First Look: Acci Is a New Australian Label Playfully Melding Contemporary With Retro

The campaign imagery for fashion label Acci’s debut collection gives you the distinct feeling of being transported to the past, like you’ve arrived in some sweet nonna’s house. And that’s because you have: founder Lauren Acciarito decided to photograph the campaign in her grandmother’s home, on the family farm where she grew up in Werribee South.

Deep nostalgia and family ties underpin the ethos of Acci, a new womenswear label Acciarito launches today. The name comes from her surname, and its spirit from her Italian Australian upbringing. 

“Acci stems from story and childhood, and we really focus on memory, ritual and intention,” the fashion designer says. 

The label’s first drop, Prima Volta, includes 15 ready-to-wear womenswear pieces. There are no drab workwear staples here; Acci deals in bold, playful and eye-catching garments. There’s energy humming through the pieces – asymmetrical hemlines, silver lace fabric and electric purple hues feel vital and dynamic. When thinking about her label’s design principles, Acciarito distilled its DNA into three overarching themes: boldness of colour, sports retro and archival glamour. 

“I look at archive, I look at history [and] nostalgic references, but we … make it contemporary,” she says. While you’ll find shoulder pads and bubble hems pulled from the ’80s, Acci translates the vintage elements into something fresh and contemporary.

“Thinking about [the] women around me, boldness has always been inherently part of the way we dress,” she says. “Colour is going to be a very big part of the brand. I focused the first wardrobe launch around different tones of purple. There were lots of ’80s references when I was looking at family photos, and purple just kept coming up. Colour also gives emotion; it gives memory; it gives excitement. It’s a scary world at the moment, so it’s important to bring that optimism in a brand today.”

There’s intentionality in creating truly functional pieces – many of the garments are made to be styled in multiple ways. “There’s a trench coat that can be worn several ways. My shawl-collar jacket can be worn four different ways. I’ve got a skirt that has a drape function,” she points out.

Acciarito’s personal favourites? 

“I’m very proud of the knitwear,” she says. She highlights the Dree top, a lightweight Australian merino knit with a funnel-neck zip, and the mohair-blend Jojo cardigan, with its blouson sleeves and removable shoulder pads.

After 15 years in fashion design across ready-to-wear and accessories for brands like Ellery, Ena Pelly, Country Road and Target, Acciarito felt ready to launch her own label. Her work has taken her to Sydney and London, but Melbourne is home.

Acci is manufactured in China, with pre-development completed in Melbourne. Acciarito expects to release biannual collections. And that’s not all she’s expecting – her baby girl is due in six weeks. 

“It’s interesting to start a brand based on family, and here I am growing a family. How that’s happened, you can’t plan that.”

acciacci.com.au