Julia Pound of Dagmar Rousset joins forces with US-based designer Annie Larson of ALL Knitwear to create an exclusive knitwear range!  Left - Julia Pound, photo by Jem Freeman, right - Annie Larsson, photo by Eric T. Carlson.

Knit jumper and skirt from the ALL Knitwear X Dagmar Rousset 2012 range (beanie is ALL Knitwear, not part of the collab) photos by Jem Freeman.

As you guys KNOW, I tend to like things that are a bit mad, wacky or bonkers brilliant.  I figure if something falls into this category, that must mean it's interesting and original. And if it puts a smile on your face, that's gotta be agood thing, right!?

Fabulous Fitzroy retailer Dagmar Rousset, run by Melbourne fashionista / French teacher Julia Pound certainly has the 'bonkers brilliant' thing down pat. Julia's shop (featured here last year) sells a quirky, inspired edit of womens fashion, accessories and knick knacks in incredible bold colours and patterns - and at night time, the shop turns into a French school - no kidding!

One of the brands Dagmar Rousset has become known for is ALL Knitwear.  The creation of US-based designer Annie Larson, this is an indie fashion label with a serious cult following.  Dagmar Rousset was the very first international stockist of ALL Knitwear, having stocked Annie's bold, cheerful pieces since Julia's first day of trade in Fitrzoy.  Since the early days Dagmar Rousset has been a great supporter of ALL Knitwear, and so of course, before long, a creative collaboration was born!

We asked Julia a few questions about how her collaboration with Annie Larson of ALL Knitwear came about, and what has inspired their 2012 range.

Hey Julia! How did the Dagmar x ALL partnership originally start?

Dagmar Rousset has stocked ALL Knitwear since our very first day of trading on Gertrude St back in December 2010. I am also proud to say that Dagmar was the very first stockist in the world of ALL Knitwear. To me, ALL and Dagmar make such a beautiful partnership, I thought it only logical that we spawn noisy hypercolour babies together. The ALL Knitwear for Dagmar Rousset exclusives range was born in July 2011.

So how did the knitwear collaboration come about?

When I first approached Annie about stocking her main line in 2010, I sent her a gushy, way too enthusiastic (bordering on creepy) fanmail asking if she would ever consider stocking a tiny shop with a weird name that hadn’t even opened yet at the opposite end of the planet. To her eternal credit, she accepted. I will always be grateful to her for this because she has a lot of integrity and doesn’t supply just anyone. After a few months, I felt that we should probably start thinking about a range that reflected both ALL and Dagmar – and once again, after a nervous pitch to Annie, she embraced the idea
wholeheartedly.

What processes are involved when doing a cross continental collaboration, particularly with Annie Larson? (I imagine there's a lot of emailing!?)

Yes, we do a lot of back and forth over email. The email chain just discussing the box top alone was very long indeed. We decided fairly early on that we wanted the whole range to feature the bye bye motif, but the colourways and motifs for sleeves, collars and cuffs were the subject of much lively debate!

The 2012 ALL Knitwear X Dagmar Rousset range has just landed and is available in store now - super limited, get on it peeps!  

Dagmar Rousset
157 Gertrude st
Fitzroy
Vic, 3065

Ph. (03) 9419 2200

ALL Knitwear X Dagmar Rousset 2012 range knit dress (beanie by ALL Knitwear - not part of the collab), photos by Jem Freeman.