Rebecca Vallance opens the door of her Sydney waterfront property. The facade of the sprawling Vaucluse residence is unassuming, but inside, you’re greeted with a contemporary palazzo and epic harbour views from multiple levels. The design, she says, is a riff on Palazzo Avino, a boutique hotel in the Italian clifftop town of Ravello, on the Amalfi Coast, where the fashion designer and her Maltese financier husband David Gasan got engaged; the home is an homage to their enduring romance and partnership.
Wearing a combo of double denim in grey-black that feels like a nod to this journalist’s arrival on an early flight from Melbourne, Rebecca Vallance is statuesque and oh-so-friendly; there’s a kiss and a hug and a quick “come to the balcony to see the harbour view” as we make our way to a spacious living room accented with cream furniture, opulent chandeliers and Euro-centric sofas.
She settles on the carpet and we begin an interview that feels more like a campfire chat than a formal set-up. Maybe that’s the ease that comes with being a country girl before the big smoke made her a household name.
Vallance has recently returned from London, where she dined last year with Sharon and Kelly Osbourne, is close mates with socialite Nicky Hilton and designed a custom-made dress in a camouflage print for Billie Eilish that she’s yet to post to the singer-songwriter. Actors Sofia Vergara and Anne Hathaway are also customers. Vallance is quick to downplay her little black book of contacts, though, and says they’re friendships that stem from years in business.
From bodycon dresses to bridalwear, Vallance knows how to turn a party frock into profit, finding the sweet spot between midnight-hour glamour and put-a-ring-on-it gowns. This year she celebrates 15 years in business, and now she adds another string to her bow: designing a new-look Qantas uniform that will be unveiled in 2027.
Known for her bow-centric dresses, elegant silhouettes and hemlines with flirt factor, Vallance has found her winning combo and is sticking with it: cool, feminine, tailored pieces that cross timelines and dresses that are instantly recognisable as her signature. The racing carnival season is the brand’s bread-and-butter in Australia; spend time at any Fashions on the Field competition heats and you’ll see her designs on competition stages, in VIP marquees and on the public lawns. This year will be no exception.
The Sydney-based entrepreneur with a degree in business and marketing but no formal training in fashion launched her brand in 2011. Before that, she was working in public relations in Sydney. Eager to do her own thing, she packed her bags for London with Gasan, whom she’d met in 2003, and took the proverbial leap of faith.
Vallance decided to launch her collection from the UK rather than Australia, and her brand quickly became a global name. Her point of difference is that effervescent, Australian, sun-kissed wow-factor. Sixty per cent of her sales come from overseas; the US, UK and Middle East are her biggest markets, she says.
“To be honest, when I started the brand in London, I had no intention of coming back to Australia,” Vallance says. “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 took her first collection to Paris in 2011, knowing she had a lot to prove to get noticed on the international stage. Her first season was snapped up by department store Harvey Nichols for Kuwait and Riyadh. Then came the hype of showing collections at New York Fashion Week in 2014 and 2017, which, in turn, helped establish her reputation back in Australia.
She travels frequently to Paris, New York, London and Dubai when fashion weeks call, but says it was New York that helped the brand shift gears in ways she’d never imagined but always hoped for. “I showed on schedule at New York Fashion Week twice, and that was a game-changer for me,” says Vallance. “It took showing in New York for anyone in Australia to even look my way. Maybe it was the tall-poppy thing?”
This year has been a big one for Vallance, marking 10 years at the online luxury retailer Net-a-Porter, which also stocks her bridal collection. When she first tried to sell a collection to the London-based retailer, Lisa Aiken, its highly influential retail director at the time, told her to redesign it before the vice-president of global buying would even look at it.
“Lisa Aiken gave me two hours of her time and told me why she was not picking up the brand. You have never seen somebody write as many notes,” Vallance says of her own reaction. “She went through each garment piece by piece, saying what was wrong with each one. What an incredible gift! I went back to Australia the next day and redid the whole collection. She was looking at it from a global level, she knew what it needed to go to the next level. It had to be more statement-like.”
Vallance looks back philosophically at these key career moments. She was all about pushing doors open a decade ago; now, when they slam shut – think pandemic pivots and US tariffs – she finds another one open and trusts the unknown. “I spent years putting my head down to earn my stripes and got on with the job,” she says of designing in her early years. “I didn’t take much notice of what others were doing.”
On International Women’s Day earlier this year, it was announced that Vallance would take over from Melbourne-born, Paris-based Martin Grant as designer for a new-look Qantas uniform. It’s not her first collaboration with the airline – in 2024, she debuted a French-navy pyjamas set with a matching amenities kit for Qantas business-class passengers bound for New York. The inspiration for the look was the Big Apple’s iconic Waldorf Astoria.
A few weeks ago she was back in Paris, this time to be inducted onto the esteemed Business of Fashion (BoF 500) list. It’s where many big names converge, from Kim Kardashian to the Beckhams. Vallance is also part of the Fashion Trust Arabia Advisory Board 2026 alongside an international group of leading designers, editors and fashion figures, including Clare Waight Keller (formerly of Givenchy), Erdem, Anna Dello Russo and Mary Katrantzou. Being recognised globally is, she says, “a pinch-me moment in my career”.
Born and raised in the regional Victorian city of Ballarat, Vallance is the eldest of three siblings and describes her upbringing as idyllic. She has two younger brothers, Cameron, 43, and Matthew, 41, and credits her parents Malcolm and Maureen for her work ethic. Her mother, a teacher at a public high school, and her father, a vice-chancellor at the University of Ballarat Technology Park, had high hopes that their daughter would pursue an academic career in their footsteps. When she announced it was fashion she was chasing, they were initially concerned.
“I came from a family who worked in the education system; they definitely had an idea for a route for me, a safe path,” explains Vallance. “Fashion was definitely considered a huge risk but now that I am a mum, I can see you need to let your children go down the path they want to go down, and let them fall over. If what you’re doing is what you’re passionate about, you’ll be able to hit stumbles and continue on because you love it.”
A childhood spent at the sewing machine with her grandmother Joyce taught Vallance about pattern-making. She was anything but a typical teen: sure, there was a Kylie Minogue poster on her bedroom wall and plenty of climbing out the window to play with her brothers as a kid, but a herringbone trench coat was her most prized fashion obsession. Joyce, now 96, lives in a nursing home and, with her vision limited to one eye, still watches the races, hoping to spot one of her granddaughter’s dresses in the crowd.
“Those formative memories with my grandmother really inspired me; you could say that’s where the fashion journey began, really,” Vallance says. “I always wanted to do fashion at school, but I was good at mathematics and went down the business path – but guess what you need in the fashion business? It’s maths.”
Next stop is the Strand Arcade in Sydney’s CBD, where the brand’s sixth stand-alone boutique is located. Designed by architect Richard Archer, the space feels more like a gallery than a shop, with a minimalist aesthetic, bouclé sofas, luxury marble and muted wood flooring. The change rooms are draped in luxurious curtains and lined with soft carpet to earth the most nervous of brides during a fitting.
On the racks, bouncy hemlines and shimmering fabrics demand attention; neatly pressed black dresses accented with gold buckles hang behind the service desk. There are tweed and pearls, slimline suits and dresses in shapely forms, above-the-knee or maxi length – every party hour is curated for here.
So how can a brand such as Vallance’s work in so many different markets – from the modest Middle East to the flamboyant pulse of a New York nightclub scene to Australia’s resort and barbecue-focused attire? “We’re making sure that the brand continues to stay modern, that’s the ultimate key,” Vallance says. “I have always had an international DNA to what I do, and it all stems from the fact I never thought I would move back to Australia, so that mindset has always been part of the brand’s approach.”
Looking back, Vallance says launching with a bodycon dress collection in 2011 was risqué and of least interest to the Aussie market, but there are no regrets that she went out on a whim. “Everyone in Australia was wearing jeans, cut-off denim, white tank tops, T-shirts and Havaianas,” she says. “I had to prove myself overseas before anyone would take me seriously here, and the bodycon helped me get there.”
Plans to start a family eventually led her back to Sydney with her husband. They now have two sons, Matthias and Rafael, aged 11 and 9. Vallance continued to work with babies in tow; collections needed to be finalised and deals done. “I have always juggled motherhood with the business. It’s what you do as a business owner. And even now, I make sure I can attend a sports day or do some pick-ups.”
The next sartorial chapter emerging for Rebecca Vallance is all about separates. While dresses are her mainstay, the demand for a two-piece is driving the current narrative. The hints are already in-store: tweed suiting, shirts with delicate pearl beading, denim and slimline pants for day-to-night combination options.
Last year, the company appointed its first female CEO, Deborah Foreman (formerly a local general manager for Tommy Hilfiger), and it’s a move that Vallance is excited about. “This was a major turning point for the business,” she says. “I need to stay focused on creating. I have plenty of vision for the brand and we’re flat out delivering on that.
“But I am excited for the future in a more assured way.”
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