| Harlette | |
|---|---|
| Born | 17 July 1975 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Residence | London, United Kingdom |
| Nationality | British |
| Ethnicity | White British |
| Citizenship | White British |
| Education | Bond University |
| Occupation | Designer, entrepreneur, lingerie |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Known for | Britains Next Big Thing (2011) |
Harlette De Falaise (born 17 July 1975) is an Australian & British designer, media personality and entrepreneur, best known for her work in the Britain and Saudi Arabia.
Contents |
Harlette grew up in a small "private like" beach community, called Little Manly, in Sydney, Australia to British parents. Tragedy befell the family in 1978 when Harlette’s father Peter drowned suddenly when a sandbank collapsed in pittwater, a day before he was to commence with Qantas as their industrial relations manager, her mother Sandra a school teacher later remarried Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles rugby league player Graham Williams, who died of a motorbike accident in 1994.[1]
Harlette's great grandfather was an artist that divided his time between London and Paris and his body of work included military, naval, landscapes, and back drops for London theaters including works for Ivor Novello. The ancestral family home in Saint Helier Jersey was inturned and occupied during the second world war, which saw the family return to London.
Harlette has a sister Sophia, who married Dr Bruce Whittingham and they have four girls three of which Ariana, Isabella and Analise were born on the coast of South Devon, and the youngest Portia born on the Gold Coast, Queensland Australia.[2]
Born in Sydney, New South Wales on 17 July 1975, Harlette graduated from Bond University with an MBA and a Bachelor of Information Technology,[3] she was awarded a scholarship for highest academic achievement and started university at the age of 16. At the age of 30, she moved to London, where she gained contract roles at investment banks including Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley
In 2005, Harlette founded the company “Harlette Luxury Lingerie", to provide a one of a kind luxury lingerie concierge service. After a chance meeting at the Kensington chamber of commerce function with British Fashion Forum, representative David Jones late in 2005.
Harlette was accepted in early 2006 to take one of the 20 places given each year to be mentored by the British Fashion Forum program and shortly after Harlette was interviewed by the BBC during London Fashion Week, for a lingerie story. During 2006 & 2007 Harlette resided most of time in Dolphin Square and wanting to research the market she gained luxury retail roles including Selfridges and Louis Vuitton in Oslo Norway.
In 2008, another chance meeting with infotainer & speaker trainer Joel Bauer Harlette got the opportunity to perfect the art of infotainment.
She gained widespread media attention in 2009 when she was the first women invited to Saudi Arabia to run a 10 day master class on the Art of Selling Lingerie for 26 Saudi women,[4] which was created to support the Reem Asaad lingerie KSA campaign started on facebook in 2008 to enable women to work in lingerie stores that resulted in the King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia decreeing on 6 June 2011 that women should work in lingerie stores instead of men.[5]
Up until this time only men were allowed to be working in lingerie stores, no formal lingerie sales & fitting training was available for measuring women for bras, no fitting rooms exist and high censorship levels of information exist in the kingdom in relation to lingerie companies websites due to modesty laws.
In 2010 news broke of Harlette’s patent which was awarded on bastille day in 2009 [6] for the world’s first Diamond and Platinum suspenders garters, shortly after her lingerie collection debuted on the catwalk in Paris at Salon International de la Lingerie and the collection being invited to showcase at an Oscars style lounge in 2010.[7]
Later in 2010 in London, encouraged by her bestfriend Deborah Read, a director [8] in Hollywood, Harlette trained with the acclaimed Robert McKee to perfect the craft of The Story.
In August 2010. The Economic Times listed her company as the 5th most unique company to provide services globally just below the black label American Express card.[9]
In 2011 Billie Piper selected with award winning costume director Edward K Gibbon Harlette’s collection and design's to take part in the fourth and final series of Secret Diary of a Call Girl by Tiger Aspect seen on ITV.[10][11]
In 2011 she appeared in episode 1 of Britains Next Big Thing by Maverick Television hosted by Theo Paphitis that went to air on the BBC2 in UK and ABC in Australia.[12]
In July 2011 Harlette was nominated in the 2011 UK Lingerie Awards.
In September 2011 Harlette's company was nominated as a finalist for the NSW Premier Export Awards 2011 in Australia.[13]
In 2009 Harlette was asked by Swedish newspaper Expressen to write a debate on term she created called Braconomics and the intimate insights she had on the Saudi Lingerie campaign.[14] After leaving Saudi Arabia to showcase some of the collection at Wimbledon Fashion Week in 2009, Harlette has been interviewed by Radio New Zealand, New Straits Times,[15] The Star (Malaysia),[16] Gold Coast Bulletin on the Saudi Arabia lingerie campaign [17]
Set Sail with Harlette collection has been featured in Wall St Journal, Hindustan Times, La Stampa and bollywood blogs, CNN and NDTV featuring Miss World 2008 Australia 1st runner up Miss Sonia Lipski.[18][19][20][21]
Images of Secret Diary Collection has been featured in the Sun Buzz, The Mirror, The Daily Mail, Metro (British newspaper), and New York Post and went to air on ITV2, Showtime and GEM.[22][23]
Images of the patented diamond suspenders and collection at Oscars style lounge 2010 worn by Miss USA 2004 Shandi Finnessey featured in Luxist [24]
Images of Harlette's designs have been seen in Maxim (magazine) UK worn by Hollie Dowding, Naomi Young and Miss London 2011 Rissikat Bade in November 2011[25] [26] [27]
Images of Melissa Reeves Miss Galaxy England 2011 wearing Harlette's designs for her 2012 calendar have been seen in Maxim (magazine) UK in December 2011 as well as Miss England 2010/11 Jessica Linley [28] [29]