Collette Dinnigan author page

Collette Dinnigan biography

Collette Dinnigan is an Australian fashion designer and author, originally born in South Africa in 1965. She moved to New Zealand during her childhood, studied fashion design at Wellington Polytechnic, and later relocated to Australia, where she worked in the costume department of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

In 1990 she launched her eponymous label with a silk lingerie collection. Her delicate, handcrafted lingerie attracted attention from international retailers such as Barneys in New York and Harvey Nichols in London.

She became the first Australian designer to mount a ready-to-wear collection in Paris in 1995. Her collections have been stocked in over 80 stores globally and have included bridal, evening wear and diffusion lines.

In late 2013, Dinnigan announced a scaling back of her fashion business, closing boutiques in Sydney, Melbourne and London and discontinuing her bridal and evening wear lines.

Her first book, Obsessive Creative, was published in 2013, and she has since released children’s titles including Santa Loves Australia and Louis and Snippy Save the Sea.

A retrospective exhibition, Collette Dinnigan: Unlaced, was held at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney from September 2015 to January 2017, featuring her signature lace-based designs.

Her second coffee table book, Bellissima: An Australian-Italian Affair, was released in November 2024.