapes, sizes, heights, ages, skin tones, and abilities. She didn’t just talk about representation, she lived it and proved it could be done.

This inclusivity has inspired so many women to feel seen, heard, and celebrated. I hope Nikki always feels incredibly proud of that legacy, because it’s a huge one.

So, as this beautiful chapter comes to a close, I want to offer the biggest, warmest thank you to Nikki, for trusting me with her vision and the opportunity to be a part of it.

And to every single Styling You The Label customer, follower, and “liker” - thank you. By supporting Nikki’s label, you’ve also been supporting Philosophy Australia, and that’s something I’ll never take for granted.

Here’s to new beginnings, treasured memories, and a future full of possibility.