E Nolan
E Nolan
(Est. 2019, Melbourne)
Womenswear label E Nolan merges Savile Row tailoring methods with a tongue-in-cheek approach to sartorial self-expression. Offering a new standard for women’s tailoring in Australia, the brand has built a loyal following with its luxurious fabrication, demi-couture finishes and by-appointment fittings, creating long-wearing garments that refuse the robotic standardisation of work attire and everyday dressing.
For Melbourne Now, E Nolan presents a navy pinstripe suit and white T-shirt with the label’s signature blowfly embroidered on it, demonstrating its unique combination of classic and playful approaches. The embellishment references the saying ‘a fly in the ointment’, inferring that E Nolan’s clothing can withstand the minor irritations of real-life wear.
The label’s founder, tailor and designer Emily Nolan, was taught to sew by her grandmothers, both of whom worked in the fashion industry – one as a dressmaker and one as a milliner. The two women shaped Nolan’s vision for a female-led and inherently sustainable fashion label built on high-quality garments. E Nolan’s made-to-measure suiting honours the body, minimises fashion waste and reduces impulse purchasing.
E Nolan was named one of Vogue Australia’s ‘Future Sixty’ in 2019; the list comprised designers Vogue considered to be ‘redefining how we value the handmade’. The label was also a finalist for the National Designer Award in 2021 and 2022. Emily Nolan holds a Bachelor of Fashion Design from the Whitehouse Institute of Design, graduating as Designer of the Year in 2016. She went on to become the only female tailor at P Johnson, where she learned Savile Row methods of fitting and figuration. Nolan conducts by-appointment fittings from her premises in Fitzroy and the collections also retail online.