Living every girls Dream- Mandy Fry

Mandy with other Mandy from Oracle fox- another amazing lady

Design for Humanity event

New spring campaign

all photo's given with permission to use by Mandy Fry

To my all time excitement, I have been given the amazing opportunity to interview and give you guys the chance to get to know Billabong's Women's design director.... Mandy Fry.

Billabong is a company that so many of us can relate to, and wear and grow up with; it is also a company that supports many amazing young people and help make their dreams come true. Studying fashion and with a love for beachy / boho styled designs- this was such an amazing moment for me and my blog. Mandy is such a friendly and inspiring person that i look up to so much. Not only does she design for an iconic label but is the best mum, travels to great places and supports some wonderful causes. Who wouldn't want to live her life hehe

It was such a pleasure to get to know her and now feature her on my blog- i am sure this will not be the last you guys see of her. I hope you guys are as inspired as i am and fellow designers take as much as you can from this amazing woman!

See above their beautiful Spring 13 campaign featuring my favourite model Zippora Seven- i wish i was her in that to die for crochet number :D

Shop their latest pieces at :

http://www.billabonggirls-usa.com

http://www.billabonggirls.com.au

keep checking back for a wonderful shoot i have coming up in my Cleo + Billabong pieces...

What are 3 words to describe yourself?

Determined, sometimes too focused, and a tendency to overanalyse….just ask my husband.

Tell us a little about your career and how you have gotten to where you are today?

I moved to LA in 1994 to attend the Fashion Institute, and quickly fell in love with the surf scene. 

My love for design and the Southern California lifestyle cultivated my career path.

I started as an assistant swim designer at Quiksilver/Roxy and worked my way up to ultimately ending up at Billabong where I have been the Women's Design Director for the past 10 years. 

Many may say you live every girls dream; designing for such an influential, iconic & inspirational brand. What tips do you have for young girls wanting to achieve their own dreams?

Be humble, work hard, and stay focused. Don't let your ego get in the way of your success.

In my position, my focus is to make everyone around me stronger and better than me. I encourage my team to do the same. If your just starting out then you gotta network. So much of it is who you know. Be nice to everyone because you never know what intern or receptionist is going to one day end up as your boss!

I am sure living and travelling to such tropical and beachy destinations influences how you dress; what would you consider your style like? and what is your favourite piece of clothing you own?

I really dislike describing my style:)……but I will tell you that I am one of the few girls at work who always wear heels/wedges……anything just to be a few inches taller:) I am a little bohemian, a little eclectic, and I love mixing my vintage, with Billabong, and with my high end stuff. Sometimes I wake up feeling rather chic and put together and other days I am a bit more scattered and end up with a thrown together look with flip flops and hair on top of my head. It all really depends on my mood and whats on my plate for the day.

My favorite piece of clothing at the moment is my Summerofseventyeight leather jacket and her black sweater mixed with leather. but really my taste changes rather quickly and I get bored and have to move on.

I never tire of my wedding ring or my Cleobella handbag. 

You did an amazing job creating and making 'Design for Humanity' happen, what is the idea behind this and how has this experience helped and benefited others?

Thank you. It is a labor of love for sure. 

We started it 6 years ago in an effort to raise awareness and funds for humanitiarian efforts that mean so much to us.  100% of ticket proceeds go to the chosen charity each season. We try to create the most amazing experience for our retailers and consumers to come out and see live music, a fashion show, and an insane art gallery. Check it out:

Do you have a life motto that you live by?

God will never give me more than I can handle and make each day count.

and what is it that gets you out of bed in the morning?

My family…..I have 2 little ones and when they look up over the bed at me at 7am there is no turning over and hiding under the sheets. 

Inspiration is such a big part of many design areas- where do draw inspiration from and how do you get these ideas through to your designs?

Each season it's a professional and personal journey. I travel a lot for research finding ideas that I can apply to the collection each season.  I love shopping vintage, looking through photography books about the various decades of fashion, art, or music and I am really inspired by models and bloggers. Outside of that, I have an amazing team of designers that I draw inspiration from. They inspire me to be better and more creative everyday.

Summer has just began here in Australia and the weather is warming up, what are top 5 must haves for this season?

1) A handful of your favourite bikinis that you can mix and match. I personally love our Billabong solid suits. Amazing fit and I can mix them with any of my printed bikinis. 

2) Billabong's "By the Shore" tie dye dress…..I can wear it out or throw it over a bikini as a beach cover-up

3) The water is not that warm in California so I will be heading out for a surf in one of our vintage inspired wetsuits….check out the "Cheeky Spring Suit" or the "Cheeky Jane". 

4) A Cleobella handbag…they are timeless

5) A Novella Royal anything……It's one of my favorite lines and you can't go wrong with any of her pieces made from beautiful vintage fabrics. I LOVE them all! 

So many of her pieces make great cover ups and pack easily! I take a couple of her throws and scarves with me on every trip!

6) I have to mention Summerofseventyeight fringe side "Amber" pant in french terry. I am living in them. 

Lots of love,

Leana xxxx