\u201cOne of the challenges of working in the fashion industry and having your own label is gaining exposure,\u201d says McKenzie. \u201cIn the first year our approach was on brand awareness. I think we\u2019ve had such success because we\u2019ve been consistent with our marketing strategies.\u201d<\/p>\n For Bel Cappello, brand awareness is especially important as the label is based in Kalgoorlie, a town better known for its red dirt and Super Pit rather than its penchant for fine hats. But McKenzie explains that the label has leveraged its unique location to create a brand that is about community, finery and attention to detail \u2013 something that bigger, more accessible labels can lack.<\/p>\n \u201cOur regional positioning has provided a pathway to the quick success of Bel Cappello,\u201d she says. \u201cWe live in a digital world, and I knew from my studies that there would be no issue launching a label in Kalgoorlie and having it expand beyond its regional borders.<\/p>\n \u201cOur clientele, even new clientele, are aware of the values that our brand holds prior to transacting in business with us. We\u2019ve created a community that our target market wishes to be a part of.\u201d<\/p>\n From its official launch in April 2016 at the Kalgoorlie Boulder Racing Club, pieces from the label\u2019s collection were worn at the Melbourne Cup Carnival and several featured in Vogue<\/em> and Elle<\/em> magazines online. That same year, Bel Cappello featured at London Hat Week and caught the interest of global milliner Ana Pribylova, who invited the label to showcase its dresses alongside her millinery line at London Fashion Week.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was an incredible experience going from one year out of graduating university to being backstage at a major runway show in London,\u201d says McKenzie on the global rise of Bel Cappello.<\/p>\n The ladies are set to add another feather to their caps when they take the 2017 collection to New York Fashion Week this September. McKenzie says months of preparation have gone into their involvement in the event.<\/p>\n \u201cAn opportunity like this extends our business network and widens opportunities as a regionally based designer,\u201d she says. \u201cIn the lead up to the event, we\u2019ll be previewing pieces that will be showcased during the runway. We\u2019ll also be contacting stockists and buyers for larger stores to inform them that our pieces will be featured.\u201d<\/p>\n McKenzie seems especially confident for someone who left university just two years ago, but says her abilities grew from her determination to have a successful career in PR regardless of living in a regional town. She has certainly achieved that \u2013 as well as managing the PR for Bel Cappello, she also runs her own communications agency.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t be afraid to step outside of the box \u2013 your degree is your boarding ticket to a career that you design!\u201d advises McKenzie to aspiring marketers and publicists. \u201cI never in my wildest of dreams thought I\u2019d be running a communications agency and a clothing label at the age of 24 after my degree, let alone in regional WA.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I\u2019ve found is that there is a large demand for niche marketing and public relations. What you study during university isn\u2019t the be-all and end-all, it\u2019s your key to keep growing.\u201d<\/p>\n McKenzie will no doubt gain a wealth of experience at New York Fashion Week and invest it in the continual growth of Bel Cappello. You can be a part of Fashion Week, too \u2013 Bel Cappello will be live streaming their runway showcase on September 8 and encourage all fashion lovers to witness the glamour. Head to their Facebook page<\/a> for details.<\/p>\n This story is part of Curtin\u2019s Young Alumni Stories<\/a> series where we celebrate the achievements of Curtin graduates 35 and under. Learn more about the Young Alumni Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mass Communications alumna Jesica McKenzie has a nuance for marketing and a fierce ability to network \u2013 so much so that she manages the PR for a couture label from the mining town of Kalgoorlie.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4182,"featured_media":6068,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_research-areas":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"research-areas":[],"class_list":["post-6067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"acf":{"post_options":{"":null,"additional_content":{"title":"","content":"","image":false},"related_courses":[{"title":"Mass Communication","qualification":"Bachelor of Arts (Mass Communication)","link":"http:\/\/courses.curtin.edu.au\/course_overview\/undergraduate\/mass-communication","description":"","faculty":"Humanities"},{"title":"Fashion","qualification":"Bachelor of Arts (Humanities)","link":"http:\/\/courses.curtin.edu.au\/course_overview\/undergraduate\/fashion","description":"","faculty":"Humanities"}],"credits":{"author":"","photographer":"","media":false},"display_author":true,"banner":{"image":false}}},"featured_image":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/feature-8-1000x500.jpg","author_meta":{"first_name":"Zoe","last_name":"Taylor","display_name":"Zoe Taylor"},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-23 12:20:26","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4182"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6067"},{"taxonomy":"research-areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-areas?post=6067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/feature1.jpg\")
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