Iconic Australian fashion brand Alice McCall is closing down after almost 20 years, and a little more than two years after the company went into volunatary administration.
“After two decades (20 years), I have come full circle with the brand, Alice McCall,” the eponymous designer said on Instagram.
“It is time to close the doors, making space for a new chapter in my life. I want to say thank you and acknowledge all the people that have worn, supported and loved the brand over the years. To me the brand embodied a lightness of spirit, the clothes were something you celebrated life in. You had fun, you felt empowered and you built memories, wearing your Alice pieces.
“I also want to thank all the people that have worked with the brand over the years , on a whole it’s been a wonderful journey, full of love, laughter and light. Taking a moment to reminisce, the thing that stays with me, is when someone shares their experience in wearing an Alice piece, and how much the memory means to them. This I hold deep in my heart, the ability that the garment has to make you feel good. It’s the art of dress I love. That emotive aspect. It’s that connection that stays with me.
The company went into liquidiation on Friday afternoon, with Matthew Kucianski of Worrells appointed as liquidator. Bricks-and-morter stores across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane were closed, with the remaining Alice McCall stock being sold at clearance rates online.
Alice McCall the designer launched her eponymous brand in 2004 at Australian Fashion Week (then sponsored by Mercedes Benz), with designs regularly featured in the fashion bibles of the day: ELLE, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. It became one of the most beloved Australian fashion brands, and at one point was stocked in more than 200 stores worldwide.
However, the company fell into financial hardship during the pandemic, going into voluntary administration in November 2020. At the time, McCall said she was making “a necessary decision to edit down my business, with the objective of building a more sustainable business model for the future.”
In announcing the permament closure of Alice McCall, the designer didn’t mention any financial troubles, instead choosing to celebrate the community built around the brand.
“Though this account for the next week or so I’ll pay homage to the brand and its history, a retrospective,” she said on Instagram. “So please do stay connected.”
She also asked for people to post and tag their memories of wearing her designs, which will now become a piece of Australian fashion history.
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