Profile: Juliana Bennett

By Natalie Ast

After four years of living and breathing fashion at Parsons’ prestigious fashion design program in New York, Montreal-based designer, Juliana Bennett is at the helm of her own fashion line, Mulcair. The line had its first walk on the runway at Montreal Fashion Week in February.

The road to her first fashion week started when Bennett began to teach herself how to sew and design.  She went to the Parsons New School of design at the age of 19, where her outrageous couture aesthetic was toned down into professional ready-to-wear looks. Bennett describes it as “A classic American aesthetic that’s been stamped on my style.” While in New York, Bennett also interned for Vena Cava while the brand was establishing itself. Designers Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock of Vena Cava inspired Bennett to create her own line because she got to see first-hand how exciting and challenging it is.  When she graduated in 2006, Bennett moved back to her hometown of Montreal to start designing.

Bennett’s grandmother was the style inspiration behind her women’s wear line, Mulcair, coincidentally her grandmother’s maiden name.  But grandma Mulcair’s ensembles of tweed suits and hats are a far cry from Bennett’s “tomboy chic” design aesthetic.

Bennett describes her ideal customer as, “Someone who’s very fashion conscious and trend conscious, someone who doesn’t necessarily follow trends but is ahead of the curve.”  Her pieces feature casual pieces and work wear that can be mixed.  For Bennett, it’s all about personal styling and dressing things up or down to express her personality.

One of Bennett’s fashion icons is Mary-Kate Olsen, who’s famous for her hippie-chic meets Hollywood glam aesthetic.  Mary-Kate Olsen was Mulcair’s first celebrity client, a feat that can establish a fashion line amongst celebrities and stylists alike. “And if there was anyone to be the first celeb to wear one it would be her,” says Bennett.   

The first Mulcair collection was named after celebrities, but for Fall/Winter 2011, Bennett took inspiration from the darker side of ballet.  She was inspired by a biography of ballerina, Gelsey Kirkland entitled, Dancing on My Grave that detailed the rockstar life of being a prima ballerina. A dancer herself, Bennett was blown away by the story of Kirkland’s turbulent life fueled by romance and art and her struggle with drugs and eating disorders.  Bennett wanted to show the more realistic side of ballet attire featuring sweats, slouchy pants, long skirts and a colour palette of black, charcoal and blush conjuring up images of dancers warming up at the barre.  Her collection coincided with the hype of the film, Black Swan, so as a cheeky nod to the film, Bennett added a white tee with a silkscreened black swan into the collection.  Her collection is right on trend with its ballet theme, airy silk blouses and minimalist silhouettes for the fall season.

Bennett isn’t dancing solo and with her business partner and fiancé, Jaffray Hill, the line will have its first trade show in New York this fall. But what’s the next step for Bennett and Mulcair? Bennett says, “I’m sticking to fine tuning our women’s wear collection. The next step is to keep growing our base and hitting a more international market.”   

Visit Mulcair online.