As we welcome En Gold, Jolie Laide and Degoey Planet into the House of Harrolds, we turn to Roshali as an arbiter of style. Here, she divulges what it takes for a brand to cut through bravado and we get to the heart of what makes a design name memorable in 2020.

What does Harrolds’ foray into home adornments mean for the fashion house? 

Harrolds has always been a home to a curation of design and beauty. And with us spending more time at home this year, it was a natural move to include homewares in our range to showcase that style is not just restricted to your person.

Why local homewares? The trio of new brands all hail from Aus. Talk us through the choice to introduce onshore names into the Harrolds vault? 

We are incredibly lucky to have so much homegrown talent around us and there is no better time than now to support our local artists and curators. We’re often so enamoured by dreams of visiting exotic far-off lands (I am very guilty of this!), that we forget to look around us to see how much we have to offer at home in Australia.

The incredible people behind all three of our brands all have a wonderful story to be shared and I wanted to give them a space at Harrolds where they could showcase their wares and be celebrated amongst so many familiar fashion houses.

And finally, with so much time now spent on virtual meetings with overseas vendors, it is such a nice change for me as a buyer to be able to work with local brands to dream, plan and liaise in person.

What were the aesthetic considerations or other prerequisites you had in mind when looking at contenders for Harrolds Home?

I was looking for trailblazers, not followers and each brand needed to stand out on its own. All three are so aesthetically unique. First up, we have Alex from Degoey Planet with her hand-made Lobster Plates and tongue-in-cheek Nine Inch Vase. Next, there’s Em & Lou from Jolie Laide with their ‘ugly-beautiful’ curation of all things weird and wonderful – the James Shaw toilet paper holders are so good! And lastly, Steff and Matt from En Gold with their achingly beautiful marble and fossil stone pieces and the drool-worthy Lucite range (coming soon), that I cannot wait to get my hands on.

What was the buying process like here? How did it differ to assessing and selecting fashion labels? 

Working with smaller brands is always a different and more personal experience and it gives us the ability to work closely with them to come up with concepts and exclusives together.

It was also a lot faster to turn-around. We usually work well in advance with fashion and my head is usually looking six months ahead. For example, Alex from Degoey Planet is a one-woman show who hand-makes everything at home on the Gold Coast and she hand-drew the exclusive gingham print for us within a few days of our first conversation.

We were also lucky enough to have Em from Jolie Laide and Steff from En Gold personally set up their spaces in our Melbourne store which was such a special experience for our team (and now our shoppers).

What are some of your Chrissy wish-list-worthy pieces from the new homeware buys? 

I am obsessing over the Polycephaly Python Vase in Red Gingham from Degoey Planet, the most special wearable art Flower Bag by Sheridan Tjhung from Jolie Laide and the hairy chair of my dreams (The Wylie Chair) from En Gold (coming soon).

For the homecoming of summer entertaining, how can this new trifecta be incorporated into table styling, festive season celebrations and gifting?

In so many unique ways. Each brand has many a special piece to gift to a loved-one (or to yourself). Any En Gold piece will be a stunning update to any space. Fill up a Degoey Planet piece with fresh fruit or flowers for a guaranteed burst of beauty at home. And the tubular Jiu Jie cushions from Jolie Laide are a fun addition to any couch, perfect to rest on after overeating at Christmas lunch.