Sydney Design Team Kahlo Wins

The winners of the 2013 DHL Fashion Export Scholarship, Sydney-based designers Rachelle Sinclaire and Fay Ogunbadejo of Kahlo, have been rewarded for their beautiful, refined and masterful collections, paired with a comprehensive and impressive international expansion strategy.

Kahlo will be the fourth label added to the outstanding list of previous Aussie winners, Haryono Setiadi (formerly An Ode to No One), We Are Handsome and Bec & Bridge, who have been successfully launched onto the global stage.

The Sydney design pair, who have been making their mark in the Australian fashion industry since 2011, will take home $10,000 of international freight, a mentorship with DHL and the rare opportunity to have their collection shipped to the my-wardrobe.com buying team in the UK, helping to accelerate the label’s success globally. 

Kahlo were selected as a finalist in the DHL Fashion Export Scholarship in 2012, and this year managed to demonstrate to the judges that over the past 12 months they had built the necessary platform to grow their international business successfully. 
Kahlo took out the number one position against strong contenders, finalists, Lui Hon and West 14th, who were selected by a panel of judges including Elle Turner, Director, Strategy and Brand Development, IMG Fashion; Indhra Chagoury, previous winner of the DHL Scholarship and one half of the internationally successful We Are Handsome design team; and the team from the hugely successful my-wardrobe.com. 

Beautifully constructed and Australian-made, using some of the finest materials sourced both locally and from the US and Italy, Kahlo now have five stunning collections and held their debut solo show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival this year. 

“We began exporting in 2012 and we’re really proud to have grown our business to six international and 17 domestic stockists. To have been selected as a finalist last year and to now be recognized as the winner is a huge achievement for us,” Fay said of their selection. 

“We are showcasing our collection in Los Angeles and New York this season and can’t wait to get our designs seen by the my-wardrobe.com UK buying team; an amazing opportunity for our brand!” 

Since its 2011 debut, the label has garnered much acclaim, regularly appearing in magazines including Vogue, Harper’s BAZAAR, RUSSH, InStyle, Grazia, Yen, Oyster, FALLEN and Shop ‘Til You Drop, as well as on blogs such as Fashion Toast, 4th and Bleeker, Harper & Harley and Studded Hearts. 

Gary Edstein, Senior Vice President of DHL Express Oceania, said DHL Express is proud to announce Kahlo as the winner of the Scholarship. 

“We believe this is a fantastic opportunity for Rachelle and Fay and their label Kahlo, and we’re proud to add them to what has become quite an illustrious list of Scholarship winners. We are excited to see how the DHL Fashion Export Scholarship will help them realise their international exporting potential,” said Edstein.