Celebrating Australia's Best Stylists And Art Directors

Tyrone Wright & Carly Spooner, RONE Empire

An installation project occupying multiple rooms of a historic 1920s Art Deco property, RONE Empire aimed to transport audiences back to the building’s glamorous heyday, juxtaposing beauty and decay. Combining art, installation, light, music and scent, as well as virtual and augmented reality, this immersive art installation and styling project was open to the public and took place over a 7-week period, and saw over 26,000 visitors.

Stephanie Stamatis, Real Living

A visual story using classical motifs through a contemporary lens, this editorial shoot conceived by Stephanie Stamatis is based on the concept of styling a table with fruit, and was realised on a tight budget. Inspired by summer in Italy, this series for Real Living magazine created in collaboration with photographer Lauren Bamford feels lush, hot and textural.

Jack Milenkovic, Mistr Organics

Rugged yet refined, this campaign story by Jack Milenkovic for a male personal care brand embraces a sense of nostalgia, and aims to feel both timeless and modern, and distinctly Australian.

Natalie Turnbull, Milou Milou

Inspired by the classic Australian clothesline, a place where unexpected combinations are found, Nat Turnbull’s vision for Milou Milou was to style the bed linen collection in ways the customer might not traditionally think of it in their home. This creative, colourful showcase of bed linen illustrates the multiple different options for duvets and pillowcases, without using any beds!

Fiona Lynch, Workshop

Driven by creative director Fiona Lynch’s early career in fine art, Workshop is created as a showcase for the ever-evolving aesthetic interests of the design studio, as well as a place to highlight the work of collaborators and up-and-coming makers. Workshop is a stylised, richly textured, yet restrained concept space for exploration and exhibition.

Lucille Ruehland, Bailey Nelson Titanium

A multi-layered campaign by Lucille Ruehland for Bailey Nelson, the aim was produce a series that felt both timeless and nostalgic, like a memory.

Poliform Australia, Art, Design, Artex

An integrated marketing campaign for Arflex, an Italian furniture brand, that pairs an avant-garde spirit with a rich heritage, in a distinctly Australian context.

Bridget Wald, Alice Hutchison & Ilona Savchenko, Italian Tabletop

A glam series of food-based images that feel both familiar and nostalgic, inspired by old cookbooks, party photos, and a vintage colour palette. Inspired by memories, photographs, and objects belonging to the collaborators’ parents, the objective was to create images that encapsulated a place in time in Australia’s immigration and culinary history, with elements of camp and glamour.

Kelly Larkin, Pepite

Created for local ceramics store Pepite, stylist and art director Kelly Larkin and Lillie Thompson were given an open brief to produce marketing and mood material. Highlighting the shape, form, and texture of each ceramic piece, this playful series of simple yet aspirational still life vignettes showcase a collection of local artisans stocked at Pepite and illustrates the store’s eclectic style.

Simone Haag, Art Of Dining

A decadent dinner party table setting designed for a gala event at the NGV that takes inspiration from the artwork, ‘The Banquet of Cleopatra’ by Giambattista Tiepolo. Simone Haag and her team took subtle cues that spoke to the famous artwork: the ribbed glassware and centrepiece mimicked the columns and the colours of the textiles drew inspiration from the people in the painting, while the geometric nature of the flooring was re-interpreted with geometric fabrics. An embrace of the sense of occasion at Cleopatra’s table.

The Art Direction/Styling category is sponsored by Cult Design. Established in 1997 by Richard Munao, Cult Design has one of the most comprehensive collections of brand partners across Australia and New Zealand, providing exceptional authentic designer furniture, lighting and objects from iconic international brands.