Nice to meet you Diliana! What is the official name of your brand?
Diliana Malaish.
Let’s start at the beginning. Where did you go to school?
I am a recent Bachelor of Design graduate from the Whitehouse institute of Design. Whilst studying Fashion Design and working in the Fashion Industry. I was constantly learning new things about myself as a designer and was able build my personal style. It was until a few months after graduating, I looked back at all my past and present designs and illustrations, I was able to see the patterns in my design styles. Which is creating Womenswear and Menswear pieces with Bold and capturing prints as well as elegant silhouettes. Whitehouse has pushed me a lot, in a good way it made me realise that I was capable of doing many things. I am still growing and evolving as a designer and love experimenting with different design styles. Life is a journey and I am excited to see what the future holds.
Warning! Typical interview question about to be asked … what inspires you?
Many things inspired me; we live in such a big world where inspiration is literally everywhere. What I noticed is I tend to be inspired by storytelling in different creative areas. This can vary from poems, books, history, movies, people, art, and so much more. Everything has a story which makes storytelling so fascinating.
Where do you live and how does this impact your art?
I live in Melbourne, Australia. A lot of people here including myself tend to wear a lot of black. It has gotten better overtime but it’s still a thing. But I gradually steered away from it and try to mainly wear it in a professional setting. When I started to experiment more with colours and print’s I absolutely fell in love. I was inspired to create pieces that were colourful and bold. I wanted to create something that we did not really have much of here. And that’s where my love for experimenting and colours came to play.
How did you get your proverbial foot in the door?
I started working in the Fashion industry whilst I was in university in 2019. How I got my first role in the fashion industry was from a small fashion show that I attended. After a year, I worked as an assistant at MBFW. After graduating in 2020, I built my design portfolio, social media and retook some images, I got so many amazing responses from people and other creatives. I was reached out by a design company and worked with them for a bit. And right after I collaborated with many people in the creative industry. Soon after I was reached by a major brand to collaborate and create a collection which will soon be announced.
What are you most proud of? Who is the favourite baby?
Every year I have new things that I am proud of But, what I am most proud of is how I had been resilient and so devoted and determined. I had many people giving me their opinions, but I always stayed true to myself. Even when things were hard, I still managed to push through, it’s just confirmation to me of the love and passion that I have for design.
Any interesting stories to share?
The most interesting design story that I have to share is how I got my first design job as a Fashion Designer. It was from a small fashion show that I attended. I was supposed to go with a friend but then she couldn’t make it, so I had no one to go with. And I remember I still had this urge to go to this show, because something in me had a feeling that I was going to meet someone. The day of the show came, I went and was approached by someone who was looking for a junior designer for her next collection and was basically interviewed on the spot.
Do you have any creative projects, shows, exhibitions coming up?
I am currently working and collaborating with a major brand to create a collection, that would soon be announced. I do have a show coming up soon where I was invited to Milan and Paris to showcase my collection at the city fashion week details for that would soon be announced. And a few other collections and content that I may working with companies and creatives that I had been reached by.
What’s the big goal?
I have many major goals in my career, but to have even more of the great opportunities that I have now. To continue to work with more major brands and luxury brands and have a luxury brand of my own.
Hobbies?
I sometimes illustrate, but these days I haven’t done much of it, but I will get back to it soon. Even though design is my career it is also my hobby, I sometimes like to spend time planning designs for interiors, housing, clothing, shoes, and others. Besides that, I like to listen to a ton of music, enjoy dancing, being outdoors, planning and going on adventures and experiencing new things in the world.
And finally, what’s your life motto?
My life motto that I live by is that every day in life is a journey ... tomorrow you can do better than today.
