SVED Named Finalist in Two 2026 Australian Style Institute Awards

One more sleep. I’m genuinely nervous.

SVED has been named a finalist in two categories at the 2026 Australian Style Institute Awards:

Personal Styling Excellence
Business Excellence

It is wild to be recognised alongside such accomplished talent in the Australian styling industry, particularly in my first year of running SVED.

The winners will be announced on Thursday 13 August 2026 at 6pm AEST.

My approach to personal styling is unconventional. Sometimes I wonder whether I should even call myself a stylist.

I oscillate wildly between rejecting so much of the fashion industry and being completely drawn to it.

Over the past 18 months, I have been living and breathing clothes while building SVED around many different, and sometimes seemingly disparate, aspects of fashion, culture, identity, meaning and belonging.

When I chose to study personal styling at the Australian Style Institute, I wanted to learn the technical styling “rules” so I could answer specific questions. I also had every intention of breaking those rules and encouraging clients to do the same. I got so much more than rules. I learnt a way of guiding clients through styling that has become the backbone of my work.

There are plenty of stereotypes about what a personal stylist is and does. The Australian Style Institute turns so much of that on its head, with serious kindness and deep expertise.

Why it matters to me to be in the running

The coolest thing about the Personal Styling Excellence Award is that it is not simply about technical styling.

It recognises client-centred practice and genuinely transformational client outcomes.

My win is receiving texts from clients telling me they are loving themselves fully sick after we work together. That they’e tried something new. That getting dressed feels easier. That they are listening to the little voice inside their head again.

Through wardrobe coaching, personal styling and practical wardrobe organisation, I help people reconnect with themselves through what they wear. That is my definition of success.

Clients often come to SVED during periods of change. A changing body. Parenthood. Menopause. Burnout. Neurodivergence. Career growth. Increased visibility. A shift in identity. Or the realisation that their wardrobe no longer supports their next chapter. The work starts with the person, not the clothes.

Building a wardrobe consultancy, not just a styling business

Being recognised for Business Excellence in SVED’s first year gives me enormous encouragement that I am on the right track.

There are a lot of moving parts to SVED. Personal styling is one part of a broader wardrobe consultancy connecting wardrobes, identity, culture, circular fashion and the ways clothes can support us through change. If you haven’t seen my ‘projects’ underway - click here.

SVED’s work now includes in-home Wardrobe RESET sessions, wardrobe coaching, personal styling, strategic shopping, neuroaffirming wardrobe support, circular fashion projects and the research and management of culturally significant clothing archives.

The wardrobe is not frivolous. It is part identity, part memory and part daily operating system.

It can hold our past while helping us move towards what comes next.

What happens next?

The 2026 Australian Style Institute Award recipients will be announced on Thursday 13 August at 6pm AEST.

Of course it would be extremely cool to win. For now, I am thrilled, emotional and very grateful to be recognised in both Personal Styling Excellence and Business Excellence.

Huge congratulations to every nominee and finalist.

And thank you to every SVED client who has trusted me inside their wardrobe, shared their story and allowed me to build this work with them.

If your wardrobe is no longer supporting who you are or where you are going, you can explore SVED’s Melbourne wardrobe services or book a free discovery call here.