Madi Edwards: "I want Marli to be my future"

Happened to spot splashes of black, yellow, red and green infiltrating your feed this week? We don’t doubt it, with a whole host of top influencers getting behind the launch of Madi Edwards’ new clothing label, Marli this week. Dropping online on December 3, the debut Castaway collection features 6 pieces that strongly reflect Madi’s bold, playful, fun personality – designed to take wearers from the gym to the streets.

Working on the collection for the past 12 months alongside the inVue team, Madi took to Instagram on the morning of the launch to tell followers: “Today is the day @shopmarli FINALLY launches. Marli is my absolute dream brand and I’m so excited to share it with you all and to watch my baby grow!” Marli is the first of many influencer collabs for inVue, a new agency that helps bring influencers’ visions to life by providing them with everything they need to create, launch, and grow their dream brand.

Absolutely obsessed with the new collection (we’ve got our eyes on the Cuba Crop Top), we decided to pull Madi aside to find out everything we could about Marli – from why she decided to launch the collection to where she’s hoping to take the brand.

Can you tell me a bit about the Marli collection?
The first collection for Marli is the Castaway collection we’ve just launched! It’s a bold and fun capsule collection playing on a vibrant colour palette inspired by island flowers and greenery. I wanted to create a collection that could be worn to the beach, to the gym, or out and about for breakfast or lunch.

Why did you decide to launch a fashion collection?
I’ve been modelling for 5 years so I wanted to create something I personally loved. I also wanted to create something to be able inspire people like I have been with so many of the fashion and lifestyle clients I have worked with over the years.

Did you always want to get into fashion designing?
I’ve always loved and appreciated fashion design – the hard work and creativity that goes into it! Especially from working so long in the fashion industry, I’ve grown and learnt a lot with brands and on the shoots I’ve worked on as a model. I’ve also come to appreciate that fashion is more than just the product – every brand has different values, target markets and creative interests.

Can you tell me why you chose the name Marli?
I really wanted a name that had the same vibe as the designs and clothing so I played with A LOT of island names combined with my own name – and that’s how I came up with Marli!

How hands-on were you with the design process?
I’ve been very hands on with the design process and have been up and down from Brisbane visiting my amazing team at inVue. We’ve worked closely and tirelessly over the past year on everything from designs to fabric selections, branding and everything that goes with brand creation. The inVue team have been incredible and have enabled me to focus on the design and consumer-facing side of the brand while they’ve built the website and everything else that goes on behind-the-scenes!

How did you choose which manufacturer to go with?
This is another side of creating Marli where I was so lucky to be working with the team at inVue. They researched manufacturers all over the world and selected our manufacturer based on their sustainability and ethics in production – which is something that would’ve been daunting for me to undertake on my own. Marli is also proudly designed and sampled here in Australia. 🙂

Can we expect to see you doing more fashion design in the future?
One hundred percent! I want Marli to be my future and I’ll be working hard everyday to make sure each collection that comes out is something no one has seen before! Collection #2 is already bubbling away in my mind and I can’t wait to bring it to life. I really relish in the creative process, I honestly day-dreamed about the Castaway collection all summer long – so to have it here and for people to be buying and wearing it is such a “pinch me” feeling.

Where are you hoping to take Marli?
I want Marli to be an internationally recognised brand! The goal is for the brand to grow bigger and bigger as each collection drops. I have so much faith in the future of Marli and the designs we’re working on. I’m so proud of the Castaway collection but I really can’t wait to be able to experiment with my designs and create new looks and silhouettes so, so soon!